Vergne wins the finale but Di Grassi takes title
Lucas Di Grassi has added a Formula E drivers championship to his trophy case.
The Brazilian for the Abt Audi team cruised through the final race of the season at the HydroQuebec Montreal ePrix on Sunday to keep his lead over Renault rival Sebastien Buemi, who struggling through a nightmare weekend of racing.
Di Grassi overtook his Swiss rival by winning the first leg of the weekend “doubleheader” on Saturday. He came in seventh behind race winner Jean-Eric Vergne in the second race to finish 24 points ahead of Buemi in drivers standings.
“I came here as an underdog, 10 points behind (Buemi) and I had the nerves to stay calm,” said Di Grassi. “I did the job (Saturday) and today I managed to bring it home.
“This was our toughest season. I had to do one race with a broken fibula, and we had luck in races in Hong Kong and Mexico. So I guess this was our year.”
Di Grassi won the inaugural Formula E race in Beijing in 2014 and has contended for the title each year, finishing second to Buemi last season. He caught a break when Buemi was called away for an event in the endurance racing championship and missed two races earlier this month in New York.
And Buemi’s final weekend was a disaster, starting with a crash during practice on Saturday morning. His team got his car repaired just in time for the race, where he finished fourth, but didn’t have time to weigh it. Put on the scale postrace, it came in four kilograms under the 880-kilogram minimum and was disqualified, erasing the 12 points he had earned.
In the second race, he was bumped from the back and ordered to make a pit stop to repair a loose piece on his car, even though it had already fallen off on its own. That ended any hope of challenging, and he finished 11th.
“He’s been in the championship for three years and he did a great job,” Buemi said of Di Grassi. “We missed two races, but that’s not an excuse.”
It all added to the drama of what turned out to be an entertaining weekend of racing.
The first Montreal ePrix took heavy criticism as streets were blocked to set up the 2.75-kilometre track at the eastern end of downtown. But with sunny weather and packed grandstands for both races, fans seemed to enjoy their first look at what many see as the future of motor racing.
The whirring sound of the electric cars and unique rules, including a mandatory mid-race pit stop for the 20 drivers to change into a second, fully-charged car, made for exciting races, even though they lacked the power and roar of Formula One cars at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.
“It’s been a great event,” said Virgin Racing driver Jose Maria Lopez, who finished third. “The track itself was great for racing.
“The organization and everything, the crowd. I really enjoyed coming here.”
Vergne, who raced in F1 with the Toro Rosso squad from 2012-14, picked up the first E-win for himself and the Chinese Techeetah team after he passed Felix Rosenqvist of the India-based Mahindra squad with eight of 37 laps to go. The French driver had finished second three times this season.
“About time, right?” he said. “The win was within reach many times this season but for some reason we couldn’t quite get it.
“This weekend everything went perfectly. It puts us in a different situation for next season.”
Rosenqvist had trouble finding grip, which was draining power from his battery. He opted to let Vergne pass and concentrate on finishing ahead of Virgin’s Sam Bird, who finished fourth. That allowed the Swede to pass Bird for third place in drivers standings.
“Sam was my real enemy in this race,” said Rosenqvist. “The focus was to get third in the championship and that was safe.”
Buemi and teammate Nico Prost gave Renault the constructors title for a third year in a row, despite a trying final weekend.
“We came here with a lot of points in the constructors championship and we thought it would be easy,” said team co-owner and former F1 great Alain Prost. “It’s difficult when things start going wrong.
“But you have to be positive. We could say a lot of things about this season. The New York clash (when Buemi was called away). That’s something we need to avoid for the sport. It’s not acceptable any more.”