Thunderbozz

An extraordinary series of events in Montreal meant that Lucas di Grassi only needed to finish better than sixth to clinch the driver's title. A remarkable situation given that Sébastien Buemi had been leading the championship standings for so long, and given Renualt's dominance through the season. But the French team, who have been constructor's champions since Formula E began, have been plagued by crashes, penalties and disqualifications all weekend. For them, starting from 13th and 20th on the grid, merely catching up with Di Grassi (starting 5th) looked like a mammoth task. Di Grassi made a good start, as did all of the front rows of the grid. But when Stephane Sarrazin caught a knock, he was spun round 180° and created an obstacle for everyone behind him to avoid. Practically everyone made it though without incident. Bad luck -- or perhaps fate -- caught up with Buemi once again. In the concertina-effect, Antonio Felix da Costa couldn't get stopped quite fast ...

What a difference a day makes. Sébastien Buemi started yesterday's session having wrecked one of his cars in free practice, and facing a ten-place grid penalty. Crucially, however, he was still leading the driver's championship. This morning in Montreal, his name had been replaced at the top of the table by his rival Lucas di Grassi's. After admonishing other drivers in front of the live television cameras, his friends were few. His team-mate would be unable to provide much in the way of on-track support having been handed a 20-place grid penalty himself. Now, more than ever, a good performance in qualifying was required. Lock-up Being drawn in the opening qualifying session, traditionally the "slowest" group due to track conditions, didn't help his cause. In the event, a big lock up in the approach to turn one cost him even more time. Buemi could only finish provisional third in a slow group. José María López set the fastest time of 1:23.3, but acknowled...

A ten-place grid penalty for championship leader Sébastien Buemi and pole position for his rival, Lucas di Grassi, set up a fascinating scenario for the penultimate race of the Formula E season: the drama that followed did not disappoint. Di Grassi had a good start, covering the line quickly and preventing Stephane Sarazzin, who also got away quickly, from stealing the lead. Buemi, meanwhile, dropped like a stone through a crowded midfield. Plenty of cars made contact, but a knock from Robin Frijns damaged Buemi's steering setup. With his steering wheel no longer angled in the same direction as his tyres, the Renualt driver was forced to change how he held the wheel in order to compensate. Not an ideal start. Elsewhere, Mitch Evans made a move down the inside which put him up into 4th, although he couldn't hold the position for long. Jean-Eric Vergne moved up into 5th and Nick Heidfeld into 11th, a positive start after such a disappointing qualifying session. The race would...

A spectacular crash from Sébastien Buemi in the second Free Practice session of the afternoon was the talk of the Montreal pitlane before qualifying began. He clipped the wall on the first part of the high-speed chicane, which sent him careering into the barriers on the exit. A damaged monocoque gave his Renualt team plenty of work to do to repair the car in time for the race, and replacing damaged components would result in a ten-place grid penalty. The incident meant that the next time Buemi would face the chicane again would be in his qualifying group -- when he will be sharing the track with championship rival Lucas di Grassi. But before that, both Faraday Future cars had been drawn in the first qualifying group. They, like all the drivers in group one, left it late to leave the pit lane. Unfortunately for Jerome D'Ambrosio, he left it too late, and failed to cross the start/finish line before the chequered flag signalled an end to the session. Consequently, he can only take...

The final rounds of Formula E's third season take place in Montreal this weekend. Four drivers are in technically in contention for the drivers' championship, but all eyes will be on the battle between Renault's Sébastien Buemi and Abt Schaeffler Audi's Lucas di Grassi. Both drivers have become involved in a war of words over the past few days. Buemi accused di Grassi of lacking confidence and warning the Brazilian to keep his distance in the race. Di Grassi hit back , suggesting his rival had a problem coping with pressure. The double-header event this weekend leaves little room for error. Di Grassi has struggled with consistency during qualifying, although is capable of making up places during the race itself. Buemi, meanwhile, is more used to starting towards the front of the grid and building a commanding lead from there. With three bonus points awarded for starting on pole, a good performance in the qualifying sessions will be vital for both drivers. Road to ...

Mercedes have confirmed they will race in Formula E from season six. They initially took up an option to reserve a place on the grid in season five, but this has been extended. The news follows recent announcements from BMW and Audi, who have confirmed they will be increasing their involvement in the all-electric series by entering official "factory" teams. From season five, the range of the batteries will be extended and drivers will no longer need to swap cars at the mid-point of the race. This development is one of the key factors in so many manufacturers taking an interest, as they believe it will better reflect the range of their electric road cars. Mercedes' head of motorsport, Toto Wolff, praised the series' innovation and compared it to a start-up venture: Electrification is happening in the road car world and Formula E offers manufacturers an interesting platform to bring this technology to a new audience – and to do so with a completely new kind of raci...

