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It’s just over a month since the dramatic season finale in London, and I’m still not sure the dust has settled. The crash between Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi shocked us all. I’m not here to pass judgement, but it was good to see that the incident didn’t decide the championship. Already, though, the teams are preparing for the start of Season 3 group testing at the end of August. Most teams have completed plenty of running behind closed doors, but the outings at Donington will be the first time we get to see for ourselves the season three machinery. Before we look ahead, let’s just take stock of what we saw in the second season of FIA Formula E.
Firstly, who was the best driver of the season? This is an incredibly difficult choice. Until the final race of the season, I would have been tempted to give this to Lucas di Grassi. There’s no doubt the Brazilian was exceptional all season, predominantly in his consistency. In the 21 races in Formula E’s short history, Lucas has never had a pole position, and only one fastest lap. Nevertheless, he’s been in title contention down to the last race in both seasons, and stood on the podium at every event until London – although he disqualified in Mexico, of course. That level of consistent delivery of results and lack of crashes makes the incident in London even more unfathomable.
Sebastien Buemi is of course a worthy champion. After missing out on the Season 1 title by one point, and the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours by one lap, the Swiss driver deserved a bit of luck. He was perhaps unfairly judged in the middle part of the season with his string of qualifying errors, as the team subsequently attributed the mistakes to a build-up of rust on his brakes. In Paris, the team was nowhere near getting the car working in the chilly Parisian spring, costing him more points. A man who appeared to ‘crack’ under pressure would not have been able to deliver as stunning a lap as he managed in the final qualifying of the season in London, with the title on the line. A worthy and impressive champion.
Easily the best race of the season was Buenos Aires in Argentina. The action was aided by Buemi starting from the back, fighting his way through to second position. But Sam Bird put in the drive of the season to hold off the charging Renault driver in a thrilling finale. There was plenty of action in the rest of the order too, and combined with an excellent post-race party it was comfortably my favourite event of the season!
Two overtakes stand out in my mind from Season 2, and both were in Berlin. First was Sebastien Buemi’s move on Jean-Eric Vergne for the lead of the race. Vergne thought he’d closed the door going into the tight double apex left hander, but he hadn’t. In what appeared to be an impossible feat, Buemi squeezed through and disappeared up the road. The other was Robin Frijns coming down into turn one. He lunged up the inside of Loic Duval, locking the rear tyres as he was so late on the brakes. The car snapped to the right, then snapped back to the left as he slid his way past the Dragon driver. Spectacular stuff!
The main talking point of season two was the new technology and new manufacturers. Whereas Season 1 had been a single make series, now the technological drive in Formula E would begin. What astonished me was the developments the teams managed to make with their powertrains over the course of the season. One imagined with all the new parts being homologated at the start of the season, progress would be minimal, but NEXTEV in particular turned a car that qualified last in Beijing to regular top 10 challengers by the end of the season. Abt too managed to claw back the gap to Renault by the end of the year, giving us the dramatic climax in London.
As far as the new venues were concerned, Paris stands out. Mexico was cool, Berlin provided good racing, but racing around Les Invalides in Paris was absolutely out of this world. The weather was horrid, drizzly and cold, but it epitomised everything Formula E tracks should be. New venues are going to be a big talking point in Season 3 too, and let’s hope the likes of Hong Kong and New York City can replicate the stunning location of Paris.
Season 2 was a relief. I was a little concerned the championship wouldn’t be able to live up to the close racing and down-to-the-wire drama of Season 1, but I was very wrong. With a host of new venues and two new teams entering for Season 3, I don’t have any of the same concerns as Formula E continues to grow.