Sebastien Buemi says that his Nissan e.dams car lacked the pace the team needed to stay at the front of the pack at the Ad Diriyah ePrix.
Buemi made a strong start to the opening race of the season and was in second place after the first corner.
He went backwards from there however, slipping behind the two DS Techeetah cars and then being re-passed by them later on even after they’d both had to complete drive-through penalties.
He lost further places to Jerome d’Ambrosio and Mitch Evans before finishing sixth, and although he suffered from not activating his attack mode options at the right time when the safety car came out late on, he said that Nissan simply didn’t have the pace required to stay at the front.
“I had a great start and got up to second at the first corner, but I gradually started to lose a bit of ground and didn’t quite have the pace we needed,” Buemi said.
“The Attack Mode concept is certainly tricky because it cost you some time when you activate it, but then you are rewarded. We lost a couple of spots at the finish because we didn’t activate it at the right time.
“It was a difficult race because there wasn’t a lot of grip especially after the rain.
“When you are P2 in the first corner, you are a bit disappointed to finish sixth. We’re going to go back and work as hard as can and see where we are in Marrakesh.”
Buemi’s team-mate Oliver Rowland had the opposite experience during his race, as he moved through the field from his qualifying position of fourteenth to finish just behind Buemi in seventh.
He said that the race was hard as it was so different to his experience in the simulator, but said he would start to improve as his racing mileage increased.
“At the start, it was pretty hectic, and a lot was going on, but I had good pace all the way through the race, and I’m happy to come home seventh for Nissan e.dams.
Rowland continued, “I’ve done a lot of preparation in the simulator, but the racing is the hardest part because you have people fighting every lap, lunging at you all the time.
“Once I get some more racing miles under my belt, it will start to feel more natural, and I can concentrate on the small details that are going to make us better.”