Formula E Punta Del Este: Buemi wins, no points for Mahindra

Sebastien Buemi won his second Formula E race of the season in Punta Del Este on Saturday, having charged his way from fifth on the grid in the first stint.

Buemi, who locked pole positions during the first two rounds, made a critical mistake in qualifying, ending up as the slowest finisher among the super pole entrants.

However, he made amendments for the error quickly, passing erstwhile championship leader Lucas di Grassi on the start before reeling in Sam Bird and the front-row starting Dragon duo of Jerome D’Ambrosio and Loic Duval to take the race lead.

A brief virtual safety car period, caused by Sam Bird’s Virgin car which came to a halt on track, did give his rivals a chance to catch him. But Buemi managed to pull through, winning the race by a comfortable margin of 3.534 seconds. Following the result, he returns to the top of the drivers standings.

Di Grassi enjoyed another competitive outing in the South American country, passing Bird and Duval on track and overtaking D’Ambrosio during the mandatory pit stop to take second.

With Bird retiring, D’Ambrosio and Duval finished third and fourth for Dragon racing. The team would be hoping to improve its pit stop procedure in time for the next race in Buenos Aires, after making yet more slow stops in Punta Del Este.

Behind the top four runners, Nicolas Prost finished a distant fifth, unable to keep up to pace with his race winning Renault e.Dams teammate.

Meanwhile, Antonio Felix da Costa was sixth for Team Aguri ahead of Jean Eric Vergne who had an adventurous final lap en route to seventh. The Frenchman made a last gasp attempt over defending champion Nelson Piquet Jr, only to run wide and make mild contact with the Brazilian.

A few corners later, Piquet sharply hit the wall, allowing Vergne to navigate pass and also overtake Daniel Abt, who limped home with limited electrical power.

Behind, Stephane Sarrazin collected ninth place for Venturi, but ahead of Andretti pairing of Robin Frijns and Simona de Silvestro.

Woeful day for Mahindra

After a strong start to the season that included a podium finish in Beijing, Mahindra endured a troubled day in Punta Del Este, with neither of the drivers scoring points.

Bruno Senna encountered a puncture on his opening lap and later hit the wall, finishing dead last among the classified finishers. Nick Heidfeld’s replacement Oliver Rowland made an uninspiring debut, finishing in 13th place, having started from the last row of the grid.