2015 Beijing ePrix

The 2015 Beijing ePrix, formally the 2015 FIA Formula E SWUSP Beijing ePrix, was a Formula E motor race that was held on 24 October 2015 at the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit in Beijing, China. It was the second edition of the Beijing ePrix and the first race of the second season of the electrically powered racing car series. The race was dominated by Sébastien Buemi, who won starting from pole position. Since he also recorded the fastest lap, he became the first driver to score the maximum of 30 points from a single ePrix[1]

2015 Beijing ePrix
Race 1 of 10 of the 2015–16 Formula E season
Layout of the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit
Race details
Date 24 October 2015
Official name 2015 FIA Formula E SWUSP Beijing ePrix
Location Beijing Olympic Green Circuit,
Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
Course Street circuit
Course length 3.44 km (2.14 mi)
Distance 26 laps, 89.4 km (55.67 mi)
Pole position
Driver
Renault e.Dams
Time 1:37.297
Fastest lap
Driver Sébastien Buemi Renault e.Dams
Time 1:39.993 (lap record) on lap 24
Podium
First
Renault e.Dams
Second
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
Third
Mahindra Racing

Report

Background

The Beijing Olympic Green Circuit was slightly modified in comparison to the previous year. The first chicane, previously Turns 3, 4 and 5, has been removed with the second chicane taking a tighter profile than last year. Drivers believe that the modified layout offers increased chances of overtaking.[2]

Three drivers made their Formula E debut at this ePrix: Jacques Villeneuve (for Venturi), Robin Frijns (for Amlin Andretti) and Nathanaël Berthon (for Team Aguri).[3]

Trulli did not start the Beijing ePrix because of a failure to submit their car for scrutineering. The team claimed that key components had been held up in customs. They will be able to resubmit their car for scrutineering for the second race.[4]

The Fanboost was awarded to Nelson Piquet Jr., Sam Bird and Oliver Turvey.[1]

Qualifying

Sébastien Buemi, Jean-Éric Vergne, Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld, and Lucas di Grassi advanced to the pole position shoot-out. Di Grassi was first on track, however he had a big lock up into turn 1, and therefore was unable to set a competitive time. Heidfeld then set a solid but unspectacular time, before Prost went and lapped eight-tenths faster than the German. Then Vergne went out, only to have such a big lock up at turn 1 he went straight down the escape road, and gave up. That left Buemi to try and beat 2014's polesitter, and a poor middle sector made that look unlikely, but he then superbly negotiated the final sector to take pole position.[5]

Race

Buemi got a good start from pole, while Heidfeld was quick off the line, passing Prost round the outside of turn 1 in a similar move to the one he did in the previous year's race, before attacking race leader Buemi, unsuccessfully. Buemi then pulled away. On lap 2, prost locked up and ran deep, gifting Di Grassi third place. Simona de Silvestro then went straight into the wall on lap 3, bringing out a full course yellow. Meanwhile, a battle for 5th place at the time developed between Vergne and Bruno Senna, Loïc Duval and Sam Bird. Bird then lost out when he locked up and went down the escape road, but he caught back up by lap 11, and was in the ever changing battle again. Most people pitted at the end of lap 13, and a slow stop for Heidfeld dropped him from 2nd to 4th. Heidfeld did overtake Prost for a podium again. Crucially, both Dragon cars stayed out, giving them more usable energy at the end of the race. Jacques Villeneuve and António Félix da Costa collided, putting the Portuguese driver out of the race and bringing out a full course yellow, giving even more of the advantage to the Dragon cars who lost less time. Prost was more alert than Heidfeld off the restart and went through. His rear wing then broke on lap 20, although it made no difference to performance, but he was forced to retire. This left the Dragon cars with more usable energy, having already caught Heidfeld, to fight the Mahindra driver for the final spot on the podium. Jérôme d'Ambrosio locked up and was lucky to avoid his teammate. On the final lap, Heidfeld had to park the bus, and however hard the Frenchman tried, Duval simply couldn't find a way past the Mahindra in a battle that went right to the final corner. Buemi crossed the line to dominantly win, while Di Grassi, having been very quiet throughout the race, finished 2nd. Heidfeld just managed to keep his podium. The reigning champion Nelson Piquet, Jr. finished, albeit two laps down in the last classified position.[6]

