Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E
Sébastian Buemi admitted that he was “not aware” of Nick Cassidy’s intentions prior to their collision at the recent London E-Prix, which cost the New Zealander the title.
The final weekend of the 2022/23 season at the ExCeL Centre was a very mixed one for Envision Racing, who got it all wrong when it came to Cassidy’s chances in the Drivers’ Championship.
At the London E-Prix double-header, Envision were making all the right calls at the start of the opening race, by having Buemi hold up eventual World Champion Jake Dennis. This allowed Cassidy to activate his first Attack Mode and maintain the race lead.
However, when the Kiwi activated his second Attack Mode, he dropped back a few places. He found himself behind Dennis and Buemi, who was calling for instructions from the team. Cassidy did manage to overtake Dennis, but was then stuck behind Buemi.
Envision appeared to buckle under the pressure, as they failed to inform their drivers about what to do. As a result, Cassidy tried to overtake Buemi without instructions from the team, leaving the season two Champion unaware of what was going on.
Cassidy tried to overtake Buemi around the outside of Turn 3, where the pair then collided. The collision broke Cassidy’s front wing and led to his retirement from the race moments later. This effectively handed the championship to Dennis, who was in a good enough position to rule Mitch Evans out of the title fight.
Buemi admitted after the race that he was “not aware” that Cassidy was going to attempt a move at Turn 3, with him having criticised the Silverstone-based team’s communication.
“Yeah, I saw it in the mirror,” Buemi told Motorsport Week. “I was obviously not aware he wanted to pass me there. I think communication could have been better on that side.”
Buemi’s race only got more eventful from that moment, as he was forced to drive very slowly in the closing laps. The Formula E veteran activated his final Attack Mode too late, meaning he had to drive slower to ensure that he’d used it all by the time the race finished.
This caused a train behind, with Norman Nato having ultimately dived down the inside of Buemi at the penultimate corner. The pair collided and caused a road block, which led to a red flag. Nato was slapped with a five-second time penalty as a result, much to the Nissan driver’s frustration.
When the race restarted, Buemi crossed the line in fourth but was promoted to third following a three-minute time penalty for António Félix da Costa.
Buemi was visibly dejected after the first race in the British capital and was unhappy with the team’s miscommunication, which destroyed Cassidy’s title hopes and put Envision under immense pressure in the Teams’ Standings.
“No, I guess there were some worse ones, but, yeah, in the end salvaging a few points,” Buemi said after the opening race in London, when asked if it was the toughest race of his Formula E career. “It’s been a tough race.”
“Really disappointed with the way we operated,” admitted Buemi.
“We lost a lot and it’s hard to accept, but we have a great car, we have a great opportunity tomorrow, so we’ll do the best we can.”
The 34-year-old was also not keen to discuss the collision with Nato, which the Nissan driver told Motorsport Week was Buemi’s fault.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” insisted Buemi.
“I think, in the end, that’s the way it is and I’m going to take those points and move on to tomorrow.”
Envision ultimately did pull together in the second race and managed to seal the Constructors’ Championship, marking their first title in nine years. Cassidy won the final race of the season in what were treacherous conditions, whilst Buemi claimed sixth.
Keyword: Buemi ‘not aware’ of Cassidy’s intentions in title-deciding collision