Formula E

Buemi disappointed not to have done better in Santiago

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Credit: Formula E

Sebastien Buemi says that he is disappointed in only managing a third place finish in the Santiago ePrix.

The Renault e.dams driver started on the front row of the grid, but a poor start saw him fall behind Andre Lotterer and Nelson Piquet Jr before the first corner.

Although he managed to pass Piquet later on he was unable to get past either Techeetah, and had to hold off a fast charging Felix Rosenqvist in the final laps to keep his spot on the podium.

While Buemi was pleased to be able to keep the Mahindra Racing driver behind him, unlike last time out in Marrakesh, he said that he was hoping for more as he thought his car had the pace.

“I’m a bit disappointed as I think our car was good enough to do better,” Buemi said.

“I lost two places at the start and then some more time during my car change as we didn’t want to risk incurring a penalty. I’m pleased that I was able to fight off Rosenqvist in the closing laps.

“Unlike in Marrakech he didn’t manage to get past! The fifteen points are important for me and for the team. We’re now looking ahead to Mexico where we hope to do even better than here.”

Despite Buemi’s belief that the pace of the Renault car was strong enough for the victory, co-owner of the team Jean-Paul Driot admitted that the field had closed up this season.

Renault’s previous dominance seems to have disappeared, and Driot said that teams now needed a near perfect performance if they wanted to come away with a victory.

He said, “Since Marrakech we’ve shown that we’re in the mix. The gaps are smaller than in previous seasons and you have to put on a flawless performance to be in with a chance of winning.

“We’re going to focus all our efforts on analysing the data to understand what we were lacking today to be even quicker in Mexico. The level is so high that it’s absolutely essential to score points with both cars in each race.

“Consistency will be our main objective in the rest of the South American campaign.”

Renault currently lie in fifth place in the standings, with Buemi fourth in the driver’s championships after two back-to-back podiums.

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