Visa Fastest Lap ends up deciding the 2015/16 FIA Formula E Championship

London, UK - Sebastien Buemi is the new FIA Formula E champion after clinching the title courtesy of setting the Visa Fastest Lap during the season-ending Visa London ePrix.

The final race of the 2015/16 season was a controversial affair, brought about by title rivals Buemi and Lucas di Grassi colliding on the opening lap of the race. Buemi made a slow start from pole, and was rear-ended by di Grassi under braking for Turn 3.

The incident took the rear wing off Buemi’s Renault e.dams entry, while there was significant front end damage to the Abt Schaeffler car of di Grassi. Both drivers limped back to the pits so that they could switch to their second car.

With two points on offer for the Visa Fastest Lap and both drivers tied on points, the championship now boiled down to a fight over who could be quickest over a flying lap. Both drivers - and Stephane Sarrazin - were awarded FanBoost, but the rules state that this power boost cannot be used to claim the bonus points.

Waiting for a clear piece of track to emerge, the protagonists bided their time in the pits, waiting for the perfect time to get a clear lap. Di Grassi struck first, but Buemi’s response was emphatic. Di Grassi gave everything in his response, but fell short, leaving the Swiss racer to succeed Nelson Piquet Jr as Formula E champion.

“The most important thing is that we won both championships,” said Buemi. “I’m actually sad you know, to win it in that way, but also to see what Lucas did because I was very respectful of his driving, he’s been amazing. Like he’s said many times, his car is very bad and he is a very good driver, and if he was in my car he’d be at least half a second quicker!

“He’s a great driver, he did 24 hours in Le Mans, he never touched a car. He went between Nico and the wall, and I could tell you there was maybe five centimetres and once he braked, I just saw on the camera, he has two options - either go to the right or nail the back of my car and he nailed it perfectly. But a little bit too strong because we both went out.

“I’m a bit sad to see this because I think that was his only opportunity. In the end we had the quickest car, we were the best team. If we could’ve come out of this corner in front of him, we would’ve been far quicker.”

Alain Prost, Senior Team Manager at Renault e.dams, said: “It was fantastic, we have improved the car a little bit and made it a little bit better for Nico’s style in the last few races. Sebastien was stunning today, we wanted to be on Super Pole for the three points and we got it. We wanted to be champions, we could not expect much more because in these types of races, especially on a track like this, like here in London - it’s tricky, with the weather. You can have a really different situation. It was the target and goal to be champion at the beginning of the year and we did it. It’s not very often that you have a target and you achieve your objective.”

With all the focus on the championship permutations, it was easy to ignore the stunning drive that Nico Prost put in to claim back-to-back wins around Battersea Park. His win ensured that Renault e.dams retained the teams’ championship and secured him third overall in the drivers’ points.

“I think di Grassi wanted to visit London so he went straight, but Seb was in the way! It didn’t end well,” he observed. “The safety cars were the main challenge, but the first car especially was flying so I could pull away quite easily every time. Then it’s just a case of remaining focused and not making a mistake. The team gave me a fantastic car this weekend, they don’t get much better than this to be honest.”

There were three Qualcomm Safety Car periods during a stop-start race, and the drama continued after the flag fell with third-placed man Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Virgin), Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Team Aguri) all being hit with time penalties for exceeding the permitted energy limit.

This promoted Jerome D’Ambrosio of Dragon Racing to third place, his team-mate Loic Duval into fourth and Stephane Sarrazin into fifth for Venturi. Bruno Senna claimed sixth for Mahindra ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld. Vergne’s additional penalty for an unsafe release dropped him to eighth and the two NEXTEV TCR drivers picked up the final points positions.

The weekend was a great success with 42,000 fans piling into Battersea Park over the two races and enjoying a host of eSports action and live music acts, both presented by Visa.

Now the teams turn their attentions to developing their season three packages to ensure they’re ready when the all-electric racing series sparks back into life on October 9 with the HKT Hong Kong ePrix.

Following an appeal from Dragon Racing regarding the Stewards decision relating to two penalties applied to Jean-Eric Vergne, the result of the race remains subject to the findings of the International Court of Appeal.

2016 Visa London ePrix (Rd 10) - Race results

1. Nico Prost, Renault e.dams, 56:32.648s (25)
2. Daniel Abt, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, +7.633s (18)
3. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +22.524s (15)
4. Loic Duval, Dragon Racing, +23.290s (12)
5. Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, +24.984s (10)
6. Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, +27.174s (8)
7. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +1:07.544s (6)
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Virgin Racing, +1:08.002s (4)
9. Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR, +1:14.270s (2)
10. Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR, +1:22.216s (1)
11. Antonio Felix da Costa, Team Aguri, +1:58.324s
12. Ma Qing Hua, Team Aguri, +1 lap
13. Mike Conway, Venturi, +1 lap
14. Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, DNF
15. Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams, DNF (5)
16. Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, DNF
17. Simona de Silvestro, Andretti Formula E, DNF
18. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, DNF

Driver standings

Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams - 155
Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - 153
Nico Prost, Renault e.dams - 115
Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing - 88
Jerome D'Ambrosio, Dragon Racing - 83
Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi - 70

Team standings

Renault e.dams - 270
Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - 221
DS Virgin Racing - 144
Dragon Racing - 143
Mahindra Racing - 105
Venturi - 77
Andretti Formula E - 49
Team Aguri - 32
NEXTEV TCR - 19

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About FIA Formula E Championship:

Formula E is a ground-breaking FIA championship and the world’s first fully-electric racing series. It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry, serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability. The first season began in Beijing in September 2014 and completed in London in June 2015, racing in 10 major cities (11 races) around the world. The championship sees nine teams, each with two drivers, going head-to-head to create a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans. Season two got underway in October in Beijing with the series becoming an ‘open championship’ allowing approved manufacturers to develop new powertrain solutions. Future seasons will see the regulations open up further allowing manufacturers to focus on improving battery technology.

About FIA & Michelin - Today’s partners for tomorrow’s mobility:

As well as being the official Formula E tyre supplier, Michelin is an official partner, at the international level, of the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign. The programme is designed to support the Decade of Action for Road Safety initiated by the UN, the aim of which is to save five million lives over the next 10 years. This programme is set up to educate and advocate for safer roads, vehicles and behaviours around the globe.