Sebastien Buemi tops maiden Formula E test

Former Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Sebastien Buemi topped the times in the opening FIA Formula E Championship pre-season test session at Donington Park.

The Swiss driver quickly adapted to his electric powered e dams-Renault machine to post a session best 1.35.475s effort at a modified Donington Park circuit.

Audi Sport driver Lucas Di Grassi was just a little over half a second slower than Buemi, while Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird was third fastest.

“I’m more than happy to be honest,” said Buemi.

“I didn’t have any problems with the car at all and that meant we were able to learn quite a lot about it. It’s always nice to be P1 so let’s hope it continues.”

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The championship’s 10 teams all took part in the session held at a bright and sunny Donington Park circuit, which included a temporary chicane at the exit of the Old Hairpin.

Mahindra Racing’s Bruno Senna was fourth fastest just under a second adrift of Buemi.

Venturi’s Stephane Sarrazin was fifth quickest just ahead of Nicolas Prost and grand prix winner Jarno Trulli.

Daniel Abt was eighth ahead of Jaime Alguersuari while Mahindra’s Karun Chandhok completed the top 10.

Former F1 driver Jerome d’Ambrosio and sporstcar racer Antonio Garcia joined China Racing for the test. The squad are yet to unveil either of its drivers for the upcoming season.

Indy 500 winner Gil De Ferran finished 17th out of the 20 car field as he tested one of Andretti Autosport’s machines.

The first FIA Formula E test will conclude on Friday ahead of the opening round on the streets of Beijing, China on September 13.

FIA Formula E Official Test Day 1 Results

Position	Driver	Team	Time/Gap
1	Sebastien Buemi	e dams-Renault	1.35.475s
2	Lucas di Grassi	Audi Sport ABT	+0.587s
3	Sam Bird	Virgin Racing	+0.895s
4	Bruno Senna	Mahindra Racing	+0.910s
5	Stephane Sarrazin	Venturi	+1.223s
6	Nicolas Prost	e dams-Renault	+1.232s
7	Jarno Trulli	Trulli GP	+1.494s
8	Daniel Abt	Audi Sport ABT	+1.737s
9	Jaime Alguersuari	Virgin Racing	+1.970s
10	Karun Chandhok	Mahindra Racing	+2.057s
11	Franck Montagny	Andretti Autosport	+2.587s
12	Antonio Felix da Costa	Amlin Aguri	+2.604s
13	Jerome d’Ambrosio	China Racing	+2.611s
14	Antonio Garcia	China Racing	+2.729s
15	Nick Heidfeld	Venturi	+5.269s
16	Mike Conway	Dragon Racing	+5.693s
17	Gil de Ferran	Andretti Autosport	+9.497s
18	Scott Speed	Andretti Autosport	+10.434s
19	Katherine Legge	Amlin Aguri	+12.821s
20	Michela Cerruti	Trulli GP	No time