Situated on the picturesque Playa Brava Beach, the Punta del Este track may look beautiful but the walls can bite back. Winner of last year’s race, Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi previews the Punta del Este circuit and discusses the changes that have been made to the layout since last year.
Number of turns – 20
Track length – 2.785km
Past winners – Sebastien Buemi, e.dams Renault
Qualifying record – 1:15.408s, Jean-Eric Vergne (2014)
Lap record – 1:18.451s, Daniel Abt (2014)
Sun, sea and sand
“It’s so close to the sea that it even gets a bit sandy in the paddock! I had never been to Argentina or Uruguay until last year. It was great to discover those two countries as South America is a great place to race with knowledgeable motorsport fans. Punta del Este was one of the best race weekends we had last year and I think everyone in the paddock is looking forward to going back.”
Track changes
“This year the first corner is completely different, as instead of a right-left chicane it’s now left-right. The idea behind it is to make the pit exit much safer as last year we were exiting the pits on the racing line. Now, with this tweak, we will be able to exit easier and it will hopefully offer another good overtaking opportunity. There are also two chicanes which have been slowed slightly. It will be Punta like last year but with improvements. The FIA have kept the positive points of the track and tweaked the negative ones.
“It’s the most unique track that we experience with a lot of quick, tight chicanes. It’s a very high-speed circuit, which I enjoy."
Overtaking
“It’s never impossible to overtake in Formula E due to the energy management required and if you have strong pace you should be able to move up the field. Punta is one of the more difficult tracks to overtake on so qualifying might be a little more important here than at other circuits."