JEV nearly wins on Formula E debut

Formula 1 refugee Jean-Eric Vergne said losing a potential win on his Formula E debut in Punta del Este did not take the shine off his weekend with Andretti Autosport.

The Former Toro Rosso F1 driver Vergne, who had taken pole in Uruguay on his first day in a Formula E car, was challenging Sebastian Buemi for victory with just two laps remaining when the front-right suspension of his Spark-Renault broke, forcing him to a halt.

Sebastian Buemi won his first Formula E race in the all-electric single-seater series' third round. 

After the third round of the Formula E, this is what JEV had to say on his experience behind a Formula E car.

"I had no expectations coming into this weekend,".

"I came here to have fun and that's what I did.

"The weekend would have been perfect if I had won, but somehow the suspension broke and that was that, so it's a bit of a shame. But that's racing.

"I didn't hit any kerbs, I didn't touch the wall or anything. I believe the suspension of these cars is fragile and I heard they're going to be changed for the next race."

"I think we lost a lot of time because of the safety car that came out exactly as the same time as I came out, I couldn't push, so that's why I gave Buemi the position."

"But I think we've shown a fantastic performance, especially with pole position."

"That was a proper pole, and it's nice to be at the front again."

Vergne also suffered an issue with his fanboost.

Formula E Car Technical Specifications

Mahindra Racing Formula E Car

The 2014 season of the Formula E Championship will feature only the SRT_01E.

The Spark-Renault SRT_01E has been designed by Spark Racing Technology which is a consortium of vehicle and vehicle component makers, which include Renault, McLaren Electronic Systems, Williams Advanced Engineering, Dallara and SPARK.

SPARK is in charge of designing the car; components like the chassis, aerodynamic components, suspension etc will be handles by the company.

Dallara is charge of designing and construction of the carbon-fibre and aluminium monocoque chassis which will be the backbone of the whole race car.

McLaren Electronics is in charge of providing the electric motor that will power the car, the gearbox and other electronic equipment on the car.

Williams Advanced Engineering will take care of the battery and related components.

Tech-specs:

• L x W in mm: 5000 x 1800
• Weight: 800 Kg
• Engine: 180 BHP (limited) /140NM electric engine, mid-mounted, with a push-to-pass button that increases power to 270 BHP
• Transmission: 4-speed sequential
• Front suspension: Double steel wishbones, pushrod operated, twin dampers and torsion bars
• Rear suspension: Springs
• Wheel: 18-inch, fitted with all-weather treaded tyres from Michelin

Performance:

• 0-100 KMPH in 3 seconds
• Top speed of 220 KMPH

Bird wins Putrajaya ePrix

Sam Bird won the second round of the Formula E Championship in Malaysia.

The Formula E Championship has seen two winners in two races as Sam Bird took the chequered flag in Malaysia. 

Daniel Abt started the race from third, but didn't get going very well and dropped to the rear and finished 10th. It was Katherine Legge who lost control on braking and turned Michela Cerruti in the process. Matthew Brabham soon spun as he raced down into the chicane, slamming into the side pod of Nick Heidfeld, who seemed to escape the contact unscathed. All this took place on the opening lap, prompting a safety car.

Sam Bird took over the lead on the ensuing restart. He pulled away until the eighth lap when Franck Montagny squeezed Nick Heidfeld into the tire barrier at turn five, igniting another full-course yellow.

The race resumed on lap 13 and the safety car was not needed for the remainder of the event. Daniel Abt switched cars very early in the going and therefore, was leading the race with less than ten laps remaining. He was running low on power though and was forced to crawl at a snail's pace in order to make it to the finish.

Abt lost the lead to Sam Bird with five laps remaining before the checkered flag. Bruno Senna lost the rear and slammed the wall on the final lap of the race while attacking Buemi for the final spot on the podium, dropping him to 14th.

Lucas Di Grassi still leads the Drivers Championship with his second place finish in Putrajaya. Buemi made sure that he took the final place on the podium.

Race Result

1. Sam Bird

2. Lucas di Grassi

3. Sebastien Buemi

4. Nico Prost

5. Jerome d'Ambrosio

6. Karun Chandhok

7. Oriol Servia

8. Antonio Felix da Costa

9. Jaime Alguersuari

10. Daniel Abt