Sébastien Buemi and e.dams-Renault scoop the jackpot!

What better place to win than Monaco? a motor racing legend and the circuit hosting the first round of the European leg of the Formula E Championship. Sébastien Buemi and e.dams-Renault have gone down in history as they emerged victorious in the very first race for electric cars in the Principality after starting from a superb pole position. Like Nicolas Prost, who drove a solid race, despite energy glitches and clinched the points that went with six place, the French team has opened up a big gap in the teams’ championship with its nearest pursuer 45 points in arrears!

This weekend the sun shone on the Côte d’Azur, its warm rays enveloping the teams, drivers and the 20 000 spectators, who packed the grandstands between the Swimming Pool and the Rascasse. After positive free practice sessions the team achieved pole position in qualifying thanks to Buemi, a crucial result on the twisty Monegasque layout. Prost was a bit disappointed with his session, but nonetheless he started the race on the third row of the grid. Apart from chaos at Sainte-Dévote on the first lap, which brought out the safety car, the race went off like a dream for DAMS who dominated. The only time Buemi came under attack from Di Grassi, whom he fended off, was after the change of cars. He led the race from start to finish and snatched third place in the drivers’ classification from his team-mate, Prost. It looks like there will be a completely indecisive four-cornered battle for the Formula E title that will last till the end of the championship.

Sébastien Buemi: “Obviously I’m over the moon at triumphing in the first Monaco e-Prix. It’s been a dream day that began with pole position. We’re the first team to win a race from pole and also the first to win two rounds of the championship. A big thanks to all the guys in the team as once again they were quite simply fantastic! We’ll see what we can do in Berlin; we know that if we don’t make any mistakes we can win almost everywhere.”

Nicolas Prost: “I didn’t have a great qualifying session and I knew that it was going to be a tough race from sixth place on the grid. The start was a bit hectic but overall the race went off well. My problem came from the fact that I was using too much energy on the first run, and I wasn’t able to compensate on the second. The important thing was to score points. I did so and I’m still in contention in the drivers’ title chase. Rendezvous in Berlin. ”

Alain Prost (co-owner): “Victory was our main objective for many reasons: for the championship, for the prestige and also because it was the first round in Europe, among others. The whole team did a remarkable job and they reaped the reward they deserved. Now, over and above the pleasure and the pride for us and for Renault, we have to keep our feet on the ground because nobody has pulled out a really decisive advantage over the others. There’ll be a no-holds-barred battle for the drivers’ title between the four who’ve pulled away, including Nicolas and Sébastien.”

Jean-Paul Driot (co-owner): “Winning in Monaco is always an immense pleasure. It was very important to win this race as much for Renault as for us as we’re not far from France, and also because we didn’t make a great start to this inaugural electric championship. This result has also helped us to consolidate our positions in the teams’ and drivers’ championships. But we have to keep up this momentum till the end!”
Monaco summary

Qualifying. Buemi P1, Prost P7 (P6 on the grid),

Race. Buemi P1, Prost P6.

Drivers’ Championship. 1. Di Grassi (Audi-Abt), 93 points ; 2. Piquet (China Racing), 89 ; 3. Buemi, 83 points ; 4. Prost, 77.

Teams’ Championship. 1. e.dams-Renault, 160 points ; 2. Abt-Audi, 115 ; 3. Virgin, 94.

Next round: Berlin (Germany), 23rd May.