Sebastien Buemi won from pole in front of 46,000 spectators, holding off Jose Maria Lopez while a crash and a safety car reshuffled the field behind him.
From pole, Sebastien Buemi of e.Dams-Renault took the 2017 Paris ePrix on 20 May 2017. Jose Maria Lopez of Virgin was second and Nick Heidfeld of Mahindra third. The 49-lap race was run at the Circuit des Invalides in front of 46,000 spectators.
The 2017 Paris ePrix ran on 20 May 2017 around the Circuit des Invalides, within the Les Invalides complex, and drew 46,000 spectators. It was the sixth round of the 2016-17 Championship and the second Paris race. Sebastien Buemi won the 49-lap event from pole, holding off Jean-Eric Vergne at the start and Jose Maria Lopez at the restart.
Who won the 2017 Paris ePrix?
Sebastien Buemi won the 2017 Paris ePrix for e.Dams-Renault from pole, and the race finished behind the safety car. Jose Maria Lopez of Virgin took second, 0.707 seconds behind, and Nick Heidfeld of Mahindra finished third. The win was the fifth of the season for Buemi and his first in the French capital.
Buemi had won the Monaco ePrix one week earlier and arrived in Paris with more motivation for another podium. Before the race he led the Drivers' Championship on 104 points, 15 clear of di Grassi and a further 43 ahead of Prost in third. Heidfeld had hoped for another podium to keep Mahindra third in the Teams' table.
Buemi's victory was his eleventh in the series, and he later said that he had used more energy than he expected and had lost time under the full course yellows. He credited the e.Dams-Renault team, which had repaired his powertrain at its technical headquarters in Viry-Chatillon, with making the win possible.
A pole-sitter who rode out a crash, a safety car and a late restart to win the Paris round for the first time.
Why was the Paris race moved to May?
The 2017 race was staged in May, while the 2016 event had been held in April. Organisers moved it to give teams and drivers better weather. At 1.93 km (1.20 mi) the lap is short, with 14 turns running clockwise through the Les Invalides complex. Vergne called the track bumpy, narrow and difficult to drive before the event.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council put the race on the 2016-17 calendar in September 2016. It was round six of twelve planned single-seater races that season, and the second Paris round.
Two driver changes were made for the event. Loic Duval and Maro Engel could not race because of a DTM commitment at the Lausitzring, so Mike Conway and Tom Dillmann took their seats. Conway had tested for Dragon at Donington Park in the first season, and Dillmann had driven in the Mexico City shakedown. He had completed only a 50km test before the race. Ten squads entered, with two drivers each.
How did qualifying decide pole?
Buemi took pole by 0.006 seconds from Jean-Eric Vergne, the closest margin in Formula E history. His time of 1 minute, 2.319 seconds was his second pole in a row and the eighth of his career. Turvey dropped ten places on the grid after his team changed a powertrain component.
Qualifying took place in dry weather, split into four groups of five cars. Lap times were slower than the previous year because of subtle changes to the track surface and new tyres from Michelin.
In the first group nobody wanted to be the first to set a benchmark, and the drivers stayed in their garages for the opening three minutes. Buemi eventually produced the quickest group time, 1 minute, 2.171 seconds, with Rosenqvist and di Grassi close behind. Vergne was second-fastest in the third group, with Turvey 0.110 seconds slower.
In Super Pole, Gutierrez posted quick laps, then locked up and ran deep into the turn eight escape road, which limited him to fifth. Lopez took third, but he was investigated for using too much energy on his out-lap. No penalty followed, but the episode damaged his car's battery and the battery had to be changed before the race.
Sarrazin's powertrain cut out on his minimum-power lap, and after a restart he lined up at the back because of it. Heidfeld, who had been fastest in the fourth group, narrowly missed Super Pole, and Frijns was also less than a tenth away.
How did the race unfold?
Buemi kept the lead at the start and had a one-second advantage over Vergne after three laps. A crash between di Grassi and Felix da Costa on lap 20 brought out a full course yellow, and every driver switched to a second car. Vergne retired on lap 34, and racing resumed on lap 38 before the race finished behind the safety car.
Conditions were dry and sunny, with air between 17.9 and 19.0 C (64 and 66 F) and the surface between 32.2 and 34.4 C (90 and 94 F). The forecast had flagged a slim chance of rain, put at 10 per cent. Fan Boost went to Buemi, di Grassi and Abt after the fan vote.
