Buemi wins Formula E season opener, Heidfeld 3rd for Mahindra

Reigning Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi got his title defence off to the perfect start with victory in the Hong Kong ePrix while Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld produced a solid drive to finish third in the season opener here today.
Splitting the race winner Buemi and Heidfeld was Lucas di Grassi.
Buemi hit the front in the second half of the race when Sam Bird pitted for his mandatory car swap. But the DS Virgin Racing car failed to pull out of the pits, allowing Buemi, who had made his stop under the Safety Car, to take over out front for his seventh Formula E win.

From the start it was Julius Baer pole position man Nelson Piquet Jr. Who led into the tight first corner, and the Brazilian held a comfortable lead over his team-mate Oliver Turvey in the early stages.
Turvey had his hands full defending from Bird and Buemi, while behind them bumping and barging resulted in numerous contact; local hero Ma Qing Hua retiring and both ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport cars of Daniel Abt and di Grassi being shown the black and orange flag, ordering them to pit for mechanical repair.
During this period there was also some contact between Bird and his DS Virgin racing team-mate Jose Maria Lopez and the damage to 'Pechito's' car had made it a real handful. Finally, he lost the fight and crashed into the barriers at the chicane.

The next car along was race-leader Piquet, and unsighted, he had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the Argentine. As his brakes locked he sailed down the escape road before gently nerfing the barrier. His car was undamaged, but he had dropped to third by the time he re-joined.

Bird led from Buemi, but with the Safety Car deployed so that Lopez's car could be extracted, the Renault e.Dams team opted to pit their man. This proved to be the decisive moment of the race. DS Virgin kept Bird out, while NEXTEV NIO chose to stop Piquet just as the race was going back to green.

These two errors - compounded by a technical problem that delayed Bird in the pits - sealed the win for Buemi. He still had to put a move on di Grassi, who following some amazing pitwork by the team in replacing his damaged nose - and a very aggressive energy strategy - finished second from 19th on the grid.
The championship now moves to North Africa for the first time, with the Marrakesh ePrix on November 12.
Race results
1. Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.Dams, 53:13.298 2. Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +2.477s 3. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +5.522s 4. Nico Prost, Renault e.Dams, +7.360s

5. Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti Formula E, +17.987s 6. Robin Frijns, Andretti Formula E, +21.161s 7. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +28.443s 8. Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV NIO, +30.355s
9. Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E, +30.898s 10. Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi Formula E, +31.784s 11. Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV NIO, +35.256s 12. Adam Carroll, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +43.839s 13. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, +48.058s 14. Loic Duval, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +2 laps 15. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, +2 laps 16. Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, +11 laps 17. Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, +14 laps 18. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, +21 laps 19. Jose Maria Lopez, DS Virgin Racing, +30 laps 20. Ma Qing Hua, TECHEETAH, +44 laps.