2015 London ePrix
The 2015 London ePrix, officially known as the 2015 Visa London ePrix, was two Formula E motor races that took place on the 27 and 28 June 2015 on the Battersea Park Street Circuit in Battersea Park, London. It was the tenth and eleventh rounds of the 2014–15 Formula E season, the last of the inaugural season of Formula E.[1]
Background to race weekend
[edit]In December 2013, the FIA approved a Formula E calendar of ten races, of which London was the 10th and last race.[2] Wandsworth Council eventually approved of the circuit and also announced that it would be a double race on the 19 February 2015.[3]
There was some controversy over the park circuit which took place in a Grade II* listed park with opposition to a public park being disrupted to accommodate the races. Battersea Park was closed to the public for four days with a three-week disruption period and a decision has yet to be taken on a repeat race.[4]
Since the previous ePrix in Moscow, five driver changes were made. The first of these was that Jaime Alguersuari had been replaced by Fabio Leimer,[5] as the Spaniard was forced to withdraw due to health issues.[6] He was the first of three new Swiss drivers (taking the total 4), with Alex Fontana[7] and Simona de Silvestro[8] replacing Vitantonio Liuzzi and Justin Wilson respectively. De Silvestro's appearance in Formula E makes her the eighth driver to drive for Andretti this season, the sixth in the second car, and the third female driver in series history. Also making their first appearance was Sakon Yamamoto, who replaces António Félix da Costa as the Portuguese driver is driving for BMW in DTM,[9] and Oliver Turvey, who replaces Charles Pic, becoming the fourth different driver to drive the second car for NEXTEV Team China Racing.[10]
Race One
[edit]| 2015 London ePrix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 11 of the 2014–15 Formula E season | |||
 Layout of the Battersea Park Street Circuit | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | June 27, 2015 | ||
| Official name | Visa London ePrix | ||
| Location | Battersea Park Street Circuit, Battersea, London, United Kingdom | ||
| Course | Temporary circuit | ||
| Course length | 2.925 km (1.818 miles) | ||
| Distance | 29 laps, 84.825 km (52.708 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | e.dams-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:24.648 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport Abt | |
| Time | 1:28.229 on lap 25 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | e.dams-Renault | ||
| Second | Dragon Racing | ||
| Third | Andretti Autosport | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
Background to Race One
[edit]After winning the last race in Moscow, Nelson Piquet Jr. led the world championship by 17 points to fellow countryman, Lucas di Grassi. Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi was six points behind di Grassi in third. e.dams Renault topped the teams' championship by 44 points to Audi Sport Abt. NEXTEV Team China Racing was third, 11 further behind Audi Sport Abt.
After exceeding the track limits on multiple occasions in Moscow, Jarno Trulli was handed a five place grid penalty for failing to slow after cutting the chicane.[11]
Qualifying
[edit]| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
e.dams-Renault | 1:24.648 | — | 1 |
| 2 | 7 |  Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Dragon Racing | 1:25.104 | +0.456 | 2 |
| 3 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport Abt | 1:25.105 | +0.457 | 3 |
| 4 | 99 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
NEXTEV TCR | 1:25.144 | +0.496 | 4 |
| 5 | 27 |  Jean-Éric Vergne
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:25.182 | +0.534 | 5 |
| 6 | 8 | Nicolas Prost
|
e.dams-Renault | 1:25.258 | +0.610 | 6 |
| 7 | 88 |  Oliver Turvey
|
NEXTEV TCR | 1:25.829 | +1.181 | 7 |
| 8 | 21 | Bruno Senna
|
Mahindra Racing | 1:25.879 | +1.231 | 8 |
| 9 | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Virgin Racing | 1:25.894 | +1.246 | 9 |
| 10 | 77 |  Salvador Durán
|
Amlin Aguri | 1:25.964 | +1.316 | 10 |
| 11 | 6 | Loïc Duval
|
Dragon Racing | 1:25.998 | +1.340 | 11 |
| 12 | 23 |  Nick Heidfeld
|
Venturi Grand Prix | 1:26.128 | +1.480 | 12 |
| 13 | 66 | Daniel Abt
|
Audi Sport Abt | 1:26.302 | +1.654 | 13 |
| 14 | 30 | Stéphane Sarrazin
|
Venturi Grand Prix | 1:26.318 | +1.670 | 14 |
| 15 | 10 |  Jarno Trulli
|
Trulli GP | 1:26.852 | +2.204 | 201 |
| 16 | 5 |  Karun Chandhok
|
Mahindra Racing | 1:27.160 | +2.512 | 15 |
| 17 | 28 | Simona de Silvestro
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:27.208 | +2.560 | 16 |
| 18 | 55 |  Sakon Yamamoto
|
Amlin Aguri | 1:27.456 | +2.808 | 17 |
| 19 | 18 | Alex Fontana
|
Trulli GP | 1:28.083 | +3.435 | 18 |
| 20 | 3 | Fabio Leimer
|
Virgin Racing | 1:28.152 | +3.504 | 19 |
Race
[edit]- ^1 Three points for pole position.
- ^2 Two points for fastest lap.
- ^3 Salvador Duran received a drive through penalty converted into a 49-second penalty for overuse of power.
Standings after the race
[edit]Drivers or teams listed in bold were still able to take the respective title.
