FE: Buemi says Di Grassi 'willing to crash' in battle

Di Grassi extended his advantage to three points heading into Sunday's decider by finishing fourth, one place ahead of Buemi. The two fought up the order together and their battle was ignited when di Grassi broke his Abt Audi Sport car's front wing attempting to pass Jean-Eric Vergne. They went wheel to wheel on several occasions, with Buemi twice forced wide after trying to pass di Grassi on the outside of the Turn 11 chicane.

"I didn't take the risk to pass him because I felt he was willing to crash," Buemi said. "I stayed behind and by the time they were going to give the black-and-orange flag to stop he lost the part and he was quick again.

"I attacked a few times and I just saw he was willing to crash and I had to back off."

Di Grassi admitted he was fortunate the broken wing endplate fell off so quickly, but denied his defense had been too aggressive.

"The track is there to be used," he said when asked if he had crossed a line. "The rules are very clear. You cannot weave on the straight, but there are no rules on how much you can close.

"I was trying not to leave any space on the inside. So it was tough, but it was very fair. I could have pushed him out and I didn't.

"And that's what he can expect me to do tomorrow if I am in front of him. It's very simple."

BUEMI UNHAPPY WITH ABT AS WELL

Renault e.dams driver Buemi also hit out at di Grassi's team-mate Daniel Abt's driving while acting as the Brazilian's "bodyguard" in the first half of the race.

Abt let di Grassi into seventh early on, then spent a dozen laps defending from Buemi. He received a warning for changing direction too much at one stage and Buemi said the way he was driving was "like a snake."

"He was clearly very, very aggressive and with what happened in Berlin [when Abt did not fulfill a team order to let di Grassi finish second] he made it up today," Buemi said. "He was moving left, right, left, right, everywhere."

Abt said: "Yes it was very hard, it was on the edge, but I was not waiting for him to make a move and turning in on him. He kept going to the outside – and on the outside here you don't overtake."

DI GRASSI HITS OUT AT 'IDIOT' VERGNE

While di Grassi believed his defense from Buemi was within the rules, he was highly critical of Vergne's role in the incident that broke his wing.

"JEV was really an idiot because he left a gap open for me, I was quicker than him and went for that gap," di Grassi explained. "When I was side-by-side he completely turned in on me. It almost ruined the race.

"That's a completely stupid way of doing racing, either you completely close the gap and defend tough, like I did with Seb, or if you leave the gap and somebody goes there, don't turn in."

Vergne's driving also drew ire from Oliver Turvey, who felt repeated contact from the Frenchman in the closing stages damaged the rear of his car and caused him to crash out of third place.

Vergne (leading, below) described the race as "a normal fight in Formula E" and hit back at di Grassi's complaints, saying: "He must have believed I'm a beginner and I would let him by when I saw his front wing, but I'm not like this."

Originally on Autosport.com