The free practice sessions of this Paris ePrix were marked by three major events. The first involved Nelson Piquet who violently hit the wall during the first session. The second involved Felix Rosenqvist, who suffered a severe slap of oversteer, sending him straight into the opposite wall. And finally, the third incident again involved Nelson Piquet, who this time damaged the front-left of his car, promising a lot of repair work for the Jaguar mechanics.<\/p>\n
Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne the fastest in Paris traffic from the qualifications<\/b><\/p>\n
It was under a rather grey sky that this qualifying session began around Les Invalides, with a draw granting the championship leaders the honor of starting first. A real disadvantage on a track with precarious grip, due to differences in the surface.<\/p>\n
The top five drivers in the standings, namely Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne, Sam Bird, Felix Rosenqvist, S\u00e9bastien Buemi, and Daniel Abt, took the stage to kick off the event. In this “group of death,” Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne grabbed the provisional best time, ahead of Sam Bird by two-tenths, and S\u00e9bastien Buemi by three-tenths.<\/p>\n
The second group included Nelson Piquet, Mitch Evans, Lucas Di Grassi, Andr\u00e9 Lotterer, and Oliver Turvey. Nelson Piquet ultimately could not participate in this session due to damage to his two cars. Andr\u00e9 Lotterer was in a provisional third place, with a minimal lead over Lucas Di Grassi, who was right behind in fourth position.<\/p>\n
The time had come for the third group with Edoardo Mortara, Nick Heidfeld, Alex Lynn, Ant\u00f3nio F\u00e9lix da Costa, and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda L\u00f3pez to hit the track to set the best possible time. Only Ant\u00f3nio F\u00e9lix da Costa managed a convincing lap with a provisional second time, 5 milliseconds behind Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne.<\/p>\n
Finally, the last group composed of the lowest-ranked drivers in the championship, namely J\u00e9r\u00f4me d’Ambrosio, Maro Engel, Nicolas Prost, Tom Blomqvist, and Ma Qing Hua (who replaces Luca Filippi at NIO), started on a potentially faster track than for the other competitors. The surprise came from Maro Engel, who took a magnificent provisional third place, automatically qualifying him for the super pole.<\/p>\n
As a result, the five drivers who qualified to compete for pole position in the super pole were Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne, Antonio F\u00e9lix Da Costa, Maro Engel, Sam Bird, and Andr\u00e9 Lotterer. In front of his home crowd, Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne finally claimed pole position thanks to a legendary lap. He was ahead of Sam Bird by just over two-tenths, Andr\u00e9 Lotterer and Maro Engel by three-tenths. After a mistake, Antonio F\u00e9lix Da Costa finished at one second and six-tenths.<\/p>\n
Here is the starting grid for this third Paris ePrix:<\/p>\n
\n\ud83c\udfc1 SESSION RESULTS QUALIFYING #ParisEPrix<\/a> #FormulaE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qC76oklAmu<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 e-racing.net (@eracing_net) 28 avril 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The day of glory has arrived for Vergne<\/b><\/p>\n
At the start, Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne maintained his pole position while Andr\u00e9 Lotterer made contact with Sam Bird for second place. The Brit stayed ahead. S\u00e9bastien Buemi gained two positions. Mitch Evans and Tom Blomqvist quickly pitted to change their wings, following a stack-up in the first corners. Stopped on the track just before the pit entrance, Ma Qing Hua triggered the full course yellow procedure (neutralizing the race), forcing the drivers to engage their speed limiter.<\/p>\n
\nCrush hour but in Paris this time, @tom_blomqvist<\/a> @nico_prost<\/a> and @mitchevans_<\/a> come together… #ParisEPrix<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SGL4UoCq99<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 28 avril 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The race was quickly restarted with Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne still leading ahead of Sam Bird. The pack resumed fairly calmly, but Antonio F\u00e9lix Da Costa locked his wheels and went straight into a runoff area a few moments later, forcing him to retire. Behind, Daniel Abt overtook Nick Heidfeld and J\u00e9r\u00f4me d’Ambrosio to make his way into the top 10.<\/p>\n