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
138 |
|
2 | Sébastien Buemi
|
133 |
|
3 | Lucas di Grassi
|
125 |
|
|
4 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
95 |
|
|
5 | Nicolas Prost
|
88 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | e.dams Renault
|
221 |
|
|
2 | Audi Sport ABT
|
157 |
|
|
3 |  NEXTEV TCR
|
144 |
|
|
4 |  Dragon Racing
|
138 |
|
|
5 | Andretti Autosport
|
119 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Race Two
[edit]| 2015 London ePrix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 11 of the 2014–15 Formula E season | |||
|
Layout of the Battersea Park Street Circuit | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | June 28, 2015 | ||
| Official name | Visa London ePrix | ||
| Location | Battersea Park Street Circuit, Battersea, London, United Kingdom | ||
| Course | Temporary circuit | ||
| Course length | 2.925 km (1.818 miles) | ||
| Distance | 29 laps, 84.825 km (52.708 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Venturi | ||
| Time | 1:23.901 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
Sam Bird | Virgin Racing | |
| Time | 1:26.790 on lap 24 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Virgin Racing | ||
| Second | Dragon Racing | ||
| Third | Dragon Racing | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
Qualifying
[edit]| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | Stéphane Sarrazin
|
Venturi Grand Prix | 1:23.901 | - | 1 |
| 2 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Dragon Racing | 1:23.965 | +0.064 | 2 |
| 3 | 6 | Loïc Duval
|
Dragon Racing | 1:24.107 | +0.206 | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Virgin Racing | 1:24.241 | +0.340 | 4 |
| 5 | 21 | Bruno Senna
|
Mahindra Racing | 1:24.318 | +0.417 | 5 |
| 6 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi
|
e.dams-Renault | 1:24.385 | +0.484 | 6 |
| 7 | 23 | Nick Heidfeld
|
Venturi Grand Prix | 1:25.494 | +1.593 | 7 |
| 8 | 77 | Salvador Duran
|
Amlin Aguri | 1:25.649 | +1.748 | 8 |
| 9 | 18 | Alex Fontana
|
Trulli GP | 1:25.689 | +1.788 | 9 |
| 10 | 10 | Jarno Trulli
|
Trulli GP | 1:27.093 | +3.192 | 10 |
| 11 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT | 1:32.570 | +8.669 | 11 |
| 12 | 88 | Oliver Turvey
|
NEXTEV TCR | 1:33.626 | +9.725 | 12 |
| 13 | 28 | Simona de Silvestro
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:34.167 | +10.266 | 13 |
| 14 | 27 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:35.032 | +11.131 | 14 |
| 15 | 8 | Nicolas Prost
|
e.dams-Renault | 1:35.111 | +11.210 | 15 |
| 16 | 99 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
NEXTEV TCR | 1:35.284 | +11.383 | 16 |
| 17 | 3 | Fabio Leimer
|
Virgin Racing | 1:35.543 | +11.642 | 17 |
| 18 | 66 | Daniel Abt
|
Audi Sport ABT | 1:38.473 | +14.572 | 18 |
| 19 | 5 | Karun Chandhok
|
Mahindra Racing | 1:41.232 | +17.331 | 19 |
| 20 | 55 | Sakon Yamamoto
|
Amlin Aguri | no time | - | 20 |
Race
[edit]Sarrazin won the race from pole, but he was penalized post-race for overusing his allocated energy, handing Bird victory in his home race.[14] Piquet Jr., meanwhile finished seventh and became Formula E's inaugural drivers' champion by one point ahead of Buemi, after the Swiss driver spun on his out lap after changing cars and stuck behind fourth-placed Senna for the remainder of the race, but nevertheless, e.dams secured their inaugural team's championship title.[14]
Notes:
- ^1 – Two points for fastest lap.
- ^2 – Stéphane Sarrazin received a drive through penalty converted into a 49-second penalty for overuse of power.
- ^3 – Three points for pole position.
Standings after the race
[edit]| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | Nelson Piquet Jr.
|
144 |
|
|
2 | Sébastien Buemi
|
143 |
|
|
3 | Lucas di Grassi
|
133 |
|
|
4 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
113 |
|
|
5 | Sam Bird
|
103 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | e.dams Renault
|
232 |
|
|
2 | Dragon Racing
|
171 |
|
|
3 | Audi Sport ABT
|
165 |
|
|
4 | NEXTEV TCR
|
152 |
|
|
5 | Virgin Racing
|
133 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
[edit]- ^ "London Timetable". FIA Formula E. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ "The final 2013 meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) took place today (4 December) in Paris, France". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Green light for 'double header' London ePrix in Battersea Park". FIA Formula E. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ ""Chaos" as Battersea Park prepares for Formula e weekend".
- ^ "Leimer replaces Alguersuari for London". Formula E Operations. FIA Formula E Championship. 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ "Jaime Alguersuari withdrawn from Formula E finale on health grounds". Autosport. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Fontana to race at London ePrix with Trulli". Motorsport. Motorsport.com. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ "De Silvestro to race in Visa London ePrix". Formula E Operations. FIA Formula E Championship. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ Biesbrouck, Tim. "Yamamoto replaces Felix da Costa in London". Electric Autosport. Formula Blue Media. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ "McLaren F1 test driver Oliver Turvey to make Formula E debut". autosport.com/. Autosport. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Trulli handed post-race grid penalty". Formula E Operations. FIA Formula E Championship. 6 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Driver Standings". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Team Standings". fiaformulae.com. FIA. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Formula E crowns its first champions in London". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2022-06-03.