Renault e.dams has won the second race of season three of the FIA Formula E Championship With Seb Buemi taking the win.

Renault e.dams has won the second race of season three of the FIA Formula E Championship with a robust run up the order from Sébastien Buemi from seventh on the grid in the Marrakesh ePrix. 

Séb had qualified second at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, only to be given a five-place grid penalty due to an issue with his car’s fire extinguisher, but team strategy allied to efficient energy deployment and exemplary driving saw Séb’s eighth career Formula E win.

Nico Prost drove a strong and mature race too, translating his sixth-position on the grid to P4 at the chequered flag. Nico had earlier been drawn in the first qualifying group and was unlucky to miss out on the final Superpole shoot-out.

Renault e.dams leaves Marrakesh with 74 points in the Championship, ahead of ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport and Mahindra Racing who both have 36 points. 

Sébastian has 50 points in the Drivers' Championship with his nearest rival, Lucas di Grassi, on 28. Nico Prost is in third position with 24 points.  

Renault e,dams, Sébastien and Nico will next be seen in action for the third round of season three, the Buenos Aires ePrix on the Circuito de Puerto Madero in Argentina on February 18, 2017.

#9 Séb:

"My cars were amazing today and the balance was really good. In my first lap I used a bit too much energy but after that we were able to save charge so we could be strong and push when we needed later in the stint, and this really worked for us. 

We know we have an efficient car and we had to take advantage of that after we started further back on the grid than we wanted. 

I was able to extract everything I needed from the car and it shows the team is working really well, so it’s been a very positive start to the season."

#8 Nico:

"I am happy about my race but a little frustrated that I wasn’t able to qualify higher. I showed good pace in practice but Q1 is the most difficult qualifying session to deliver in, even if it was very close to Superpole. 

I consumed a little bit too much energy in my out-lap, which meant I had to save a little bit in my first stint of the race. Nevertheless, I was able to overtake Daniel Abt and push strongly. Certainly, I would have preferred to have finished on the podium here – and in Hong Kong – but the most important thing is scoring points."

Vincent Gaillardot, Renault Sport Project Leader:

"It was interesting to test the Z.E.16 in race conditions at a permanent circuit as it gives us further information about the performance between the teams. Qualifying showed us that it is very tight between us, DS, Mahindra and Audi too. 

The problem we had with the extinguisher where it must have discharged its gas is an unusual one, but fortunately we were able to fight back in the race. 

Today we confirmed that our package is very efficient in race conditions and both drivers were able to take advantage of this."

Jean-Paul Driot, Senior Team Manager:

"It’s very good to enter the winter with such a strong points advantage, especially with a long period before we head to Buenos Aires. 

Sébastien drove a very strong race to fight back from his penalty which was backed-up by a strong race from Nico too, so it was a great team effort all round. 

We didn’t get distracted by the early pace of some of our competitors but focused on driving our own race with our own strategy which meant the result came our way at the chequered flag."

Alain Prost, Senior Team Manager:

"That was a great day. The team is improving with every race and even if we don’t start at the front we can still win. A little bit like in Hong Kong we weren’t able to show our very best in qualifying but it does look like one lap pace is closer this season, which is good for the championship. 

We focused on the race in our practice session preparations and this benefitted us especially as we were able to fight back from the penalty for Sébastien. 

The team and both drivers delivered what we needed and two wins for Séb and two fourth positions for Nico is a strong start to our championship defence. For sure our competitors are improving all the time, but we are determined not to sit back and let them catch us!"

Marrakesh ePrix Race Results

1. Sebastien Buemi

2. San Bird

3. Felix Rosenqvist

4. Nicolas Prost

5. Lucas di Grassi

6. Daniel Abt

7. Oliver Turvey

8. Jean-Éric Vergne

9. Nick Heidfeld

10. José-María Lopez

Team Championship standings

1. Renault e.dams - 74

2. ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport - 36

3. Mahindra Racing - 36

4. Andretti Formula E - 19

5. DS Virgin Racing - 18

6. NEXTEV NIO - 13

7. Faraday Future Dragon Racing - 7

8. TECHEETAH - 4

9. Venturi Formula E Team - 3

10. Panasonic Jaguar Racing – 0

Driver Championship standings

1. Sebastien Buemi - 50

2. Lucas di Grassi - 28

3. Nicolas Prost - 24

4. Felix Rosenqvist - 19

5. Sam Bird - 18

6. Nick Heidfeld - 17

7. Antonio Felix da Costa - 10

8. Oliver Turvey - 10

9. Robin Frijns - 8

10. Daniel Abt - 8

Renault takes the win at the first race of the third season from the FIA Formula e ePrix at Hong Kong.

