Sebastien Buemi said that set-up issues with his second car caused him to drop back in the Paris ePrix.
The Renault e.dams driver won last year’s race around the French capital, and he made a strong start to this year’s race and was able to extend his first stint along with Lucas di Grassi.
However while di Grassi was able use the extra energy in his second car to climb up to second, Buemi couldn’t pass the Venturi of Maro Engel and was also passed by Daniel Abt.
It’s the second race in a row where Buemi has struggled with his second car, after the team discovered a problem with energy recovery in the car he used for the Rome ePrix.
Team owner Jean-Paul Driot said that Buemi’s second car ‘lacked efficiency’, while the Swiss driver said the car wasn’t doing what he wanted it to do.
“The race got off to a great start as I gained two places on the first lap,” Buemi said afterwards. “After that my pace was good and our out-of-sync strategy – like Di Grassi’s who finished second – looked promising.
“On the other hand, the second stint was trickier as my setup wasn’t ideal. I couldn’t get the car to do what I wanted and I remained stuck behind Engel.
“Abt got past me with the help of his fan boost and then I repassed him on the last lap. We made light contact and I finished fifth. While it’s not really satisfactory I can take away some positives from today.”
Buemi was able to re-pass Abt on the last lap along with the slowing Andre Lotterer, but his fifth place leaves him seventy-seven points off championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne with just four races to go.
