autocar-logo
Delhi

Buemi wins Formula E title despite Lucas di Grassi clash

Di Grassi sent himself and Buemi into the barriers at Turn 3 on the opening lap.
3 min read3 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
1K+ views

Sebastien Buemi clinched the 2015/16 Formula E title in the Battersea Park season finale despite being taken out at the start by championship rival Lucas di Grassi.

Di Grassi sent himself and Buemi into the barriers at Turn 3 on the opening lap, allowing Nico Prost into a lead he would convert into a second victory of the weekend.

The accident tore off Buemi's rear wing and pitched di Grassi nose-first into the barriers, breaking his front-right wheel.

Both resumed, with Buemi continuing for a short while at the back before being forced to pit with his damage and di Grassi limping back to change cars.

With the drivers level on points going into the finale, the race was turned into a battle for the two points for fastest lap.

Buemi needed to secure those points to become champion, with di Grassi otherwise set to pick up the title on countback to third-place finishes, and the duo played a cat-and-mouse game for the remainder of the race.

Di Grassi took first blood on a 1m27.037s but that was never likely to be quick enough, and Buemi set a 1m26.056s after getting baulked by Ma Qing Hua before improving again to a 1m24.582s.

Di Grassi posted a 1m24.9s then set the best first and second sectors of the race with three laps remaining, but could not complete the lap at that pace and fell a tenth shy.

With his rival returning to the pits and getting out of his car, Buemi claimed the points and the championship with some kind of flourish by going even quicker and ending the race with a 1m24.150s.

Prost somehow avoided getting caught up in the first-lap shunt despite being side-by-side with di Grassi heading into the braking zone.

He made the most of his good fortune by scarpering clear to a second win of the weekend.

The dominant victory, secured by 7.6 seconds over Daniel Abt despite a trio of safety cars, also earned the Frenchman third in the standings and helped make certain of Renault e.dams' success in the teams' championship.

Jerome d'Ambrosio claimed a shock third place, benefiting from a trio of time penalties applied to three drivers ahead of him on the road.

Jean-Eric Vergne had finished a comfortable third after jumping Nick Heidfeld after the car swaps and escaping from the Mahindra over the remainder of the race.

But Vergne, Heidfeld and Antonio Felix da Costa were all handed a 50s penalty for using too much energy, dropping them behind d'Ambrosio, Loic Duval (who started last after a gearbox change), Stephane Sarrazin and Bruno Senna.

Behind the three penalised drivers, outgoing champion Nelson Piquet Jr ended a trying season by completing the point scorers.

RESULTS - 33 LAPS:

Nicolas Proste.damsRenault/-56m32.648s
2
Daniel AbtAbtABT Schaeffler/-7.633s
3
Jerome d'AmbrosioDragonVenturi/-22.524s
4
Loic DuvalDragonVenturi/-23.290s
5
Stephane SarrazinVenturiVenturi/-24.984s
6
Bruno SennaMahindraMahindra/-27.174s
7
Nick HeidfeldMahindraMahindra/-1m07.544s
8
Jean-Eric VergneVirginVirgin/-1m08.002s
9
Nelson Piquet Jr.ChinaNEXTEV TCR/-1m14.270s
10
Oliver TurveyChinaNEXTEV TCR/-1m22.216s
11
Antonio Felix da CostaAguriSpark/-1m58.324s
12
Ma Qing HuaAguriSpark/-1 Lap
13
Mike ConwayVenturiVenturi/-1 Lap
-
Lucas di GrassiAbtABT Schaeffler/-Retirement
-
Sebastien Buemie.damsRenault/-Retirement
-
Robin FrijnsAndrettiSpark/-Retirement
-
Simona de SilvestroAndrettiSpark/-Retirement
-
Sam BirdVirginVirgin/-Retirement

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Sebastien Buemi155
2
Lucas di Grassi153
3
Nicolas Prost115
4
Sam Bird88
5
Jerome d'Ambrosio83
6
Stephane Sarrazin70
7
Daniel Abt68
8
Loic Duval60
9
Jean-Eric Vergne56
10
Nick Heidfeld53
11
Bruno Senna52
12
Robin Frijns45
13
Antonio Felix da Costa28
14
Oliver Turvey11
15
Nelson Piquet Jr.8
16
Mike Conway7
17
Nathanael Berthon4
18
Simona de Silvestro4
Fallback ad for 728x90

Austrian GP: Hamilton wins after last-lap Nico Rosberg clash

Battling for the lead, Hamilton closed in on Rosberg around the outside, only to be forced off the track as they again ran into one another.
3 min read3 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
Fallback ad for 728x90

Austrian GP: Hamilton fastest in eventful qualifying

The drivers began Q3 on intermediate tyres after rain fell heavily at the end of Q2, but everyone switched to dry tyres for the last few minutes.
3 min read2 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
Fallback ad for 728x90

Formula Student team develops world’s fastest accelerating car

The all-electric 200hp car built by the students of the Academic Motorsports Club, Zurich is capable of going from 0-100kph in 1.513 seconds.
2 min read2 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
Fallback ad for 728x90

Austrian GP: Rosberg fastest on rain interrupted Friday

The championship leader finished six tenths off his Friday morning benchmark, with Hamilton 0.019 seconds behind, although on a dry track .
3 min read1 Jul '16
Staff WriterStaff Writer
Fallback ad for 728x90

Another training day at the Rajini Academy

The Rajini Academy of Competitive Racing will conduct its next rider training programme at MMRT, Chennai on July 29 and 30, 2016.
1 min read28 Jun '16
Sherman Hale Nazareth Sherman Hale Nazareth
Fallback ad for 728x90