In this rather calm race, Daniel Abt continued to climb up the pack, this time overtaking Felix Rosenqvist for ninth place on the eighth lap. He did the same to Lopez for an additional position. At this point in the race, the top three pulled away slightly from Maro Engel in fourth position, who was creating a bottleneck behind him.<\/p>\n
On the fourteenth lap, Nicolas Prost (sixteenth at that moment) was shown the black and orange flag, signaling him to return to the pit for repairs as his car was missing its rear wing. The wing had been damaged by Tom Blomqvist at the beginning of the race. Very active indeed, Daniel Abt took seventh position at the expense of Oliver Turvey.<\/p>\n
After 20 laps, Sam Bird appeared more threatening towards Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne, without managing to overtake him. Lucas Di Grassi and S\u00e9bastien Buemi decided to save energy to stay on the track one lap longer during the pit stops. Indeed, both champions of the discipline were still stuck behind Maro Engel.<\/p>\n
It was on the twenty-fourth lap that the leading drivers decided to stop to change their cars. They were quickly joined by Maro Engel, followed by Oliver Turvey and Felix Rosenqvist.<\/p>\n
In the top ten, Lucas Di Grassi, S\u00e9bastien Buemi, Daniel Abt, and Jos\u00e9 Maria Lopez decided to do an additional lap. Abt and Lopez pitted the next lap while the top four of the race remained unchanged after the pit stops. Lucas Di Grassi managed to come out ahead of Engel but not Buemi. The only change for the rest of the points concerned Rosenqvist, who managed to pass Lopez.<\/p>\n
Six laps later, Felix Rosenqvist managed to get the better of Oliver Turvey to take eighth place. Ahead, things were stabilizing. Di Grassi was closing in on Andr\u00e9 Lotterer’s fourth position by being the fastest on the track.<\/p>\n
It was during the thirty-sixth lap that things shifted a bit in the leading trio. Lotterer attempted a late braking at the end of the central straight on Bird. This resulted in a significant contact between the Brit and the German at the next corner. The difficulties continued for Sam Bird, who this time lost another position to Di Grassi, putting him off the podium. <\/p>\n
\nWhat a lunge from @Andre_Lotterer<\/a> on @sambirdracing<\/a> but it paid off! #ParisEPrix<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/KhArzq6Tev<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 28 avril 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Nine laps from the finish, the other Audi driven by Daniel Abt was putting a lot of pressure on S\u00e9bastien Buemi. Behind them, there was a collision between Lopez and Mortara, sending the Italo-Swiss into the wall. <\/p>\n
\n.@Daniel_Abt<\/a> uses his #FANBOOST<\/a> to get past @Sebastien_buemi<\/a> and up into sixth! #ParisEPrix<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EyUpSkbLxx<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 28, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Later, Daniel Abt took the sixth position of the race to the detriment of S\u00e9bastien Buemi. The last lap finally reserved some major surprises for us. Lucas Di Grassi managed to take second place from Andr\u00e9 Lotterer, who almost ran out of energy on the track. Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne’s teammate was then hit from behind by Sam Bird! Miraculously, the Englishman managed to seize the third position and kept it at the finish line. Behind in the final standings, we found Maro Engel and S\u00e9bastien Buemi (who managed to reclaim his position over Daniel Abt). After his collision, Lotterer still finished ahead of his compatriot in the final standings. To complete the top 10, Felix Rosenqvist, Olivier Turvey, and Jos\u00e9 Maria Lopez.<\/p>\n
It was therefore with a victory for Jean-\u00c9ric Vergne on this ground that this third Parisian race in history ended. The number three also corresponds to “JEV”‘s victories in the discipline this season, after his wins in Santiago (Chile) and Punta del Este (Uruguay).<\/p>\n
\nWinning my home race in Paris is simply the best win of my career, can’t describe it in other words…
Merci a tous les Parisiens pour votre support!!! #ParisEPrix<\/a> #ABBFormulaE<\/a> #JEV25<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/dSlYpu6G6b<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Jean-Eric Vergne (@JeanEricVergne) April 28, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here is the complete ranking of the event:<\/b><\/p>\n
\nFinal Results:<\/p>\n
Vergne
Di Grassi
Bird
Engel
Buemi
Lotterer
Abt
Rosenqvist
Turvey
Lopez#ParisEPrix<\/a> \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 #ABBFormulaE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RaVBmS3Exp<\/a><\/p>\n