2018 Paris ePrix: Vergne's Emotional Win at Les Invalides

The 2018 Paris ePrix was the eighth race of the 2017-18 Formula E Championship, the eighth of twelve scheduled races that season, and the third Paris ePrix. Jean-Eric Vergne won the 49-lap race from pole, ahead of Lucas di Grassi and Sam Bird, in front of a crowd of 48,000 at the Circuit des Invalides. It was Vergne's third win of the season, and it came in the city where he had grown up.

When and where was the 2018 Paris ePrix held?

The race was held on 28 April 2018 at the Circuit des Invalides, inside the Les Invalides complex in the city's 7th arrondissement. The 14-turn clockwise circuit measured 1.930 km (1.199 mi). It was confirmed as part of the 2017-18 calendar in September 2017 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The date was moved from May to April. Organisers wanted less traffic in the area, and the 2017 race had been held outside the French school holidays. Building the circuit took around six days, with 5,000 t of material shipped to the Port Gros-Caillou, and 1.5 km (0.93 mi) of road was resurfaced to make the surface smoother.

Organisers expected around 50,000 people for the weekend, and the crowd on the day reached 48,000. The figure came close to the expectation set before the weekend.

Pole to victory at Les Invalides gave Jean-Eric Vergne his most emotional win and a 31-point title lead.

What was the championship picture before Paris?

Vergne led the drivers' championship with 119 points going into Paris, while Sam Bird was second on 101 points and Felix Rosenqvist third on 82. Sebastien Buemi was fourth on 60 points, and Daniel Abt fifth on 50. The teams' table had Techeetah on 152 points, Virgin second on 118, and Mahindra 15 points further back in third.

Bird had won the Rome ePrix two weeks earlier, which cut Vergne's lead to 18 points. Bird said his team believed it was closer than ever to the title, and Vergne spent a week testing in Techeetah's simulator with his mechanics. Lucas di Grassi, who had won the 2016 Paris race, was determined to keep his podium run going.

Who changed the driver line-up for Paris?

One driver change was made for the race. Luca Filippi had driven one of the NIO cars since the season-opening Hong Kong double-header, but his results lagged behind teammate Oliver Turvey. He was dropped, and the team's reserve and simulation driver Ma Qinghua took his place, giving a Chinese driver a race in the series during the campaign.

Practice was tense. Bird set the fastest time in the first session at 1 minute, 1.698 seconds, while Di Grassi was quickest in the second at 1 minute, 0.881 seconds, using 200 kW of power. Two red flags interrupted the sessions after Piquet crashed at the turn 14 barrier and Rosenqvist struck the kerb at turn 12.

Who took pole position in Paris?

Vergne set the fastest lap in qualifying at 1 minute, 1.144 seconds, the last driver to set a time in the decisive group, and earned his fourth pole of the season. Bird joined him on the front row, and Lotterer was third after locking his tyres entering turn three. Engel, in fourth, recorded his best career qualifying effort.

Several drivers were penalised. Vergne was fined 1,000 euros for speeding in the pit lane during qualifying. Evans dropped ten places after changing his gearbox, and Mortara took a three-place grid penalty for exceeding the speed limit under red flag conditions in practice. Piquet did not qualify, because both of his cars were being rebuilt after his two crashes.

How did the race open?

The race began at 16:03 Central European Summer Time before a crowd of 48,000. Vergne kept the lead into the first corner, while Lotterer made a brisk start to pass Bird, who regained second place. Di Grassi passed Felix da Costa for fifth, as Da Costa was slow away from the grid.

At the turn nine hairpin, Evans tried an aggressive move on Blomqvist and rammed the back of his car. The contact sent Blomqvist into the rear of Prost, and both cars pitted for repairs. A full-course yellow came out after Ma's car stopped and the Evans collision needed clearing. Felix da Costa then retired after a software fault locked his brakes and sent his car into the run-off area.

