Buemi slams d’Ambrosio blocking after heated Mexico battle
Sebastien Buemi has criticised Formula E rival Jerome d’Ambrosio for what he considered to be unreasonable blocking during Saturday's Mexico ePrix.
Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Dragon Racing
Jose Mario Dias
The pair engaged in a fraught battle for position during the majority of the second phase of the race, and contact was made in the braking area for the first chicane as Buemi sought a way through.
“I don’t mind when you move early and close the door, no problem,” Buemi told Motorsport.com.
“But what I don’t like, and what I feel is not right, is when you let the guy start to commit [to make a move] and then you move also.
"Either you close the door completely, and there is no way I can pass, or you don’t close it at all. You can’t just close a bit as it will end up in a crash. This is what I didn’t like.”
For d’Ambrosio, the incidents with Buemi were nothing more than an entertaining battle on a track which was inherently difficult to overtake on.
“I gave everything in that race and I've got nothing left,” d’Ambrosio told Motorsport.com.
“I knew where I could fend off his attacks because there are not many areas you can get by here. The only real opportunity he got was when he cut the chicane so it was not a clean move.
"I don’t think [the contact] was anyone’s fault. It was great entertainment and a great show for the fans.”
Mexican track didn’t suit Renault
Buemi, who maintained his points lead after Lucas di Grassi's exclusion, believes that the quirky nature of the shortened Hermanos Rodriguez circuit just didn’t suit his Renault Z.E.15.
“We just didn’t have the speed this weekend, and I think with the altitude, the temperatures and asphalt we didn't really nail the set-up,” Buemi said.
“There is less aero and less cooling [at altitude], so it was a strange race.”
Buemi’s teammate Nicolas Prost was in line for a solid fourth position, but was penalised with a drive-through penalty for an ‘unsafe release’ from his pit box after the mandatory pit stop.
He eventually finished fifth on the road but was promoted to third after di Grassi's disqualification and Loic Duval’s penalty.
Prost was succinct in his analysis of his own penalty and deemed it to be harsh: “To be honest, if this is unsafe, we should stop motorsport."
In the first phase of the race, Prost had held second place but was seemingly caught unawares by Lucas Di Grassi at the second chicane on the in-lap to pit.
“There was a miscommunication with the pits,” said Prost. “They told me the wrong consumption so I lifted off too early.”
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