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The 2016 Buenos Aires ePrix went right down to the wire with championship leader Sebastien Buemi chasing down Sam Bird until the chequered flag. Find out exactly what happened to your favourite driver in their own words…
Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing - 1st
“It was really tough but I’m so thrilled. As everybody knows we merged with a great manufacturer, DS, for this season and the hard work at the DS Virgin Racing team has produced a really good car today. This is for the boys and the ladies who have worked tirelessly since Punta to give me a better race car. It was a really tough win, my hardest race so far. I look forward to watching it back.”
Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams - 2nd
“I’m really pleased with the result. I think that was probably one of my best races so far coming from the back to the podium. I was frustrated with qualifying - obviously it would have been better to bring home the maximum number of points again, but at the end of the day it’s another strong result and it keeps us in the lead.”
Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - 3rd
“We didn’t have a good car here. I think it was our worst race in terms of pure pace. Qualifying was not so good and the race also. To close the gap on them I had to use more energy so I had to save it in the end. I think all the teams did a step forward after Punta testing and we didn’t. Renault did a big step and it was shown today that with a track you can overtake you can start at the back, even if he was lucky with the safety car. They are very strong so if we want to fight for the championship we have to work much harder.”
Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi - 4th
“I am really happy with this result despite the radio issues and lack of communication with the team. We have shown that Venturi is right there - just behind the big three teams - and we have something to play for in this championship. We are more and more consistent and that’s good.”
Nico Prost, Renault e.dams - 5th
“I was really happy with my pace earlier today. I was quick in practice and qualifying, so the result was really frustrating for me. I had an issue in the pitlane that meant I lost time there and then I made a mistake, which cost us a podium. Another fifth place is good in terms of the standings, but I’m definitely looking to improve in Mexico.”
Loic Duval, Dragon Racing - 6th
“We didn’t make the race easy with the qualifying we had. After Punta we had a test where we found a really good set-up but actually it was because the track developed a lot of grip. So we actually went in the wrong direction. We reverted to the old set-up for the race and it worked ok. The difference was night and day. At the end the pace was there and we recovered well to get points for the team.”
Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing - 7th
“It was damage limitation today. If you start way down the grid it’s not where you want to be. I’m over the moon I could do this race weekend at all. It was unclear and unlikely from the injury I had that I would be able to race. The injury looks small but it was severe for the hand. A few weeks ago I couldn’t do much at all. So to score points is a great result.”
Robin Frijns, Andretti - 8th
"The first car was a bit too cautious, I think we were a bit slow in the beginning. We thought we were limited on power, which was really the case with the first car. Then in the second car there was a safety car for two laps. That caused us to use way more energy than we had planned on which also caused us to damage the battery more because we're using more energy each lap. Then with three laps to go, the temperature was 61 or 60, we lost all the regen on the breaking in the rear from one corner to the other. We went straight off line, so on that lap I used a lot of energy because I was turning wide. That made the last three laps a mess because the energy was limited and the temperature was as well. We will learn from this and we will see how the next race goes."
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR - 9th
“Today in qualifying, my lap wasn’t perfect, but to be closer to the front is encouraging and it gave us the position to fight in the race. Starting from 11th I knew we had a good chance to get points and I made a good start and was up to eighth on the first lap. From our side the strategy worked out well and we were able to make the most of it. The pitstop was a bit of a shame because I lost time and we would have finished a bit higher. To score more points for the team is a good result."
Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing - 10th
“The team did a great job today. In qualifying I made a mistake and was pushing hard. The crash didn’t seem that big but it broke the battery, the motor casing and suspension. Before the race I wasn’t convinced I would have a second car - the guys did an amazing job to fix the car.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Virgin Racing - 11th
“Today was tough as I started the day quite ill and missed both practice sessions which didn’t make it easy for qualifying. I got the green light from the doctors before the second session but my team were still conscious of my condition and didn’t allow me to drive. To jump straight in qualifying and then a race where energy management is critical wasn’t ideal.”
Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR - 12th
“We tried a few things, some of which worked and some didn’t, and so I lost a lot of ground at the beginning because of what we were trying to accomplish. The positive thing is that we’re trying lots of new things and doing a bit of trial and error and we have to do that in the position we are in. The team is continuing to work really hard and our focus is now on the next race in Mexico.”
Daniel Abt, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport - 13th
“Today was a real disaster, qualifying was alright but not great. In the race I had no pace and was struggling with energy management and again we messed up the pitstop. I have no real explanation of why we were so off the pace today, so we have to analyse what happened.”
Simona de Silvestro, Andretti - 14th
“We had a really great start, I started 14th and we made up a few positions right on the first lap. Then throughout the run we were struggling with temperature. We really had to save quite a lot of energy, we had some problems with the dash at the start as well. So, it was a little complicated in the first stint. The second stint we got held up a little bit in the pits. The second car was much better, but overall we just struggled a little bit with the car and with the energy we had to save. But you know, we learn and we will study the data and then on to the next one."
Mike Conway, Venturi - 15th
"The end result wasn’t good and I didn’t quite make the 18 lap target in the first stint. It was just learning every lap how to manage the energy. I knew it would be difficult but I am really sorry for the team regarding this race result. I had a lot to learn this weekend. I am disappointed but I can see that I was on pace with drivers who are used to driving in this series and particularly in these electric single-seaters. That’s encouraging for the next race.”
Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing - 16th
“It wasn’t the best race for us. I was hit from behind at the first corner which damaged my wheel hub. I had to pit to fix the problem which basically ruined my race. After that I had really good pace but it didn’t matter much after that.”
Antonio Felix da Costa, Team Aguri - DNF
“Very painful today I have to say. It was looking really good and we were sticking to the plan and unfortunately we had the same issue as in Malaysia with a software problem. It’s a shame as we were looking strong, we were safe on energy and could keep the pace.”
Salvador Duran, Team Aguri - DNF
“Today was a difficult race, qualifying was really bad. I made a mistake and cost a lot for the team. Then the first part of the race, which we could do with the car which was good, it ran well but I made contact in the first corner. It wasn’t on purpose but it certainly cost me time. Anyway we have great information for the team and looking forward to the next race in Mexico.”