Lucas di Grassi took the Drivers' Championship lead on a tight street circuit, while Long Beach hosted the final round of its Formula E history.
Lucas di Grassi took victory at the 2016 Long Beach ePrix, starting second and crossing the line first. Stephane Sarrazin of Venturi was second and Daniel Abt third. The Formula E round took place on 2 April 2016 as the sixth of the 2015-16 season.
The 2016 Long Beach ePrix was a Formula E race held on 2 April 2016 on the seven-turn Long Beach Street Circuit in California, in front of 17,000 spectators. Lucas di Grassi won for Audi Sport ABT from second on the grid, and the result moved him to the top of the championship. This was round six of the 2015-16 campaign and the last time the series raced at Long Beach.
Who won the 2016 Long Beach ePrix?
Lucas di Grassi won the 41-lap race for Audi Sport ABT, taking his second victory of the season and third of his career. Stephane Sarrazin finished second for Venturi, while Daniel Abt, his Audi teammate, took third. The result lifted di Grassi to 101 points at the top of the Drivers' Championship.
Di Grassi had started behind Sam Bird, who took pole after Antonio Felix da Costa of Team Aguri lost all of his qualifying times when his tyre pressure was found to be out of specification. Di Grassi had arrived in California after losing his Mexico City victory to a disqualification over an underweight car, so Long Beach was a chance to answer that setback. His stated goal had been a podium or the win, and Abt had said beforehand that he hoped to reach super pole and fight for a podium. Di Grassi also said six races and a good 150 points remained, and that his ambition was unbroken.
The start was dry and clear, with air temperatures between 24.1 and 24.7 C (75.4 and 76.5 F). Formula E's Fan Boost, an extra 100 kW (130 hp) in the second car, went to di Grassi, d'Ambrosio and Heidfeld after a fan vote. Both got away cleanly, and Bird took the first corner ahead.
A late-season win for di Grassi, a pole lost to a tyre check and a final race at Long Beach for Formula E.
How did the race unfold?
Bird led the early laps and managed his energy carefully, holding a half-second advantage over di Grassi. On the twelfth lap di Grassi slipped through on the inside at turn five and took first place, catching the Virgin driver off guard.
Lap twelve was eventful further back as well. Buemi misjudged his braking into turn seven and ran into the rear of Frijns. The impact removed Frijns' rear wing, sent Buemi into the air and cost him part of his front wing.
Marshals showed the black flag with an orange disc to both drivers on lap 15, and each had to repair his car in the pits. Both switched to second cars, but the stewards later decided Buemi had caused the accident and gave him a drive-through penalty.
The mandatory stops began at the end of the twentieth lap, and most of the field pitted on the next lap. Prost was handed a drive-through when his pit stop came in a tenth of a second short of the 67-second limit, which dropped him from fourth to fourteenth. Di Grassi kept the lead through the stops, with Bird and Sarrazin close behind.
On his out-lap on lap 23, Bird locked cold brakes into turn five and touched the exit tyre barrier. He rejoined behind Senna in seventh with bodywork damage, and his hopes of winning were over. Duran took a drive-through for using more than 170 kW (230 hp) of electrical energy in his first car.
On the thirty-fourth lap Piquet, who was chasing the fastest lap, ran too fast into the chicane and launched over the kerbs before hitting a barrier at the pit lane exit. His front wing folded under the car, and the safety car came out on lap 35 to recover it. Di Grassi's four-second lead disappeared, and Felix da Costa retired with a broken suspension wishbone.
Racing resumed after lap 38 with di Grassi ahead of Sarrazin and Abt. Sarrazin had less usable energy than di Grassi, and when he locked his rear brakes at turn seven, Abt pressed him for second. Di Grassi crossed the line first after 41 laps, and Sarrazin took his first career podium.
The race had three lead changes between three different drivers, and di Grassi led on two occasions and spent 29 laps in front, more than anyone else.
Behind the podium, Heidfeld failed to get past Abt, finishing fourth. Senna took fifth for Mahindra, and Bird finished sixth as the higher-placed Virgin. Dragon's d'Ambrosio and Duval completed the top eight in seventh and eighth.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT | Started second; led 29 laps in total |
| Second | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | First career podium |
| Third | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT | Teammate of the winner |
| Fourth | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra | Could not pass Abt |
| Fifth | Bruno Senna | Mahindra | Held off Bird |
| Sixth | Sam Bird | Virgin | Started from pole, then lost his place |
| Seventh | Jerome d'Ambrosio | Dragon | Teammate of Duval |
| Eighth | Loic Duval | Dragon | Fastest in the Friday shakedown |
| Ninth | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti | Series' first female points scorer |
| Tenth | Mike Conway | Venturi | Final driver in the top ten |
Why did pole position change hands?
