What was an open secret was confirmed this week after arduous negotiations. Driver Sebastien Buemi will join Envision Racing for Formula E season 9 after signing a multi-year contract.
The information was confirmed by the official Formula E portal, so the campaign 2 champion will be part of the British-based squad after a long association with Nissan and Renault, led by e.dams, dating back to the first Formula E season, 2014-15.
Buemi is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid, with 98 race starts, 13 wins, 29 podiums and 14 Julius Baer Pole Positions to his credit.
The Swiss scored his first victory for Renault e.dams at the Punta del Este E-Prix in Uruguay in December 2014, and then went on to largely dominate the second and third Formula E seasons.
Buemi only missed out on retaining his 2015-16 title when he was forced to sit out two races due to a schedule clash with the World Endurance Championship in July 2017.
Notably, Envision plans to work hand-in-hand with Jaguar, an alliance that will include integration into the powertrain development program and some allotted test days out of the 20 in total allowed.
Good Feelings
After making the agreement official, Buemi stated that it is an interesting time to be part of Formula E, a situation that motivates him even more to be in front of the wheel of Envision Racing.
“I have always had great respect for the team and I think they have done a great job to maximize results over the years,” stressed the racer, who assured that the new Gen3 era is very important for the sport and presents a new challenge, with a faster, lighter and more powerful car.
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Motivated Squad
The British team’s top management welcomes with open arms the hiring of Buemi, who they assure will form a dream duo with Nick Cassidy.
In that sense, Envision’s CEO, Sylvain Filippi pointed out that as a team, they always aspire to be as competitive as possible and trust in the Swiss driver’s skills.
“We believe that, together with Nick Cassidy, we have two drivers who can help us compete at the front of the grid and fight for the team and driver championship titles next season,” he added.
For his part, Vice President Franz Jung, expressed his satisfaction and warmly welcomed Buemi to the team. “Sebastien’s track record speaks for itself and he will be an invaluable asset to the team,” he said.
