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Three drivers have a mathematical chance of succeeding Nelson Piquet Jr as the FIA Formula E Champion this week, here’s how their season played out.
Round 1 – China
Sebastien Buemi made history in Beijing by becoming the first driver in Formula E’s short history to attain a perfect score. After taking pole position by almost 0.3s over team-mate Nico Prost (and over a second faster than the nearest non-Renault e.dams entry), Buemi made a great start and strolled away to a comfortable lead, setting the fastest lap in the process to ensure he scored a maximum of 30 points.
A mid-race Full Course Yellow stopped him from fully demonstrating the potential of his team’s new powertrain package, but the dominance of his and the team’s performance had fired a warning shot to their rivals that the bar had been well-and-truly raised.
Lucas di Grassi started from fourth on the grid in his Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport car, but gained a position when Prost made a mistake and took to the escape road. He gained a further spot when the Mahindra team gave Nick Heidfeld an over-long pit stop, which dropped the German to fourth.
Di Grassi came under a bit of pressure from Prost, once he had worked his way past Heidfeld, but a broken rear wing meant the Frenchman was forced to pit for repairs. This left di Grassi in a safe, but distant second.
Sam Bird had a difficult qualifying in the DS Virgin and just cracked the top 10 in ninth. He drove a charging opening stint until a small mistake under braking sent him down an escape road and back to 11th place.
He once again fought his way up the order, overtaking team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne in the process. The timing of the full course yellow cost him at least one place, but he opened his season two account with seventh.
Round 2 – Malaysia
It was hot, really hot – and uncomfortably humid – as the series moved to Putrajaya in Malaysia for round two. With the cars still basically brand new, the heat took its toll on the machinery and created one of the most topsy-turvey and unpredictable races in Formula E so far.
Buemi was on pole once again, this time by almost four-tenths from the Venturi of Stephane Sarrazin. But the Frenchman was in trouble before the race even started, and with his car refusing to start he was pushed into the pits. This left Buemi free to hold the lead into the first corner, and for the opening 14 laps it appeared as if this would be a repeat of Beijing.
Then, suddenly, Buemi ground a halt. After a system reset the car started going again, and headed straight for the pits. First place had become last. This left Loic Duval in the lead from Antonio Felix da Costa and di Grassi.
A slow pitstop dropped Duval to third, and when da Costa’s car also stopped on track di Grassi took the lead, which he held to the flag for his first win of the season. In an amazing final few laps, both Dragon cars succumbed to suspension failure while on course for a podium – Duval’s incident also causing Robin Frijns to hit the wall – while Prost nerfed his car gently into the barriers. All of this promoted Sam Bird into an unlikely second place, from 14th on the grid!
Round 3 – Uruguay
Having set the pace in the qualifying group, Buemi was the odds-on favourite for a third straight pole as the series hit the beach in Punta del Este. But a crucial mistake in Super Pole left him back in fifth – with di Grassi and Bird among the four drivers starting ahead of him.
Di Grassi was dispatched off the line and the remaining three fell within seven laps as Buemi charged his way to the front for his second win of the season. Di Grassi battled his way past Bird, while the Dragon team-mates were passed during the pit stop.
Bird also passed Duval in the pits, but lost the place again almost immediately as his car developed a technical fault. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get it to restart, and his race was run.
Round 4 – Argentina
A mistake on his qualifying hot lap cost Buemi dear and meant he lined up 18th and last for the Buenos Aires race. This left the door open for his rivals to take advantage, and it was Bird who came to the fore, grabbing a stunning pole position.
With the fastest car and driver combo so far out of position, the stage was set for an epic race and it delivered with arguably the best Formula E race so far. By the end of lap one Buemi was already up to 15th, and he continued to pass a car a lap and he raced his way into the points.
Superb pitwork moved him into fourth and great passes on Sarrazin and di Grassi made the seemingly impossible win a possibility. But Bird had driven a brilliant race out in front and he repelled all of Buemi advances to hold on for his first win of the season.
