After months of it being unofficially known, Season Two Champion of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Sébastien Buemi has been announced as Envision Racing‘s new driver for the start of the new era of the all-electric series.
The Swiss driver joins Envision on a multi-year deal having left the side formerly known as Nissan e.dams, who are now known simply as the Nissan FE Team. The highly successful driver who has tasted success in both Formula E and is a four-time Le Mans 24 Hours victor, replaces Robin Frijns at the British side and will feature alongside Nick Cassidy.
Buemi joins Envision having spent the entirety of his Formula E career with e.dams, who had their operational arm in the Nissan team bought out by the Japanese manufacturer back in April.
It means that Buemi will have to accustom to a number of new faces, something it’s safe to say he will have been doing during pre-season. The thirty-three year-old is one of the most successful drivers in the all-electric series’ eight-year history, boasting an impressive thirteen victories, twenty-nine podiums, fourteen poles, and, of course, the Season Two title which he famously won at the London E-Prix.
The Aigle, Switzerland born driver is, of course, also an ex-Formula 1 driver for the team known now as Scuderia AlphaTauri, but were formerly known as Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Swiss driver made fifty-five starts in the championship across 2009-2011, before losing his seat at the Oracle Red Bull Racing owned side.
With Season Nine being the start of Gen3, it is an extremely exciting time to be involved with the championship. Buemi is one of few drivers who competed in the series during the original generation of cars, which he claimed his Championship in.
Buemi has seen first hand how far the sport has come and how much the cars have developed over it’s eight completed seasons, making him the perfect signing to lead Envision to “fight at the front”.
“It’s an interesting time to be part of Formula E and I can’t wait to start driving for Envision Racing next season. I have always had a huge amount of respect for the team, and I believe they’ve done a great job in maximising results over the years.
“The new Gen3 era is hugely important for the sport and presents a new challenge, with a faster, lighter and more powerful car. My objective is to fight at the front, so I’m looking forward to start testing and preparing myself ahead of the first race in Mexico City.”
Managing Director Sylvain Filippi is targeting for the side to be fighting at the front as soon as possible, with Buemi’s experience being pivotal to ensuring that. Filippi has “great confidence” that 2023 will be a strong season for the team, who are looking to build on their fifth-place finish in the Season Eight Constructors’ Championship.
“As a team, we’re always aiming to be as competitive as possible. In Sébastien we’re confident that we have one of the fastest, most experienced, and ambitious drivers on the grid, which gives us great confidence going into the new season.
“We believe that alongside Nick Cassidy, we have two drivers that can help us to compete at the front of the grid and challenge for both team and driver championship titles next season.”
Envision Group’s Vice President Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board of Envision Racing is equally “delighted” to be welcoming a driver on board with such an impressive “track record”, and who can be an “invaluable asset” to the “Envision family”.
“I’m delighted to welcome Sébastien to the Envision family. Sébastien’s track record speaks for itself and he’s going to be an invaluable asset to the team.”
Managing Director Sylvain Filippi (left) and Sébastien Buemi (right) / Credit: Envision Racing
