Vergne wins Paris ePrix

From left Di Frassi, Vergne and Bird
From left Di Frassi, Vergne and Bird

After a turbulent and testing race in the heart of Paris, it was a fairytale ending for home race hero Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah), who stormed to victory in front of a packed home crowd. Following the Frenchman across the line was Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi in second, followed by DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird in third.

But, as we've come to expect in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the outcome was far from predictable here in Paris, with chaos in the closing seconds of the race resulting in a surprise ending.

Just minutes into the start of the race, MS&AD Andretti Formula E's Tom Blomqvist piled into the back of Prost, leaving Blomqvist sandwiched between the Frenchman and Panasonic Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans behind.

Behind them was Ma Qing Hua, who was left stranded on the grid, unable to pull away.

From the off, home race hero and championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) led the charge, followed closely by DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird in second and Techeetah's Andre Lotterer in third.

On lap eight, Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Daniel Abt passed Mahindra Racing's Felix Rosenqvist on the outside edge, before climbing one more place as the German driver slipped past Dragon's Jose Maria Lopez on the inside. Shortly after, on lap 16, Abt slipped past NIO Formula E Team's Oliver Turvey to climb yet another position to seventh. After starting the race in 15th, Abt was understandably determined to improve his standing and was showing no signs of slowing.

Pitlane in Paris
Pitlane in Paris

With Bird holding his own, sandwiched between the Techeetah drivers, the three drivers pulled away from the pack, with Vergne still leading the way.

With energy starting to run low, particularly from Blomqvist in 17th who was the first to pit, Bird made a bid for the front, locking up the wheels as he broke late into the corner. Unsuccessful, all three frontrunners headed into the pits at the same time, emerging from the pit lane in the same order.

Further down the gird, reigning champion and Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler driver Lucas di Grassi pulled out of the pits in fourth place with Venturi Formula E's Maro Engel hot on his tail followed by last year's winner Sebastien Buemi (Renault e.dams).

By lap 30 Abt was on the move again, jostling with Buemi for sixth place. Building up pace down Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg, Rosenqvist squeezed himself in between Lopez and the inside wall on Turn 10 to climb up to eighth.

Back at the front, Vergne was leading by over two seconds by lap 35, leaving Bird and Lotterer to battle in second and third. Finding his moment, Lotterer broke late into Turn 10, cutting off Bird mid-turn, with the German driver gaining a place from the Machiavellian manoeuvre.

Also seeing a chance to improve his position was Audi's Lucas di Grassi who caught Bird off guard, slipping into third place, leaving the DS Virgin Racing driver two places down in just a matter of seconds.

After Venturi's Edoardo Mortara clipped Jose Mara Lopez on Turn 10, the Swiss driver was forced out wide, unable to make the turn. With Mortara briefly stopped on track, the cars continued under a yellow flag.

On lap 44, Abt was on the hunt again with Buemi in his sights. Putting his FANBOOST to good use, the German slipped past the Renault driver and moved up into sixth.

Reminiscent of this seasons' showdown in Punta del Este, it was Audi vs Techeetah as di Grassi and Lotterer fought a brutal battle in second and third.

With just seconds to go, Lotterer had depleted his energy after battling hard. Crawling along, just meters from the finish line, the Techeetah driver was helpless as di Grassi passed him to take second. With energy to spare, Bird was helpless to avoid the stricken Techeetah car, piling into the back of Lotterer and shattering the DS' front axle. With only three wheels, Bird limped across the line in third, leaving Lotterer, with a broken rear spoiler, to crawl across the line in sixth.

Race Result

POS DRIVER TEAM CAR LAPS GAP
1 Jean-Eric Vergne Techeetah Renault 49 54m49.102s
2 Lucas di Grassi Audi Audi 49 4.882s
3 Sam Bird Virgin DS Virgin 49 8.897s
4 Maro Engel Venturi Venturi 49 9.287s
5 Sebastien Buemi e.dams Renault 49 10.194s
6 Andre Lotterer Techeetah Renault 49 10.855s
7 Daniel Abt Audi Audi 49 13.918s
8 Felix Rosenqvist Mahindra Mahindra 49 15.271s
9 Oliver Turvey NIO NextEV NIO 49 19.557s
10 Jose Maria Lopez Dragon Penske 49 20.989s
11 Nick Heidfeld Mahindra Mahindra 49 21.698s
12 Jerome d'Ambrosio Dragon Penske 49 26.723s
13 Edoardo Mortara Venturi Venturi 49 29.937s
14 Alex Lynn Virgin DS Virgin 49 43.112s
15 Mitch Evans Jaguar Jaguar 49 43.989s
16 Nicolas Prost e.dams Renault 48 1 Lap
17 Ma Qing Hua NIO NextEV NIO 46 3 Laps
Nelson Piquet Jr. Jaguar Jaguar 32 Retirement
Tom Blomqvist Andretti Andretti 32 Retirement
Antonio Felix da Costa Andretti Andretti 2 Retirement

Drivers' standings

POS DRIVER POINTS
1 Jean-Eric Vergne 147
2 Sam Bird 116
3 Felix Rosenqvist 86
4 Sebastien Buemi 70
5 Lucas di Grassi 58
6 Daniel Abt 56
7 Nelson Piquet Jr. 45
8 Mitch Evans 43
9 Andre Lotterer 41
10 Oliver Turvey 34
11 Edoardo Mortara 29
12 Maro Engel 23
13 Nick Heidfeld 21
14 Alex Lynn 17
15 Antonio Felix da Costa 16
16 Jose Maria Lopez 14
17 Jerome d'Ambrosio 12
18 Nicolas Prost 7
19 Tom Blomqvist 4
20 Luca Filippi 1
21 Kamui Kobayashi 0
22 Ma Qing Hua 0
23 Neel Jani 0