Abt got the best getaway and moved up four places by the close of lap one, while Turvey and di Grassi each lost the same number of places over that stretch. After lap one, Buemi was ahead of Vergne, Lopez, Heidfeld and Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was slower than the cars around him, and Rosenqvist went past him for fifth on lap seven. He then led a six-car battle for sixth, using the tight nature of the track to keep his place for a while.
Felix da Costa had been working his way towards di Grassi, and on lap 20 di Grassi tried a move around the outside into turn seven. The two cars collided, both hit the outside wall, and Felix da Costa's race ended. Most of the field, Buemi included, used the full course yellow to make the mandatory switch to a second car.
Conway stayed out under the full course yellow, led the restart on lap 23, and pitted on lap 26, returning first place to Buemi. Di Grassi was given a drive-through for a pit stop under the minimum time, and he later returned to the pits for repairs.
Vergne ran wide at turn 13 on lap 34 and struck a barrier, which damaged the front-right corner of his car and ended his race. The safety car came out to recover it, promoting Lopez to second and Heidfeld to third. Racing resumed on lap 38, but Lopez could not get past Buemi.
Di Grassi made a pit stop and briefly set the fastest lap, but Bird went quicker on lap 42 to take the race's fastest lap and the point that came with it. With three laps to go, di Grassi braked too hard and crashed at turn eight. The race finished behind the safety car, so no overtaking was allowed on the final laps.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Sebastien Buemi | e.Dams-Renault | Pole sitter; led 44 laps out of 49 |
| Second | Jose Maria Lopez | Virgin | 0.707 seconds behind; first Formula E podium |
| Third | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra | Second consecutive third-place finish |
| Fourth | Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra | Ran a strong race to fourth |
| Fifth | Nico Prost | e.Dams-Renault | Teammate of the winner |
| Sixth | Robin Frijns | Andretti | Demoted after a five-second penalty |
| Seventh | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NextEV | Top-ten finish |
| Eighth | Tom Dillmann | Venturi | Maiden race in the series |
| Ninth | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | Points for Jaguar |
| Tenth | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | Started from last on the grid |
Why did the di Grassi and Felix da Costa collision matter?
The collision on lap 20 removed Felix da Costa from the race and triggered the mandatory switch to second cars. The stewards investigated the incident but took no action against Felix da Costa, and di Grassi spoke to him after the race about what had happened.
Di Grassi said his rival had not raced well that day and that he had been passed very harshly. He admitted he had not seen Felix da Costa after the overtake, and said that starting at the back carried those kinds of risks.
Felix da Costa blamed di Grassi for the crash. He said di Grassi was out of character that day and had tried moves all over him in a short space of corners. He also said he had not expected the manoeuvre from a driver of di Grassi's experience.
Di Grassi said his team would put the weekend behind them. He had gone from fastest in the second practice session to a slow qualifying lap, and he said the team would recover at the next race of the season.
How did the result change the championship?
Buemi now led di Grassi by 43 points. Prost sat 29 points further back in third, Heidfeld rose to fourth and Vergne slipped to fifth. The Teams' Championship lead of e.Dams-Renault grew to 190 points.
Audi Sport ABT remained second and Mahindra kept third in the Teams' table, leaving both teams chasing e.Dams-Renault. Virgin and NextEV climbed into fourth and fifth as Techeetah failed to score, with six races still to run.
Audi principal Hans-Jurgen Abt hoped the setbacks were over and that the team would be competitive again at the next two races.
What did the drivers say afterwards?
Buemi said he had tried to brake as late as possible to keep Vergne behind at the start, and that his energy use had run higher than planned. He said the team deserved the victory more than he did, because they had overcome the track-condition problems of the year before.
Lopez had looked forward to racing in Paris for the first time. He said his car had been good from the start of the season and that his team had worked hard, and he felt the track suited him. He said his second place was the reward for that effort. Heidfeld said his second consecutive podium was great for Mahindra, which would not stop until it won its first race. He said the team had been more competitive than it had been in Monaco.
Vergne said he had saved a substantial amount of electrical energy while waiting for his chance against Buemi, and that a failure had cost him that opening. Frijns described the race as bizarre and said luck had been on his side, while Dillmann said his debut had been really good fun.
