Sebastien Buemi Breaks Through with Podium Finish in Jeddah
In a significant turnaround, Sebastien Buemi of Envision Racing clinched his first podium of Formula E Season 12 during Round 5 in Jeddah. The Swiss driver secured a second-place finish, with Antonio Felix da Costa taking the victory and Oliver Rowland completing the podium in third. This result comes after a challenging start to the season for Buemi, who had faced multiple setbacks in earlier races.
Buemi's Relief After Overcoming Early Season Struggles
Speaking after the race, Buemi expressed a sense of relief, acknowledging the difficulties he encountered in previous rounds. "Kind of relieved, to be honest," Buemi told FormulaE.com. "In Mexico I threw it away in Turn 1 starting from pole. In Miami, the team did not communicate well and we impeded people, started last but had a mega race. Yesterday we just had a bad set of tires and qualified last, and today everything went okay."
Buemi's season began with an eighth-place finish in Sao Paulo, followed by a disappointing last-place result in Mexico City despite starting from pole position. In Miami, he demonstrated resilience by climbing from the back row to seventh place. He repeated that seventh-place finish in the first race of the Jeddah doubleheader before finally achieving his podium breakthrough.
Team Performance and Future Prospects
Reflecting on the team's progress, Buemi highlighted the improvements made by Envision Racing over the past months. "It's always hard to predict, but obviously I think what the team has done and evolved in the last six months is good," he said. "We seem to see a lot more performance, not always the results we hope for, but good performance. And if you have performance, at some point you get the result."
Buemi currently sits ninth in the Formula E Drivers' Standings with 37 points. His teammate, Joel Eriksson, has also shown progress, finishing fourth in Miami. Buemi emphasized the importance of consistency moving forward: "I didn't make mistakes, the team did great, and we had a good set of tires and a good result. So hopefully we can iron out all those small issues and start to score some decent points like today."
Looking Ahead to the Next Round
Formula E drivers now enter a month-long break before returning to action for Round 6 in Madrid. The Madrid E-Prix is a new addition to the Formula E calendar this year and is scheduled for March 21. This upcoming race presents another opportunity for Buemi and Envision Racing to build on their momentum and continue their pursuit of valuable championship points.
