Felix Rosenqvist led Lucas Di Grassi across the line to take his and Mahindra’s first Formula E win. The pair were joined on the podium by Nick Heidfeld, awarding Mahindra their first double podium.
A quick start from the second row of the grid promoted Rosenqvist to second, with Heidfeld just behind him. Whilst Heidfeld struggled in the opening stint, Rosenqvist was able to stick to Di Grassi’s tail. The rookie took advantage of a mistake from Di Grassi, snatching the lead of the race just before the mid race pit stops.
Di Grassi tried to fight back in the second stint, but found himself under pressure from Heidfeld, more comfortable in his second car. The German closed in on Di Grassi, cutting the lead to less than two seconds. Di Grassi used Fanboost to stay out of Heidfeld’s reach, and finished just ahead of the Mahindra driver.
On the other side of the championship battle, Sebastien Buemi was fighting up from 14th on the grid. Buemi picked off drivers one by one, quickly moving into the points. Just before the mid race pit stop, Buemi found himself behind team mate Nico Prost.
The pair dived into the pits before Prost could allow Buemi past, and other drivers’ struggles splut the pair. Prost gained two positions in the car swap as Daniel Abt and Sam Bird both dropped down the order.
Buemi was stuck behind Abt, who was expected to provide a fight to help Di Grassi. But the Renault e.dams driver easily found a way past and set about challenging Bird. He squeezed past Bird with a late lunge up the inside, and was once again sat behind his team mate.
Prost had been stuck behind Jean-Eric Vergne for the majority of the race. He attempted one last move past the Techeetah driver as Buemi closed in behind him, but still couldn’t find a way past. He then handed the position to Buemi.
Buemi also couldn’t find a way past Vergne, no matter how close to the back of the Techeetah the championship leader got. Vergne was later handed a 5 second penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane, dropping him behind both Renault e.dams drivers and the small train that had formed behind him. He finished ninth.
Buemi crossed the line fifth, behind Jose Maria Lopez. Prost, Abt, and Bird followed him across the line.
Maro Engel completed the top ten.
Jaguar’s Mitch Evans took the fastest lap of the race. A mechanical problem at the start of the race forced him to pit after only a lap. The team couldn’t quickly resolve the issue and turned their attention to the fastest lap and the single point awarded for it. He took the prize with a time of 1:10.224.
Feature and Buemi image credit: FIA Formula E Media