The narrow layout made passing difficult at almost every point, and drivers had to commit early into the hairpins to gain any ground. Bird's attempts to pressure Vergne echoed a duel the pair had fought at the same track in 2016, when the battle had gone down to the wire.

Prost was called in on lap 13 to replace his damaged front wing. Lotterer set the fastest lap of the race at 1 minute, 3.073 seconds, showing the pace of the leading group, and Bird had slightly more usable energy than Vergne, which allowed him to close the gap and try a move.

How did Vergne keep the lead through the middle of the race?

Vergne, Bird and Lotterer made their mandatory pit stops at the end of lap 24, and the three cars were separated by half a second when they came back out. Vergne retained the lead and pulled clear of Bird by more than a second. Lotterer stayed third, although his stop lasted two seconds longer than the others.

Vergne was unchallenged over the final third of the race, which let him manage the closing stint calmly. Di Grassi led for two laps during the pit phase, and Mortara led for one lap after conserving more energy than anybody else. When the pit stops were complete, Vergne resumed in front and built a lead that Bird could not match. Bird had to struggle with the energy system, and he tried to pass Vergne by braking late into turn one, but he locked his front tyres and rejoined the racing line.

Engel set the fastest lap of the race on lap 34, at 1 minute, 2.367 seconds, which earned him one point. On lap 35, Lotterer tried to pass Bird entering turn ten, but he locked his tyres and the cars collided. Lotterer's rear wing was damaged, but he continued, and di Grassi took advantage to move past Bird on the inside entering turn one.

How did the closing laps decide the result?

Entering the final ten laps, most drivers had about 40 per cent of their electrical energy left, and everyone had to use 4 per cent a lap for the rest of the race. Bird had only 22 per cent left with six laps to go, and he was left vulnerable as the lead group closed in.

On lap 41 a short yellow flag came out when Lopez hit Mortara at turn ten, and the Venturi driver drifted into a barrier before reversing to continue. Abt used his FanBoost to pass Buemi on the inside into turn one, but a late move on the sidepod left his car short of energy at the finish. Abt stopped, turned 360 degrees and re-accelerated, and his car eventually shut down close to the line.

Vergne extended his lead to almost five seconds and slowed for the line with only a small amount of energy left. Lotterer ran out of energy at turn nine, and di Grassi took second from him. Bird tried to find a way past the slow Lotterer but could not, and he rammed into the rear of the car, which left debris on the track and damaged his front-left wheel. He still took third.

How did the drivers and stewards react?

Vergne said his victory was the most emotional of his career, and he said Paris was the race he had most wanted to win this year. Di Grassi was happy with another podium and with his points run, although he had missed super pole by a very small margin. Bird complimented Vergne's driving, but said he felt he had been put into Lotterer's path.

The stewards found that Lotterer had caused the final-lap collision with Bird, and they gave him a ten-place grid penalty for the Berlin ePrix. Bird called for the consistent application of penalties, and di Grassi wanted harsher penalties for drivers who impeded others once their energy had run out. Lotterer dismissed the criticism and said he had been racing.

Piquet, who retired with a loose seat belt on lap 32, also criticised the decision to drop the minimum pit stop time. He argued that it forced drivers to take too many risks in the pit lane.

Engel, meanwhile, had scored eleven points before Paris, and his best career finish gave him the confidence to aim for the podium in Berlin. Audi team principal Allan McNish said Abt had declared his intention to overcome the narrow circuit in the team's pre-race briefing.

What did the Paris result do to the standings?

With four races left, the result left the title fight clearer at the top. Vergne's victory pushed his lead in the drivers' championship to 31 points over Bird, and the gap was large enough to make him the favourite for the remaining rounds. Rosenqvist kept third with 86 points despite finishing eighth, while Buemi held fourth on 70 points. Di Grassi moved from eighth to fifth on 58 points.

In the teams' table, Techeetah extended its lead over Virgin to 55 points, and Audi overtook Mahindra for third. Jaguar scored no points but kept fifth place, with four races left in the season.