FE: Buemi sets practice pace then crashes

Sebastien Buemi set the fastest time in Punta del Este Formula E practice in the opening session, then crashed his Renault e.dams in FP2.

The Swiss driver, who has been on pole position for each of the two races of the 2015-'16 season, posted a best time of 1m15.179s in first practice on the Uraguay street circuit. That was more than a second clear of DS Virgin driver Sam Bird at the end of a session in which many frontrunners did not complete a lap with 200kW of power.

In practice two, Buemi lost control after clipping the curb on the exit of the Turn 14/15 chicane and slewed into the wall, causing damage to the left-rear of his Z.E.15.

He returned to the track in the second car later on but was balked on his flying lap and wound up just under three tenths behind teammate Nicolas Prost's 1m15.405s session benchmark.

Splitting the two Renault drivers in second practice was championship leader Lucas di Grassi, while the Brazilian's Abt Audi Sport team-mate Daniel Abt caused a red flag when he lost control at the same place as Buemi and hit the wall, leaving his rear wing on the track in the process.

Abt also had a moment in the earlier session when he spun at the Turn 5/6 chicane, shortly before Bird crashed and caused a red flag and extensive damage to his car. The Briton clipped the inside wall at Turn 5, bouncing across the curb and sliding into the wall on the exit.

His teammate Jean-Eric Vergne also caused a stoppage in the same session with a possible battery problem.

Andretti Autosport driver Robin Frijns backed up his Putrajaya podium with good pace in both practice sessions, ending the second one fifth, while Dragon drivers Jerome d'Ambrosio (fourth in practice two) and Loic Duval (eighth after a mistake) also look strong.

Oliver Turvey gave NEXTEV a minor boost with the 10th best time in 2second practice, while debutant Oliver Rowland wound up slowest after not completing a 200kW lap.

NEW SHAKEDOWN FORMAT TRIED

The traditional Friday shakedown session, which normally comprises two three-lap runs behind the safety car split by car swaps, was altered for this event.

Instead of the usual format the safety car was not on the track and the car swap was not mandatory, so drivers were allowed to drive six laps in a 30-minute window. Those laps were supposed to be within a certain speed, though without the physical obstacle of the safety car many of the drivers appeared to go in excess of this to take advantage of the rare on-track running.

This format is likely to be repeated at some events over the rest of the season, but not all.

The Formula E race from Uraguay airs today on FOX Sports 2, beginning with delayed coverage of qualifying at 12:30pm ET, with the race airing live immediately afterward at 1:30pm ET.

PRACTICE ONE TIMES:

PRACTICE TWO TIMES:

Originally on Autosport.com