How di Grassi won the 2017 Formula E title in Montreal

Lucas di Grassi became the third Formula E champion at Montreal in 2017. A double header that ended with a disqualification and a first win for Jean-Eric Vergne handed him the title, after a second place in the table was enough to overturn Sebastien Buemi's lead.

Why did Montreal host a Formula E double header?

The event ran as a pair of races on 29 and 30 July 2017, and it happened only once. Mayor Denis Coderre opened talks with FIA president Jean Todt in September 2014 about a race in the city, and planning began in January 2016.

Coderre first favoured a city-centre course over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After flying to Miami to meet Formula E's executive director in March 2015, he said that informal agreements had been reached for racing on Montreal's streets, and a six-year contract was later signed with an option to renew.

Formula One had visited the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve intermittently since 1978, but Montreal was the first place outside the Battersea Park street course in London where the Formula E title had been settled. The city had expected 60,000 people for the two-day event, and 45,000 turned up.

Montreal gave Formula E its title decider outside London, and a disqualified Buemi car handed di Grassi the crown.

What was the Montreal track like?

The track had 14 turns over 2.75 km (1.71 mi), laid out on public streets, with an elevation change that stood out in a championship that mostly raced on flat circuits. Patrick Carpentier, the race ambassador and a former driver, expected the best overtaking to come into the first turn.

Elsewhere, the first pictures of the layout were released on 21 October 2016. Grandstand and paddock construction began on 15 July, two weeks before the first race, and the foundations were completely dismantled ten days after the event ended.

Drivers liked it. Di Grassi said the layout could rank among the finest in the series' history, and Rosenqvist thought it looked fantastic because of its height changes. Local residents were less keen, complaining about access and about the use of public streets and pavements for private purposes.

How did the title fight stand before Montreal?

Buemi led the Drivers' Championship with 157 points, ten ahead of di Grassi, who was a further 43 points clear of third-placed Rosenqvist. Bird was fourth on 100 and Prost fifth on 84, and at most 59 points were left for the final ePrix.

Di Grassi could still take the title by winning both races while Buemi scored little. The teams table was just as close: e.Dams-Renault led on 259 points, Audi Sport ABT were second on 194 and Mahindra on 182.

Buemi had sat out the New York City races to compete for the World Endurance Championship at the Nurburgring. He had also reopened the row over his crash with di Grassi at the London ePrix the year before, which made the Montreal weekend more tense.

How did race one unfold in Montreal?

Di Grassi took pole for race one and led every lap, holding off Sarrazin at the start and Vergne at the end. Race one was not a close fight at the front, and there were no lead changes in the race.

Buemi started eighth after a ten-place demotion for changing his battery, and contact with Frijns in the second corner dropped him to 16th. He climbed back through the field to finish fourth on the road before his later disqualification.

Heidfeld and Duval collided at turn six, and the full course yellow allowed marshals to remove Heidfeld's car, which had damaged front suspension. Buemi and Abt were the first into the pit lane to try a different strategy, and Abt then drove into the back of Buemi's car.

Lopez crashed and the safety car came out on lap 24. It was withdrawn at the end of lap 29, and di Grassi used FanBoost to pull clear of Vergne. Rosenqvist hit the wall later in the race, bending his steering arm, and Buemi took fourth from him.

Why was Buemi disqualified after race one?

Technical stewards found that Buemi's second car was below the minimum weight of 880 kg (1,940 lb) at post-race scrutiny. The team had reportedly added 4 kg (8.8 lb) to allow for any variation in the car, and it chose not to appeal the penalty.

The car had been rebuilt after Buemi's accident in second practice, and there was too little time to have it weighed before the race. Driot, the e.Dams team principal, could not see why the car fell outside the limit, and the team tried to appeal for a weighing of the battery.

What was the row in the pit lane after race one?

Buemi confronted Felix da Costa, accusing him of damaging his steering, and then argued with Frijns over the space he had left. Frijns said his choices had been to hit Buemi's rear wing or to go wide around him. Buemi went on to clash with three drivers in quick succession.

Separately, Buemi also accused Abt of hitting him on purpose and called him dirty as he walked away. Afterwards he called Audi Sport ABT a dirty team in the press, alleging breaches of the rules.

Frijns felt he had taken Buemi before turning in, with only a small touch on the left rear, and he could not see what Buemi was upset about. Ten days later Buemi apologised to his team and to both Andretti drivers on Twitter.

How did qualifying for race two go?