Antonio Felix da Costa set the fastest qualifying time, but all of his lap times were deleted after scrutineers found tyre pressure sat 0.05 bar (5.0 kPa) under the allowed figure. That left Sam Bird on pole, ahead of di Grassi and Sarrazin. Bird's pole came from a penalty rather than a straight fight for the top spot.
Nelson Piquet Jr. also lost ground before the race. He was sent ten places back on the grid after changing his electric motor, the second such change he had made that season. Officials also ordered an extra ten seconds added to his pit stop.
Bird made an error at turn one on the pole lap but used the kerbs to recover, while di Grassi had oversteer that held him to third on the grid. Sarrazin lacked grip and drifted wide, and Heidfeld locked his rear brakes and glanced the barrier at turn seven.
What happened in practice and qualifying?
Two practice sessions took place on Saturday morning, the first lasting 45 minutes and the second 30 minutes. Buemi was quickest in the first session, while Abt set the fastest time of the second session, 56.778 seconds, with seven minutes left on the clock.
The first session ran in misty weather at 59 F (15 C). Buemi's 57.383 seconds set the benchmark, and Bird finished 0.432 seconds adrift, in second. Before practice began, Duval had led the Friday shakedown in 1 minute, 8.016 seconds.
Drivers set their practice times using 200 kW (270 hp). Prost and Senna both locked their rear brakes and struck the wall in the first session, while Duran, Vergne and Frijns ran onto the escape road at turn one in the second. Organisers had adjusted the turn one chicane overnight after drivers raised concerns about its tightness.
Qualifying lasted 60 minutes, with drivers split into groups by lottery and allowed six minutes on track each. The fastest five went into Super Pole, which ran in reverse order from fifth to first. Bird set the best time in the first group at 56.821 seconds, while Felix da Costa headed the fourth group.
How did the result change the championship?
Di Grassi moved to the top of the Drivers' Championship on 101 points. Buemi scored nothing at Long Beach and dropped to second, one point behind, while Bird held third on 71 points. Sarrazin's second place lifted him to fifth on 48 points.
Before the race Buemi had led on 98 points, with di Grassi on 76, Bird on 60, d'Ambrosio on 58 and Duval on 44. Di Grassi's win was the result that changed the top of the table.
In the Teams' Championship, e.Dams-Renault stayed top on 138 points, and Audi Sport ABT climbed to second, cutting the gap to six points. Dragon dropped to third on 112 points, while Virgin, on 77 points, stayed ahead of Mahindra on 61 with four rounds still to run. Before the weekend e.Dams had led on 136 points, with Dragon on 102 and Virgin on 66.
What did the drivers say afterwards?
Di Grassi said that steady focus and sustained effort had finally paid off. He described the car as extremely difficult to drive at the limit, which meant the team had no comfort until the flag. Sarrazin called the result a great relief after many near misses and said both of his cars had shown strong pace, while Abt said the result was important for the whole team.
Felix da Costa was bitter about losing a clean race after his times were deleted. He said the team was going through a big transition, and that the tyre pressure had dropped because the car had been pushed to the limit. Bird accepted responsibility for the tyre-wall error that cost him a podium, and called it fortunate to finish at all. He said it was a shame his team had not capitalised at a circuit they were good at.
De Silvestro said the result was a step forward, since her previous best had been eleventh. Scoring in front of a crowd felt special, because most of her racing had taken place in the United States.
Why did the Long Beach round matter?
The race was the second edition of the event and the final Long Beach ePrix. The calendar lost the round in July 2016 when the organisers and the series could not agree a financial deal to continue.
Construction of the circuit began on 16 February, well before the race. The Long Beach City Council adopted a resolution in March 2016 to close pathways that lined the track. Nine squads entered two drivers each, which made 18 starters in total.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council had confirmed the round in July 2015, making it the sixth of ten scheduled races that season.
The track itself was a seven-turn clockwise street circuit measuring 2.131 km (1.324 mi), and it ran through the streets of the city rather than a purpose-built complex.
