Sebastien Buemi gets title defence kicked off with a win

  • Published on 09 Oct 2016 12:40
  • comments 0
  • By: Dominik Wilde

Sebastien Buemi survived carnage on the streets of Hong Kong to win the first race of the 2016/17 Formula E season.

The reigning champion started from fifth on the grid but made the most of the safety car period and his team's strategy to win the race.

Pole sitter Nelson Piquet dominated the early stages before making light contact with the wall while trying to avoid the stricken DS Virgin entry of Jose Maria Lopez, who had crashed at the chicane which had been controversially altered following practice.

Following Piquet's off it looked as if Sam Bird would take the win. The Brit, in the other DS Virgin car got by Piquet's team mate Oliver Turvay early on and was leading when he pitted to switch car, only for his second car to encounter a problem which saw him drop back a lap.

That handed Buemi a lead he would not relinquish. Behind him, Lucas Digrassi fought back from earlier damage to take second place, with Mahindra's Nick Heidfeld in third - mirroring last season's opening race podium.

Nicolas Prot was fourth, ahead of the Andretti duo of Antonio Felix da Costa and Robin Frijns. Both enjoyed remarkable races to achieve their top six results, but Frijns' finish was all the more impressive considering he spent the second half of the race driving a car hurriedly built in the build up to the race after he suffered a heavy crash in qualifying.

Jerome d'Ambrosio, Oliver Turvay, Maro Engel, and Stephane Sarrazin completed the top 10, with pole man and season one champion Nelson Piquet Jr. just missing out in 11th.

Jaguar made a strategy gamble, in what was their first Formula E race, which saw both Adam Carroll and Mitch Evans run in the top three before pitting. Carroll eventually finished in 12th place while Mitch Evans failed to complete the race.

Other retirements included Daniel Abt, Jean-Eric Vergne, Jose Maria Lopez, and Ma Qing Hua.

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Campos Racing
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country NZ
  • Date of b. Jun 24 1994 (29)
  • Place of b. Auckland, NZ
  • Weight 62 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar