Buemi: Accident instead of first Nissan victory 🎥
CHANCE VERTAN Sébastien Buemi led from the start in the third round of the Formula E championship in Chile until he landed in the wall with the Nissan. In return, Edoardo Mortara took fourth place with Venturi. Luck seemed to be on Sébastien Buemi's side in Santiago de Chile. In the first free practice session on the new [...]
Luck seemed to be on Sébastien Buemi's side in Santiago de Chile. In the first free practice session on the new street circuit at O'Higgins Park, the brakes of his Nissan IM01 locked up on a bump, causing him to crash into the wall. The Nissan e.dams team repaired the electric racer so well that the Swiss was able to thank them for the repair work by setting the second fastest time in Super Pole qualifying.
Second accident in the same place
It got even better. Due to a rule violation on the final lap of group qualifying, Lucas di Grassi had to relinquish pole position to Buemi and take 22nd and last place on the grid in his Audi e-tron FE05. The driver from the Vaud took advantage of this opportunity by immediately taking the lead - only to give it away after about 30 of the 45 race minutes (plus one lap).
Buemi braked again in the chicane and demolished his car on the wall. After a slow return to the pits, he retired. Apparently, both accidents were due to software problems in the Nissan electronics. In addition, the asphalt cracked due to the heat in Chile.
Instead of the first win with Nissan, which would have taken Buemi to the top of the standings, he was left with only the three points for pole position.
Obvious progress
At least the unlucky man also sees positive things.
Sébastien Buemi: "I took pole and led until the retirement. We showed that we've made huge progress since the start of the season and now have the speed to win. We'll return to Mexico all the stronger and want to redeem ourselves there."
The fourth round will be held on February 16 on the shortened GP circuit in Mexico City.
Victory and championship lead for Sam Bird with Audi technology
Until the accident, Buemi was under pressure from Sam Bird in the Audi e-tron FE05 from Envision Virgin Racing. The Briton brought home victory with a six-and-a-half-second lead over Pascal Wehrlein in the Mahindra M5. This was the first podium in the second Formula E race for the German who came from the DTM. Bird leads the championship with 43 points ahead of Jérôme d'Ambrosio (41). The winner of Morocco only scored one point in the Mahindra.
Third place went to his compatriot Daniel Abt in the Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler factory car. Abt inherited a position from Alexander Sims in the faster of the two BMW iFE.18 cars dominated in the first two races. The Briton received a pit drive-through penalty that relegated him to P11 for flipping Edoardo Mortara.
Encouraging fourth place for Edoardo Mortara
The Geneva native, who started sixth, quickly recovered from this incident and worked his way back up to fifth place. This was subsequently followed by fourth place.
This meant the first points for the Venturi team and the best result for the second Swiss in the field for a long time. In the championship, Buemi and Mortara are 11th and 12th with 15 and 12 points respectively.
