Buemi set the pace at first testing
Sebastien Buemi proved to be the fastest racer during the first official pre-season Formula E testing at Donington Park.
The Renault e.dams driver and championship runners-up from last season set the time at 1:32.092 to beat Lucas Di Grassi from ABT Audi team by 0.063 seconds, while Nicolas Prost, the second Renault e.dams driver, was third with 1:32.286.
This was also first public session, so many fans got a glimpse of what they should expect in the new season. However, only 14 cars were seen on the track as Andretti team decided to stay in the garage, just as Trulli team. Another disappointing but not entirely unexpected moment was a brief rain shower in the mid-session which caused the testing to be halted for a while.
There were also two debutants. Former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve in Venturi who finished 14th, just behind reigning champion Nelson Piquet, and Frenchman Tom Dillmann in Team Aguri‘s car who was 9th.
Results:
1. Sebastien Buemi (Renault e.dams) 1:32.095
2. Lucas di Grassi (ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) 1:32.158
3. Nicolas Prost (Renault e.dams) 1:32.286
4. Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing) 1:32.523
5. Salvador Duran (Team Aguri) 1:32.549
6. Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing) 1:35.653
7. Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing) 1:35.700
8. Jerome D’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) 1:36.324
9. Tom Dillmann (Team Aguri) 1:36.329
10. Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) 1:36.361
11. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Virgin Racing) 1:36.704
12. Loic Duval (Dragon Racing) 1:37.987
13. Nelson Piquet Jr (NEXTEV TCR) 1:38.052
14. Jacques Villeneuve (Venturi) 1:38.176
15. Jarno Trulli (Trulli) no time set
16. Simona de Silvestro (Andretti) no time set