Rosenqvist took his third pole of the season for race two with a lap of 1 minute 22.344 seconds, with Bird on the front row alongside him. Vergne was third, Heidfeld fourth and di Grassi fifth after locking his rear brakes.

Prost was sent back twenty places after changing his battery and inverter following a car bay fire, but he did not take the full penalty. He had to begin in the pit lane, with a ten-second addition to his total.

In practice di Grassi set the fastest time of the third session at 1 minute 21.442 seconds, while Rosenqvist was quickest in the fourth at 1 minute 21.183 seconds. Rosenqvist's car then had a battery problem, and his team rebuilt the powertrain so he could start from his second car.

Bird set the fastest time in the fourth qualifying group at 1 minute 22.012 seconds, but he drifted through turn seven and voiced his disappointment over the radio.

How did race two swing to Vergne?

Rosenqvist led the opening laps, but Vergne was on his tail and took the lead during the mandatory change into second cars. He then passed the slower Rosenqvist later in the race, and he held on for his first Formula E win.

Frijns hit the right-rear corner of Buemi's car at the first corner, which detached his wheel guard and sent it flapping in the wind. Buemi was shown a black flag and pitted to mend the damage, and he rejoined in 19th.

Sarrazin spun after contact with Abt and Piquet at the first turn, and the race had other tangles too. In all, there were four lead changes among three different drivers, and Vergne was the one who made the decisive move.

What did the double header mean for the title?

Di Grassi overturned Buemi's lead and became the third champion in Formula E history, finishing 24 points clear of Buemi. Rosenqvist was third in the championship, five points ahead of Bird, and Vergne held fifth. Bird and Rosenqvist were both mathematically out of the title race by then.

After race one di Grassi had moved into the lead with 175 points, while Buemi fell to second, 18 points behind. Di Grassi then needed only fifth place in race two to take the title, whatever Buemi finished.

Among the teams, e.Dams-Renault secured a third consecutive Teams' Championship, 20 points ahead of Audi Sport ABT. Mahindra finished third and Virgin was a further 25 points behind in fourth, while Techeetah consolidated fifth.

How did the drivers react to the Montreal results?

Di Grassi described the day as the best of his Formula E career, and he thanked his team for the work it had done after a difficult New York City double header. He said the series could swing from triumph to disaster in one lap or one decision, so the job was to keep everyone calm and focused.

Vergne was pleased with the growing strength of his team and with the double podium. He said he had been hit from both sides at the start, which cost him positions, but his car and his strategy let him go faster than the drivers around him.

Sarrazin said he had been slower than the leaders, and he had spotted Buemi closing on him in his mirrors. That was the moment he realised how the title battle was developing behind him.

What went wrong for e.Dams-Renault in practice?

Buemi crashed heavily in the second practice session of race one, speeding into the exit wall of the Bus Stop chicane. He was unhurt, but the car was badly damaged, so he drove his second car in qualifying, and the crash ended the session five minutes early.

e.Dams-Renault mechanics then spent five hours building a new car around a spare monocoque. The effort did not end the team's problems, because the battery change that followed cost Buemi ten grid places.

Other drivers had trouble too. Abt broke his left-front rim against a barrier, di Grassi and Adam Carroll skidded on the dusty surface and slid onto the run-off areas, and Sarrazin stopped at the pit lane exit before restarting without outside help.

Why did di Grassi's pit strategy fail in race two?

Di Grassi stayed out for one extra lap, along with Vergne, Lopez and his teammate Abt, to run clear of the aerodynamic turbulence from the cars ahead. His pit stop then lasted two seconds longer than the agreed minimum, and he emerged in tenth place behind Abt.

Piquet duelled with di Grassi for tenth, and di Grassi held the place. Abt later ceded ninth to his teammate. Prost led the field for one lap before making his own stop, and after the stops Rosenqvist was five seconds ahead of Vergne.

Both Audi drivers struggled to make progress through the field after the pit window. Their strategy had cost them the places they had planned to win, which made the second race a harder day than the first.

What were the practice incidents in race two?

Duval was investigated after colliding with Piquet's car when he overtook him on the inside heading into the first corner. During practice Abt clipped Prost at the first turn, which wrecked Prost's front wing and gave Abt a punctured right-rear tyre.

Evans narrowly avoided the turn two barrier after locking his tyres, and Piquet spun into the barrier at turn eleven, damaging his front wing. Each incident brought out a yellow flag, and the session was disrupted several times.

Montreal 2017 race winners