Classification

Qualifying
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap Grid
1 9 Sébastien Buemi Renault e.Dams 1:37.488 11
2 25 Jean-Éric Vergne DS Virgin Racing 1:38.028 +0.540 51
3 8 Nicolas Prost Renault e.Dams 1:38.206 +0.718 21
4 23 Nick Heidfeld Mahindra Racing 1:38.512 +1.024 31
5 11 Lucas di Grassi ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 1:38.519 +1.031 41
6 4 Stéphane Sarrazin Venturi 1:38.645 +1.157 6
7 21 Bruno Senna Mahindra Racing 1:38.761 +1.273 7
8 6 Loïc Duval Dragon Racing 1:38.859 +1.371 8
9 2 Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing 1:38.884 +1.396 9
10 7 Jérôme d'Ambrosio Dragon Racing 1:39.058 +1.570 10
11 66 Daniel Abt ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 1:39.220 +1.732 11
12 12 Jacques Villeneuve Venturi 1:39.665 +2.177 12
13 27 Robin Frijns Amlin Andretti 1:39.672 +2.184 13
14 28 Simona de Silvestro Amlin Andretti 1:39.681 +2.193 14
15 88 Oliver Turvey NEXTEV TCR 1:39.734 +2.246 15
16 55 António Félix da Costa Team Aguri 1:40.295 +2.807 16
17 77 Nathanaël Berthon Team Aguri 1:40.386 +2.898 17
18 1 Nelson Piquet, Jr. NEXTEV TCR 1:40.638 +3.150 18
Source:[7]

Notes:

  • ^1 – Final grid position of top five qualifiers determined by Super Pole shootout.

Super Pole
Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap Grid
1 9 Sébastien Buemi Renault e.Dams 1:37.297 1
2 8 Nicolas Prost Renault e.Dams 1:37.581 +0.284 2
3 23 Nick Heidfeld Mahindra Racing 1:38.339 +1.042 3
4 11 Lucas di Grassi ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 1:39.539 +2.242 4
5 25 Jean-Éric Vergne DS Virgin Racing 2:21.284 +43.987 5
Source:[7]

Race
Pos. No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 9 Sébastien Buemi Renault e.Dams 26 50:08.835 1 25+3+22
2 11 Lucas di Grassi ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 26 +11.006 4 18
3 23 Nick Heidfeld Mahindra Racing 26 +15.681 3 15
4 6 Loïc Duval Dragon Racing 26 +16.009 8 12
5 7 Jérôme d'Ambrosio Dragon Racing 26 +16.514 10 10
6 88 Oliver Turvey NEXTEV TCR 26 +39.466 15 8
7 2 Sam Bird DS Virgin Racing 26 +47.531 9 6
8 77 Nathanaël Berthon Team Aguri 26 +58.620 17 4
9 4 Stéphane Sarrazin Venturi 26 +1:07.814 6 2
10 27 Robin Frijns Amlin Andretti 26 +1:09.260 13 1
11 66 Daniel Abt ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 26 +1:13.3513 11
12 25 Jean-Éric Vergne DS Virgin Racing 26 +1:31.040 5
13 21 Bruno Senna Mahindra Racing 26 +1:50.833 7
14 12 Jacques Villeneuve Venturi 25 +1 Lap 12
15 1 Nelson Piquet, Jr. NEXTEV TCR 24 +2 Laps 18
Ret 8 Nicolas Prost Renault e.dams 22 Rear wing 2
Ret 55 António Félix da Costa Team Aguri 13 Collision 16
Ret 28 Simona de Silvestro Amlin Andretti 2 Accident 14
DNP 10 Salvador Durán Trulli 0 Failed Scrutineering -
DNP 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi Trulli 0 Failed Scrutineering -

Notes:

  • ^2 – Three points for pole position and two points for fastest lap.
  • ^3 - Daniel Abt received a 10-seconds time penalty for an unsafe pit stop release.

Standings after the race
  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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References
  1. "Buemi to the max in Beijing". .fiaformulae.com. 24 October 2015. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. "Drivers hail Beijing track changes a success". fiaformulae.com. 24 October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. "Formula E - 2015 Beijing ePrix Preview". FIA. 20 October 2015.
  4. "Trulli to miss Beijing ePrix". fiaformulae.com. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  5. "Beijing ePrix: Buemi edges Prost for season opener pole". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. "Formula E news: Beijing Formula E: Sebastien Buemi dominates season opener". AUTOSPORT.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. "BEIJING EPRIX — Official FIA Formula E Championship". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
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