Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi strode to a comfortable win in the 2025 Monaco E-Prix Round 7, having started eighth on the grid in the Principality for his third win on the Riviera as he led home Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy. Cassidy had earlier finished 18th in Saturday’s race with fellow Kiwi and teammate Mitch Evans in 20th. The race (Round 6) was won by Oliver Rowland.
The Swiss – Formula E’s Season 2 champion – last won 78 races ago in New York City in 2019, but stamped his authority on the final third of this race, having clambered his way through the pack in super slippery wet conditions from eighth at lights out.
“It feels very very sweet,” said Cassidy. “I can’t fault my guys – it’s been an extremely tough start to the year, it’s no secret I’ve not been the happiest guy at times, but this one feels like a big monkey off the shoulders and I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts.
“On the inside I’m jumping up and down, I’m very very happy – it doesn’t get more special than here. Obviously the last couple of years have been nice to us here and it’s super special to carry that on.”
Buemi took full advantage in picking up the pieces from a Rowland lunge at the chicane on Lap 21. The Brit was trying to pass Jean-Éric Vergne who led through much of the encounter with a typically staunch defence – doubly enforced by a mid-race appearance for the FIA Safety Car, which quashed his three-second lead.
The Nissan driver’s move was later judged over-exuberant by the stewards, forcing him to later cede the position to Vergne in recompense, but the damage cost DS PENSKE’s double champion a crack at the race win, as Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries and Buemi made it by as JEV bogged down in avoiding action.
Cleverly, Rowland gave that spot back to Vergne amid his move off-line for that final mandatory 50kW, four-wheel drive ATTACK MODE activation, allowing him to use that overlap of extra power and traction to push past Vergne and de Vries on Lap 23 and 24 respectively for second place at the flag, some four seconds back from Buemi.
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) picked his way through the field from 14th to third and a first podium of 2024/25, with a strong energy advantage built early on yielding late progress.
António Félix da Costa was the best of the Porsches in fourth, with de Vries eventually settling for fifth and another strong score for Mahindra. Vergne followed in sixth in the end, though it could and maybe should have been more.
That sees Rowland head to home soil for Nissan in Tokyo in a commanding position at the top of the Drivers’ standings on 115 points to da Costa’s 67. Porsche narrowly tops the FIA Teams’ World Championship table 133 points to Nissan’s 126, but Nissan heads Porsche in the FIA Manufacturers’ World Championship standings 191 to 163.
Both Cassidy and Evans sit 12th equal in the standings on 25 points.
Envision was bottom of the FIA Teams’ World Championship heading into Monaco, with no win since Monaco 2023, but Buemi’s win sees the squad lift themselves into ninth spot.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship heads next to Tokyo for a double-header in Odaiba in two weeks’ time on 17 & 18 May.
Comments