• Renault e.dams opened season three of the FIA Formula E Championship in emphatic fashion with Sébastien Buemi taking his seventh career Formula E win and Nico Prost working his way back through the field to finish fourth in the HKT Hong Kong ePrix.
• The team leaves Hong Kong with 37 points in the Team Championship, ahead of ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport and Andretti Formula E who both have 18 points. 

From fourth on the grid, Sébastian drove in a measured and assured fashion to take one position on merit, another thanks to a rival getting tangled up in another's incident and finally P1 thanks to pit stop strategy. The win means Séb starts his Drivers' Championship defence with 25 points to Lucas di Grassi's 18.

If Séb's race was measured, then Nico Prost's was fully feisty from start to finish. From P10 on the grid, a mode selection issue meant Nico dropped positions on the initial lap and this was compounded by contact front and rear as the field compressed. 

On a charge and in the correct mode, Nico blasted past his rivals and worked up the order ending his race just shy of the podium in fourth.

Qualifying earlier in the day had been an eventful affair. Incidents in Q1, Q2 and Q3 meant delayed running and cancellation of Superpole, the net result for the Renault e.dams duo was P4 for Séb, P10 for Nico.

Renault e.dams, Sébastien and Nico will next be seen in action for the second round of season three, the Marrakesh ePrix in Morocco on November 12.

#9 Séb:

"Initially I thought we'd made a mistake when we made our pit stop under the safety car, but as we saw it all worked out perfectly. I'm happy with today's result but we certainly had to fight for it. 

We saw in qualifying just how hard everyone was pushing and the race was not easy for us. I felt a lot happier with the second car today as we made some set-up changes but overall this has been a great weekend and a superb way to start the season."

#8 Nico:

"I don't know exactly what happened on the first lap as I got stuck in the wrong mode and I lost a load of places. 

Fortunately I was back into the correct mode on the straight so I fought like hell to overtake everyone I could; I was really going for every gap possible! 

In the end our race turned out really well and we had a great strategy. It was a fantastic result for the team today so I'm really happy for everyone."

Vincent Gaillardot, Renault Operations Director:

"Our weekend finished a lot better than it started as we had an issue on one of Nico's car in the shakedown. We knew from free practice today that we had good potential, however qualifying was more difficult than expected. Our race performance was consistent, we had a good strategy and both drivers drove well. Séb was able to take the lead through a combination of factors but mainly thanks to a strong and sensible drive with an effective strategy. Nico had a switch-management issue at the start but was able to recover well. Everything we've seen in Hong Kong is promising for the season."

Jean-Paul Driot, Senior Team Manager:

"There is no better way to start season three. We saw that qualifying was very tight this morning but the quality of our drivers and our strong strategy played out well. We are happy to  be the first team ever to win in Hong Kong, just as being the first Formula E team to win in Monaco. These are fantastic milestones. I'm very pleased with how the team worked and the drivers delivered all weekend. Renault e.dams is a great combination of strengths with our technology, professionalism and efficiency giving great results!"

Alain Prost, Senior Team Manager:

"What a fantastic way to start the season! The first-ever Hong Kong ePrix certainly looked spectacular and we saw some very close competition. I’m particularly proud at how the team delivered in a strong and measured fashion across the whole event. Both drivers drove very well and the strategy worked well. Qualifying might not have been as good as we wanted but in the race, everyone gave exactly what was required. Séb drove a very mature and effective race whilst Nico showed great aggression to work back up the order after issues on the first lap. We’re all very much looking forward to Marrakesh." 

Renault announces the cars and line up of drivers for the 2016/2017 FIA Formula e championship, starting this weekend.

Renault e.dams is the most successful team in the short history of the FIA Formula E Championship. With two teams’ championship titles, one driver title and nine wins, it has set the benchmark since the series inception in 2014.

Managed by four time Formula One World Champion Alain Prost and iconic team DAMS founder Jean-Paul Driot, the team has strong technical support from Renault Sport Racing, the hugely successful manufacturer-backed motorsport operation that encompasses racing disciplines from Formula One to endurance racing.

A world leader in electric mobility with its ground-breaking Z.E. range, Renault has embraced the innovative series’ potential and seized the opportunity to demonstrate its expertise on an international platform. Using its motorsport engine hub at Viry-Châtillon, it has developed one of the most powerful and technically advanced powertrains in the field.

With drivers’ champion Sébastien Buemi and hard-charging Nicolas Prost at the wheel, the team now enters the third season of the championship even more hungry for success. It has just one objective: to win.