Championship leader Sebastien Buemi is hoping to get over his recent mistakes in Buenos Aires to take his third win of the season this weekend.
The Argentinian track has not been a happy hunting ground for the Renault e.dams driver in the first two seasons the championship has raced there.
In season one he claimed pole and led before ending his race in the wall in the final laps, and last year he started last on the grid having spun on his hot lap in qualifying.
Although he managed to fight through to finish second, Buemi is hoping that a clean weekend will see him come away with a win that would maintain his 100% record this season.
“I’ve always been very competitive in Buenos Aires, however I’ve never translated it into the win, so I’m hoping to make that happen this year,” Buemi said.
“In our first visit, I started from pole position and was leading the race until near the end when I hit the wall.
“Last year I had the best sectors in qualifying but spun in the last corner, meaning I had to start the race from the back of the grid and fight back through the field to finish in second place.
“Hopefully this time I will be able to nail it for both qualifying and the race!”
And while Buemi said that the Buenos Aires track poses some challenges in terms of energy saving due to its long straights, he said that his performance last year showed that overtaking is possible.
“It’s a special circuit because you have two long straights and the highest top speed of the year.
“It’s not easy to save energy with the straights, however they do give you great opportunities to overtake – fighting back from the back last year showed what is possible.”
Speaking about the team’s chances of winning this weekend, Renault Sport Project Leader Vincent Gaillardot said that he is wary of the progress made by the other teams during the winter break, but that he expects the track to suit their Z.E. 16 car.
Gaillardot said, “Since Marrakesh our work has been focused on the optimisation of all the systems, calibrations and set-up.
“We’ve scrutinised all the data from the first two events to ensure we are making the most of every area of the car’s performance potential.
“We know our opposition will have been doing the same, however the characteristics and overall layout should suit the Z.E.16 well.”
