The FIA Formula E Championship is making its third visit to the Atlantic seafront in Uruguay this weekend, as the Punta del Este E-Prix returns after a year’s absence as round six of the 2017/18 season.
Fresh from a thrilling race in Mexico City just two weeks ago, which saw a breakthrough win for Daniel Abt and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, the 20 all-electric racers are preparing for the challenges of the street circuit by the sea, as the roads lining the idyllic coastline are converted to a challenging racetrack.
The 2.785km course features 20 corners, and is an exciting mixture of high speed sweeping curves and tight chicanes. The city hosted events in the first two seasons of Formula E, and notably was the place where season two champion Sebastien Buemi scored his first win, and where current standings leader Jean-Eric Vergne put his car on pole position for the first time.
Returning to the venue for the third time is also an opportunity to show how far the development of the Formula E car has come since the series’ inception. In 2014, the lap count for the Punta del Este E-Prix was 31, rising to 33 in 2015, and now in 2018 there is a marked increase to 37 laps.
The result of the fifth round of the championship in Mexico City surprisingly did not affect the top five positions on the points table, with Vergne leading for TECHEETAH, followed by Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist and DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird. Buemi’s brace of third places for Renault e.dams at the last two rounds cements his position in fourth, while Nelson Piquet Jr will be looking to break onto the podium this weekend for Panasonic Jaguar Racing having finished in fourth place three times this season.
NIO Formula E Team’s Oliver Turvey scored a breakthrough podium for the manufacturer in Mexico City and will be hoping to build on that success, while Audi is confident it has resolved the reliability issues that have troubled reigning champion Lucas di Grassi so far this season which will likely see both he and recent winner Abt towards the front once again.
Event timetable:
Saturday, 17 March
|
8:00 |
8:45 |
NON QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 |
Track |
|
|
10:30 |
11:00 |
NON QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 |
Track |
|
|
11:10 |
11:40 |
VIP pitlane walk |
Pitlane |
|
|
12:00 |
12:06 |
QUALIFYING GROUP 1 |
Track |
|
|
12:10 |
12:16 |
QUALIFYING GROUP 2 |
Track |
|
|
12:20 |
12:26 |
QUALIFYING GROUP 3 |
Track |
|
|
12:30 |
12:36 |
QUALIFYING GROUP 4 |
Track |
|
|
12:45 |
13:00 |
SUPER POLE |
Track |
|
|
13:45 |
14:15 |
VIP pitlane walk |
Pitlane |
|
|
13:45 |
14:00 |
E-Race (eligible drivers) |
Gaming Arena |
|
|
14:00 |
14:30 |
Autograph session |
Gaming Arena |
|
|
15:00 |
15:10 |
Drivers parade |
Track |
|
|
16:04 |
RACE (37 laps) |
Track |
||
|
17:05 |
Podium ceremony |
Podium |
Championship standings:
|
Drivers’ Championship |
Teams’ Championship |
|||
|
Driver |
Points |
Team |
Points |
|
|
1 |
Jean-Eric Vergne |
81 |
TECHEETAH |
99 |
|
2 |
Felix Rosenqvist |
69 |
Mahindra Racing |
90 |
|
3 |
Sam Bird |
61 |
Panasonic Jaguar Racing |
74 |
|
4 |
Sebastien Buemi |
52 |
DS Virgin Racing |
70 |
|
5 |
Nelson Piquet Jr. |
45 |
Renault e.dams |
59 |
|
6 |
Daniel Abt |
37 |
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler |
40 |
|
7 |
Mitch Evans |
29 |
Venturi Formula E Team |
34 |
|
8 |
Edoardo Mortara |
28 |
NIO Formula E Team |
27 |
|
9 |
Oliver Turvey |
26 |
Andretti Formula E |
20 |
|
10 |
Nick Heidfeld |
21 |
DRAGON |
12 |