Formula E London: Buemi cruises to victory in race one

Sebastien Buemi took a comfortable lights-to-flag victory at the Battersea Park in London on Saturday, to ensure a three-way fight for the drivers

Sebastien Buemi took a comfortable lights-to-flag victory at the Battersea Park in London on Saturday, to ensure a three-way fight for the drivers title heading into Sunday’s Formula E season finale.

The race started under the safety car conditions with Formula E organisers deeming the first corner too narrow for a standing start, especially after the events of the Monaco ePrix. When the safety car came into the pits, Buemi led up front from pole position and cruised to the finish, taking his third victory of the season.

In stark contrast, championship leader Nelson Piquet endured a troubled day at Battersea Park. An unsuccessful attempt at passing Di Grassi left him vulnerable to Andretti's Jean Eric Vergne, who passed him with a bold move to take fourth.

Vergne later passed Di Grassi and piled pressure over race winner Jerome D’Ambrosio, before settling for third place.

Sam Bird was classified sixth at the chequered flag ahead of Nicolas Prost, who’s seventh result coupled with Buemi’s victory, helped eDams Renault wrap the teams championship with a race to go.

Drive through penalty for Senna

Bruno Senna slipped outside the top 10 after serving his drive through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Karun Chandhok - who crashed in qualifying - also failed to put on an impressive show from his lowly grid position.

The championship fight

Despite a troubled day, Nelson Piquet stays at the top of the Formula E drivers standings, albeit by a reduced margin of five points over Sebastien Buemi. Lucas di Grassi remains in the title hunt, but would require a standout result - and trouble on his rivals part - to overturn a 13 point gap in tomorrow’s race.

Formula E London ePrix - Race 1 Results (Top 10)