Formula E

Formula E in Monaco: Sebastien Buemi wins sensationally thrilling rain race

Timo Pape

Timo Pape

Shiv Gohil / Spacesuit Media

Sebastien Buemi sensationally won Sunday's race in the rain in Monaco. The veteran Envision driver claimed his first Formula E victory after a dry spell of 80 (!) races and celebrated his 14th E-Prix win ever - an all-time record! In a thrilling race, world championship leader Oliver Rowland (Nissan) finished second ahead of Nick Cassidy (Jaguar). Several accidents had previously caused interruptions.

Pole-sitter Oliver Rowland got the best start on a drying track. However, everyone behind him also got away well and drove very carefully through the first corner in the difficult conditions. Sam Bird started from the pit lane after his crash in qualifying. On the first lap, the drivers slid across the wet roads of the Principality to test the limits of the tyres. There were a few minor contacts. Jean-Eric Vergne passed his DS team-mate Max Günther and was now third behind Nyck de Vries.

On lap 3, Sebastien Buemi, Dan Ticktum and Jake Dennis were the first drivers to drive through the attack zone. They were now able to move forwards in four-wheel drive - a particular advantage in the difficult grip conditions. Most of the other drivers in the top 10 reacted in the same way on the next lap and took their first of two attack modes. Only Rowland and de Vries at the front remained in normal race mode. The Dutchman initially lost positions to Vergne, Buemi and Günther before he also drove through the attack zone - and also fell behind Ticktum in the process.

David Beckmann spun in turn 1 after Jake Hughes had slashed his tyre under braking. Beckmann had to come into the pits to change his tyres. Race control later imposed a 5-second time penalty on Hughes. At the front, Vergne passed Rowland to take the lead at the Monaco E-Prix. Rowland nevertheless remained "out of sync". Vergne now gave it his all and extended his lead to more than four seconds. Meanwhile, de Vries made up positions and was already back in third behind Rowland.

Accidents involving di Grassi & Müller

Then the first crash happened: Lucas di Grassi lost his Lola in turn 8 and hit the wall with the front end. As he was unable to return to the pits under his own power, race control called a full-course yellow to recover the car. However, the interruption with a 50 km/h speed limit did not last long. After the restart, Vergne continued to lead the field by three seconds. Behind him: Rowland, de Vries, Günther and Buemi, who put the German under pressure.

Ticktum then made a mistake when attacking Jaguar driver Nick Cassidy. On the way to Mirabeau he hit the wall slightly on the right and slid into the run-off area. There he had to turn round and dropped back to 18th place. The next incident occurred on lap 13: Nico Müller lost his Andretti in the fast left-hand bend Massenet and touched the outside wall. "Sorry, it's on me", radioed the Swiss, who was no longer able to move his car. The safety car came out onto the track for the first time. Meanwhile, Mitch Evans had to pit with a puncture and dropped back a long way.

With the start of lap 15 - i.e. towards the halfway point - the race continued at race pace. Vergne won the restart, but now had Rowland right behind him again. The Frenchman had also used significantly more energy than his rival in the Nissan. On lap 18, Rowland finally drove through the attack zone for the first time and initially fell behind de Vries. On the way to the harbour chicane, he attacked the Mahindra driver on the outside and did not brake in time. He had to cut the chicane short and also fell behind Buemi. On the start and finish straight, Rowland finally grabbed de Vries as well.

Tight duels at the front

Now Vergne tried to defend as best he could against the overpowering Rowland in the four-wheel drive. Vergne missed the mark in the harbour chicane, forcing Rowland to take another shortcut. "Laughing third" was de Vries, who got the better corner exit and overtook both of them! However, Rowland countered before the swimming pool section - including contact - and took the lead again. One lap later, de Vries picked up his second attack mode and took the lead again - plenty of action in Monaco!

Now Buemi really turned up the heat in attack mode and overtook several drivers. He even caught de Vries uphill after turn 1 and took the lead. Now Rowland also picked up his second attack mode and dropped back for the time being. He also voluntarily let Vergne past to avoid a possible penalty for taking a shortcut. However, when Vergne's attack mode expired, Rowland immediately regained the position.

On lap 23, Nick Cassidy and Antonio Felix da Costa also made their claims in the battle for the lead. Both passed de Vries at "Mirabeau", who was now losing more and more ground. The "adjusted" classification on lap 24 of 29: Buemi ahead of Rowland, Cassidy, Felix da Costa, de Vries, Vergne and Pascal Wehrlein. Buemi had a lead of more than 3.5 seconds over Rowland at the front and was heading for a sensation, especially as the Swiss driver continued to widen the gap.

Smoother final phase

As the drivers no longer had to save energy in the final phase, things calmed down a little - although the race organisers extended the race by one lap due to the interruptions. The battle for the final podium spot was particularly exciting, as Felix da Costa put a lot of pressure on Cassidy. Buemi - now almost five seconds behind - set the fastest lap time without attack mode in order to score the additional point. However, Felix da Costa snatched this away from him a little later.

Not much else worth mentioning happened. Buemi secured his first Formula E victory since the 2019 New York E-Prix and became the first driver to win three times in his career in Monaco! Rowland extended his championship lead with second place and Cassidy defended his podium. Felix da Costa finished fourth ahead of de Vries, Vergne, Wehrlein, Günther, Dennis and Vandoorne.

In the drivers' championship, Felix da Costa has taken over second place from his team-mate Wehrlein. Rowland at the top, however, already has a 48-point lead! Porsche continues to lead the teams ahead of Nissan and Mahindra, and Nissan remains ahead of Porsche in the manufacturers' standings. However, Jaguar has made a big leap to third place. The next Formula E race takes place in a fortnight' time. The electric series will then travel to Tokyo for another double-header.

Results & lap times

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)

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