The Long Beach round of the Formula E season marks the end of its US tour.
The maiden all-electric FIA Formula E Championship season is about to head into its final European leg after completing its United States tour. Thanks in part to the presence of a disc jockey playing subdued but constant beats, the ambitious single seater series has often looked like a concert tour. Albeit the message is far more technical and relevant; especially if a round is able to come to Indian shores, like how Mahindra Racing’s Karun Chandhok has been lobbying for it of late.
Away from the neat and tidy urban environs of urban Florida and California – and soon Monaco and London – a Formula E round in pollution stricken streets of a north Indian location would definitely inspire curiosity at the very least.
Piquet races to the top
China Racing’s Nelson Piquet Jr secured his maiden Formula E victory at Long Beach.
The Brazilian driver got a flying start from third on the grid and was able to edge past pole sitter Daniel Abt under braking into the first chicane. From there on, he kept his cool and dodged two safety cars that eradicated his lead to come home in first place.
Meanwhile, Jean Eric Vergne secured his season best finish in second place after an excellent pit stop while championship leader Lucas di Grassi completed the podium for Audi Sport ABT.
Piquet Jr. has managed to cut di Grassi’s championship lead to just one point with four rounds and five races still left. With that much time there is no guarantee yet of either Brazilian pulling away to clinch the title with ease. Especially with e.dams Renault’s pair of Nicolas Prost and Sebastien Buemi still in pursuit.
Buemi - who was stripped off his pole lap after exceeding the maximum energy allowance - finished in fourth place in what was a comparatively disappointing afternoon for e.dams Renault, judging by their high standards. Just to highlight their poor result a bit further, Buemi’s teammate and Miami ePrix winner Prost finished outside the points in 12th, having started from the front row.
Mixed fortunes for Mahindra
In stark contrast, Bruno Senna was one of the drivers of the day with a masterful drive to 5th place. Not for the first time this season, the Brazilian propelled his Mahindra to the forefront of the field, having started well outside the top 10.
Karun Chandhok, meanwhile, could only manage 12th in the sister red and white car. The 31-year-old started the season with a fifth position in Beijing and followed it up with sixth place finish in Putrajaya. However, since then he has failed to feature in the top ten following a mixture of mechanical gremlins and teammate Senna raising his game a bit too, after throwing away an early season podium in Putrajaya.
Jerome D’Ambrosio finished sixth on the road with Antonio Felix da Costa three seconds adrift in seventh, having lost a heap of time during the mandatory pit stop.
Loic Duval brought home two more points for Dragon Racing while Stephane Sarrazin completed the top 10 for Venturi in front of team co-founder and Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.
His teammate Nick Heidfeld was 11th ahead of aforementioned Chandhok, Liuzzi and Prost. Daniel Abt ran in the top three for majority of the race but fell out of contention after a drive through penalty for exceeding the maximum energy allowance.
Charles Pic ran in the back of an innocent Jarno Trulli but was able to continue to cross the line in 16th place and as the last of classified finishers.
Write your Comment