Sébastien Buemi has warned Lucas di Grassi to avoid a repeat of their collision in last year's title-deciding race. Buemi, currently top of the drivers championship, has a 10-point lead over di Grassi. 58 points are up for grabs at next weekend's Montreal double-header event. Speaking to Autosport , Buemi made a series of comments about his rival, suggesting the Brazilian driver has confidence issues, and his reputation would suffer should he get caught up in another crash: "What do you think people will think then? It will be very hard to explain for him. I prefer to lose with dignity than to try to win in a way where I could not look at myself in the mirror." A disqualification prevented Di Grassi from winning the driver's title last year. This season, Buemi has also been disqualified and was absent from two key races in New York. But victories in six of the seven previous rounds enabled the Renault driver to bank enough points to keep him at the top of the...

The second New York ePrix of the historic double-header weekend was no less exciting than the first, with incidents from the very first corner to the last. Six laps longer than Saturday's race, the teams had to adopt a different strategy to the day before, but fears that the race would be more like a procession were unfounded. The start was almost a carbon copy of the day before. This time, the DS Virgin car on pole was being piloted by Sam Bird; but he still couldn't defend quickly enough to stop Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra) from taking the lead on turn one. Behind them, a concertina of cars saw several minor impacts. Jean-Éric Vergne was shunted by Maro Engel, forcing the Techeetah driver into the pits for a rapid repair job. Daniel Abt's run of bad luck continued. His car began to slow to a halt on track, and it looked as though he would be stuck there until he finally managed to crawl back to the pit lane. But he was too many laps down by the time he arrived, leaving h...

An early start, a shortened practice session and warming weather conditions combined to give all drivers some challenging conditions for the Sunday qualifying session in Brooklyn. Starting at 9am local time, teams had little time to prepare after yesterday's race. But the 7am practice session was also cut short by red flags when Robin Frijns hit the wall hard. Frijns will suffer a ten-place grid penalty as a result of his car requiring a gear box change. He was one of the drivers out in the first qualifying group, and set provisional P-2. But his time was half a second slower than yesterday's race winner, Sam Bird, denting his chances of remaining in the Super Pole slots. Nico Prost and Nelson Piquet Jr took the next two slots; a fault with Loïc Duval's car meant he couldn't get out of first gear for most of the lap, leaving him in last. Antonio Felix da Costa had a day to forget on Saturday, and he couldn't make the most of his qualifying attempt in group two. Jé...

The first ever motor race around the streets of New York city was a story of "firsts", and packed full of dramatic twists and turns. With the championship leader absent, the door was left open for his rivals to capitalise. But the race was to throw up plenty of surprises for would-be champions. Alex Lynn, with only a couple of testing sessions' experience of driving a Formula E car before this weekend, found himself on pole position after a fantastic performance in qualifying. But his lack of experience let him down at the start, as he took too-wide a line into the opening corner and allowed 2nd-placed Daniel Abt to take the lead. Behind them, Sam Bird moved up into third with a similar manoeuvre on Jean-Éric Vergne. Nelson Piquet Jr took a gamble by darting down and around on the outside line, but the concertina effect meant there were no gaps available and he gained little from the move. Virtually every car at the back of the field made some contact in the cramped op...

Changing weather conditions throughout the morning's practice sessions meant none of the drivers had much experience of a dry track.  Steady rain overnight and into the early morning gave way to clear blue skies and a warm afternoon. Both Andretti cars were drawn in the first qualifying group. A short lap gives all teams the option of a "second chance" should something go wrong on their first (full-power) attempt, but everyone left it until the last possible opportunity to set a time. Jean-Éric Vergne set the fastest time with a 1:03.1, using the full width of the narrow corners only narrowly avoiding the walls. Robin Frijns' wasn't so lucky, and both he and Antonio Felix da Costa were considerably off the pace. Loic Duval of Dragon Racing and Pierre Gasly, standing in for championship leader Sébastien Buemi, made up the other places. Stephane Sarrazin was straight out of the blocks when the green lights started group two. He was able to set the second-fastest t...

Formula E takes to the streets of New York for the first time ever this weekend, as the end of the season rapidly approaches. The double-header event will take place without championship leader Sébastien Buemi in attendance, handing his rivals a golden opportunity. Buemi's bubble Buemi currently sits 32 points clear at the top of the drivers' table. But the Renault e-Dams driver is unable to travel to New York because he'll be racing in the World Endurance Championship for Toyota. With a maximum of 29 points up for grabs in each round (58 over the weekend), closest rival Lucas di Grassi must perform well if he is to stand any chance of taking his first championship victory. Anything less than podium finishes would seriously dent the Brazilian's chances, and could effectively hand victory to Buemi -- despite several other drivers being mathematically in contention. Red Bull's Formula 1 reserve driver, Pierre Gasly, will replace Buemi for the two Brooklyn races. ...