Di Grassi had started in seventh, but raced hard to get into second place. He pushed just a fraction too hard when the mid-race yellow flag period ended, which gave Buemi the opportunity he needed to make a move, but third place kept up his amazing record of finishing on the podium at every race.
Round 5 – Mexico
There was a huge sting in the tail of the race in Mexico City as on-track winner di Grassi was disqualified for one of his cars being underweight. Di Grassi had driven a great race, making a crucial pass on Prost just before the stops and picking off D’Ambrosio for the lead just after.
The Brazilian’s disqualification moved Buemi into second place. After yet another mistake in the Super Pole section of qualifying, he started back in fifth with probably the fastest car on track. After relieving Daniel Abt of fourth with a great around-the-outside pass, he was promoted to third after gaining a place on his team-mate Prost in the pits.
From there to the end he was involved in a frantic battle with D’Ambrosio, during which they bumped and banged and fought as hard as they could within the rules, with D’Ambrosio ultimately holding on.
Bird started back in 10th on a track that really didn’t suit the DS Virgin. He fought hard – especially with Frijns, to come home eighth, which became seventh when di Grassi’s penalty was applied.
Round 6 – USA
Di Grassi bounced back in sensational fashion in Long Beach, taking a brilliant win by a comfortable margin. Bird did a sensational job in qualifying to deny di Grassi a first Formula E pole by just 0.009s, and it was the Brit who led the way in the early stages.
Di Grassi bided his time, sized Bird up and made the critical pass for the lead on lap 12. He didn’t instantly pull away, and Bird remained a threat up until the pitstops. However, on his out-lap he was caught out by cold brakes and had to take to an escape road. He soon recovered, but had dropped to seventh.
After an overly cautious qualifying run left him seventh on the grid, Buemi took advantage of an error by Heidfeld to move into sixth. Fifth place followed with a great pass on Abt into the hairpin, but an ill-judged lunge on Frijns left Buemi with substantial damage – and a drive-through penalty for causing a collision. This dropped him out of the top 10, and left him with just the consolation of two bonus point for fastest lap.
Round 7 – France
Di Grassi was one again denied pole by Bird as the series moved to Paris, while Buemi struggled to get heat into his tyres and was back in eighth. Di Grassi made a superb start to leap into the lead almost instantly, and he held station at the front from there until the end of the race for his third win of the season.
Bird was also jumped by DS Racing team-mate Vergne, and the pair had a great tussle as they fought tooth and nail for the place. Another small error on the brakes once again sent Bird down the escape road, which dropped him back to sixth.
On a track where overtaking was difficult, Buemi patiently worked his way up the order, pulling off strong moves on da Costa, NEXTEV’s Oliver Turvey and Sarrazin. Prost didn’t offer too much resistance, and Bird’s mistake took him onto the podium. He was lining up Vergne for second when Team Aguri’s Ma Qing Hua crashed and the race ended under the safety car.
Round 8 – Berlin
Vergne beat Buemi to pole, and the pair staged an entertaining duel for the lead in the early stages. But once Buemi was ahead for the second time, he quickly established a comfortable lead and brought it home for his third win of the season.
Di Grassi had the misfortune of being in the first, and slowest, qualifying group, and despite being satisfied with his lap, he was left eighth on the grid. The NEXTEV cars of Nelson Piquet Jr and Turvey were cleared on the opening lap.
Bird was effectively taken out of contention from fourth place when he was shown the black and orange flag for a loose front wing fairing, while Vergne took himself out of third when he clattered the chicane and destroyed his front wing.
A pass on Prost moved di Grassi into third and ensured that he heads into the finale at Battersea with a single point lead over Buemi. Bird’s failure to score in Berlin means he retains only a mathematical chance, needing both his rivals to fail to score, while enjoying two perfect races. It’s not impossible, just highly unlikely.