The French team’s successful series continues. In the wake of Sébastien Buemi’s victory in Urugua, Nicolas Prost clinched second place in his blue and yellow Formula E in Argentina in another very exciting race. Buemi, who set pole, had to retire when he was in the lead, but he is still in third place in the drivers’ championship closely followed by his team-mate. e.dams Renault leads the teams’ title chase and has opened up a small gap over its pursuers.
Summer reigned in Buenos Aires today Saturday with the sun blazing down a challenging circuit with some quick corners and a few traps. Buemi confirmed his scintillating form in free practice as he was quickest in both sessions. Prost, on the other hand, was hindered by brake problems. The situation repeated itself in qualifying as Buemi set pole despite the disadvantage of being in the first group. Behind, the Frenchman limited the damage by setting the seventh-fastest time on the grid.
The Swiss made a great start from pole, took the lead and held onto first place after a fairly uneventful opening part of the race until the safety car was deployed just when it was time to change cars. It was all over. Luckily, Prost made the most of the situation in the closing laps. He kept up a searing pace and managed to avoid all the traps set by a succession of collisions that would not have been out of place in a Fast and Furious movie! He was seventh for a long time and snatched second place almost at the flag scoring his first top-3 finish of the season.
Alain Prost (co-owner): “I have to admit that pole position doesn’t bring us much luck! This being said it’s been a very positive weekend. The team’s very strong and we’ve got a good momentum going. We’re all delighted with Nicolas’s first podium finish; it’s a boost for him after the start to the season he’s had. He’s proved that above all you have to avoid the pitfalls and finish the races in this unpredictable championship. It’s a great pity for Sébastien that he had to retire, especially as he was very quick, but that doesn’t affect the guys in the squad. We’ll be ready to defend our place as leader of the teams’ championship in Miami.”
Sébastien Buemi: “I’m really shattered and disappointed for the team. We had a great opportunity to score a huge haul of points after the pole position and we could have opened up a gap over our rivals. The race was going pretty well until that off. Too bad! Bravo to Nicolas who drove a really good race and he fully deserves his podium. Rendezvous in Miami for revenge! .”
Nicolas Prost: “Of course, I’m very happy to dedicate my first podium finish to the team. Paradoxically, Buenos Aires was the circuit on which I felt the least at home since the start of the championship. I had a number of problems, in particular with my braking. But today I had to finish the race and I managed to do so by being aggressive at the right moment and using my intelligence in a fairly crazy final. 2015 has got off to a good start and I hope it’ll continue in the same fashion”
Summary Buenos Aires
Qualifying. Buemi P1, Prost P7,
Race. Prost P2, Buemi retired.
Drivers’ Championship. 1. Di Grassi (Audi-Abt), 58 points ; 2. Bird (Virgin), 48 ; 3. Buemi, 43 ; 4. Prost, 42.
Teams’ championship. 1. e.dams Renault, 85 points ; 2. Virgin, 74 ; 3. Abt-Audi, 62.
Next round: Miami (United States), 14th March