Mexican double podium for e.dams

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Renault e.dams can go back to Europe with a smile on their faces: they are still leading in both standings and got a double podium. Everything is fine!

After Lucas Di Grassi’s disqualification from the race results due to weight restrictions, the French team benefited and earned not only a double podium finish but also a fastest lap. That keeps them in the lead of the Team Standings with 136 points, and Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi continues in number one position with 98 points.

The team had shown a strong performance during Free Practices, with Buemi topping the standings both in FP1 and FP2, and Nico Prost also having a really good pace. However, tables were turned in qualifying: a series of mistakes put Prost in P2 and Buemi in P5.

The start of the race seemed promising for Buemi, who effortlessly overtook Daniel Abt and positioned himself fourth. On the other hand, Prost remained second for an important number of laps, controlling Lucas Di Grassi who was pushing hard to overtake the Frenchman. Di Grassi took Prost just ahead of the pit stops, putting the Frenchman in third.

During car swap, Buemi positioned himself third, ahead of Prost who received a drive through penalty for an unsafe release from the pits. Nico ended up in fifth position and remained there for the rest of the race. In spite of the bad luck that seemed to affect the team during the ePrix, Renault e.dams showed how consistent the car and drivers are when it comes to fighting to gain positions.

[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Prost, who scored his first podium of the season, says: “I’ve been fighting for a podium finish at every race […] We knew we had the pace having qualified well at almost every round and now, it was just a case of getting a good result in order to really boost my confidence.”[/pullquote]

The race saw Buemi finishing third after a strong battle with Belgian Jerome D’Ambrosio -who would later win the race; and Prost crossing the finish line at fifth.

New results were known after Di Grassi’s disqualification, positioning Buemi on second place; and Prost on third, after Loïc Duval’s 15-second penalty. The fastest lap, which had originally been awarded to D’Ambrosio, was later given to Prost. This is the team’s first double podium finish, a result that brings the team more confidence to fight for their second Teams’ Championship.

Sébastien Buemi is still leading the Drivers Standings, and declared he is pleased he still maintains the lead of the championship; despite having some issues on the car set-up and while battling with D’Ambrosio.

[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Senior Team Manager Jean Paul Driot said: “Second and third, plus a fastest lap for Nico, means we have cemented our position as championship leaders. We will analyse the issues we had and improve to be more motivated than ever for Long Beach.”[/pullquote]

Meanwhile, Alain Prost highlights the success of the event: “As for the event itself, it has been fantastic for Formula E. The fans here are incredible and, despite the pressure on the championship to follow Formula 1 at this venue, they’ve put on a real show for everyone.”

Reanult e.dams will defend their dominance on April 2nd, when Formula E arrives to Long Beach for the sixth round of the championship. Renault Sport Project Leader, Vincent Gaillardot, says, ahead of this race: “We’ve learned just how important it is to have a faultless weekend in order to secure our position on the grid and we can be consistent from there.”

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Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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