Felix Rosenqvist snatched the championship lead after taking his second consecutive Formula E win. Sebastian Buemi clinched in second placed, with Sam Bird rounding off the podium.
Felix Rosenqvist took to the top step of the podium for the third time in his Formula E career. He passed pole sitter, Sebastian Buemi, to take the lead with only five laps remaining.
It was on lap 16 that Rosenqvist began making his way up the grid, passing Sam Bird who was suffering from a gear box issue that made him loose time throughout the last half of the race.
A race win looked unlikely after a long pit stop, under full course yellows, put Rosenqvist almost two seconds behind race leader. However, Rosenqvist stamped down some fast laps and was able to conserve energy more effectively than his rival.
These fast laps continued once Rosenqvist was in the lead, allowing him to take the chequered flag almost one second ahead of Buemi.
Bird wasn’t the only front runner to report a reoccurring issue. After the race, Buemi complained of a minor issue that cost him time in the latter stages of the race.
Behind the podium finishers was Nelson Piquet Jr. in fourth, who also clinched the bonus point for fastest lap of the race. Jean Eric Vergne finished in fifth, after making an impressive climb up through the grid from 13th, avoiding the numerous midfield scuffles.
Nick Heidfeld, managed to finish in 7th place, despite colliding with both Edoardo Mortara and Maro Engel in the closing stages of the race. Engle faced a post-race time penalty for the incident but still managed to take 13th place.
Andre Lotterer’s bad luck seemed to pick up where we left off in Hong Kong, with a lock-up leaving him stationary on the side of the track after 14 laps.
Last years world champion, Lucas di Grassi is still without a single championship point after stopping out on track with a recurring system failure that also plagued him in qualifying. His team mate also had a trying day, as he was penalised with a drive through penalty for a spin with Alex Lynn. He eventually finished the race in 11th.
However, some drivers faced issues before the race had even began, with both Oliver Turvey and Jerome d’Ambrosio being pushed off the grid before the race had even begun. While d’Ambrosio managed to salvage 15th place, Turvey failed to finish after the initial issue forced him to start the race in his second car.
The grid will be back in action in Santiago on the 3rd of February. Can Rosenqvist extend his championship lead? Can Lucas di Grassi begin to secure the results we all expect from him? Overtake Motorsport will have the full race report to answer these questions for you.
Feature Image Credit: “Rosenqvist Victorious in 2018 ABB FIA Formula E Marrakesh e-Prix“
