Formule E : Putrajaya (Malaysia) – Sébastien Buemi scores e-dams-Renault’s first top-3 finish!

Nicolas Prost set his second pole position on the bounce and Sébastien Buemi was on the third step of the podium just in front of his French team-mate. Thanks to these encouraging results the e-dams-Renault team leaves Malaysia with their batteries fully charged in third position in the teams’ ratings after the second round of the Formula E Championship, which again provided very spectacular on-track action.

The French squad made the best of a meeting, which was even more condensed than the previous one, because of a major weather threat to the Malaysian administrative capital. But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Buemi, in particular, had a technical issue that compromised his qualifying session and he ended up 19th on the grid. On the other hand Prost again proved that he is a remarkable pole position hunter, but unfortunately he was hit with a 10-place penalty after his collision on the last lap of the Peking round two months ago.

The two e-dams Renault drivers had to fight their way up through the field in a hectic race marked by two safety car deployments. Thanks to an excellent strategy and intelligent driving they moved up the time sheets, above all when it really counted – the second part of the race. Buemi, who was all fired up, sliced his way up to third place just behind Lucas Di Grassi and not far behind the winner Sam Bird, while Prost who was held up on the second-last lap saw the flag in fourth place. This double result proves just how competitive the French team is and bodes well for the next round in South America.

Alain Prost (joint owner): “First of all, I’d like to underline the quality of the organisation, which was able to generate a lot of interest on the part of the public and put on a great show. It was a very hard-fought race despite fairly extreme climatic conditions. For us it’s really the start of our season thanks to this result. The cars were very quick, but to win you have to start at the front. This being said bravo to Sébastien Buemi for his remarkable hard-charging, successful race. Bravo too to Nicolas for his superb pole position and his excellent result, which has given the team a large haul of points.”

Jean-Paul Driot (joint owner): “The second event of the season proves that Formula E is an exciting form of motor sport at every level – technology, driving and strategy. Concerning our team I’d like to give my warmest congratulations to Nicolas for his second consecutive pole position and Sébastien for his brilliant comeback. Fighting his way from nineteenth to third is a real exploit! Above all, I’d like to associate the whole technical squad with these congratulations as it has once again proved its know-how and its rapid reaction time.”

Nicolas Prost: “Obviously, I’m over the moon with my second pole position even if I wasn’t able to take advantage of it on the grid. I felt that I’d done a great lap; it was a pleasure. The car was very quick and I’d like to thank the whole team for that. The race was pretty rough with a lot of pushing and shoving in the pack at certain moments. At the finish I was very happy with the result and also with Sébastien’s third place. It’s very important for the team. In Uruguay we’ll try and set a third consecutive pole and score an even better result.”

Sébastien Buemi: “I’m very pleased to give the team its first podium finish. It rewards them for the great job they did today. It wasn’t easy after the problem we had in qualifying and the fact that I had to start from the last row. The race went off well; we didn’t make any mistakes and we were spot on with our strategy. It’s a great boost for everybody to open our score, and it means that we’ll set off for Uruguay full of positive energy.”

Summary Putrajaya

Qualifying. Prost P1 (P11 on the grid), Buemi P19

Race. Prost P4, Buemi P3.

Drivers’ Championship. 1. Di Grassi (Audi-Abt), 43 points ; 2. Bird (Virgin), 40 ; 3. Montagny (Andretti), 18… 4. Prost, 18 ; 7. Buemi, 15.

Teams’ Championship. 1. Abt-Audi, 45 points ; 2. Virgin, 44 ; 3. e-dams-Renault, 33.

Next round: Punta del Este (Uruguay), 13th December 2014