E.DAMS-Renault Formula-E Team: Renault enters the competition!

Renault therefore decided to join forces with one of the ten teams taking part and enter the competition. With Sébastien Buemi and Nicolas Prost as drivers, the e.dams-Renault team looks set to be one of the leading contenders in the 2014-2015 season!  

The only French team competing in the FIA Formula E Championship

Jean-Paul Driot and Alain Prost announced they were joining forces to form e.dams on 24 October 2013. Created specifically for the FIA Formula-e championship, this new team is supported by the logistics and technical facilities of the Dams, the outfit founded by Jean-Paul Driot and René Arnoux in 1988 and holder of some eleven international single-seater titles.

In June of last year, Renault took another step in its involvement in the championship by becoming title partner for the only French team competing in the competition. This investment enables the Brand to be involved in the competition itself and to accumulate precious experience in tandem with one of the championship’s standout teams.

Patrice Ratti, Managing Director of Renault Sport Technologies: “The partnership with the e.dams-Renault team will enable Renault Sport to become even more involved in the Formula-e championship. This will be a unique experience and is set to give motorsport a totally new look. Renault is proud to be one of the pioneers in this new venture and to set itself a new challenge. The experience and track record of Alain and Jean-Paul make them very high-quality partners, who we also know very well. The partnership with e.dams-Renault is central to our commitment and development in Formula-e.  We are also very pleased with the work done with Spark on the Spark-Renault race car that will be used by all of the teams in this inaugural season and we will continue to help Spark to ensure we provide the teams with the best possible technical support.”

Alain Prost, Renault Ambassador and co-founder of e.dams: “We are very pleased to join forces with Renault on this new venture. Choosing Renault as a lead partner was perfectly logical for e.dams, given the Brand’s exceptional competitive record in motorsport, as well as its unique expertise in electric vehicles. On a personal level, I am especially enthusiastic about the idea of working with Renault again on such a major, ambitious sporting project and writing a new chapter in our shared history. It is going to be a considerable challenge, because it’s a totally new championship, both in terms of the technology of the single-seaters and actual race format. It’s very exciting!”

Jean-Paul Driot, co-founder of e.dams: “Renault was clearly the ideal partner for us to compete alongside in this brand new championship and therefore combine our expertise. The Dams team, given the exceptional competitive record it has built up since it was formed 26 years ago, can support a partner that has more than proven itself in the world of motorsport and in the field of electric vehicles. It is worth remembering that Dams is also competing in the World Series By Renault; our shared history continues with the creation of the e.dams Renault team.”

A team ready for the opening round of the season!

Organised throughout July and August, five test days enabled the drivers, engineers and mechanics to get used to their cars. The test sessions were held at the Donington racetrack, close to the facilities dedicated to Formula-e Holdings and the ten teams competing. The e.dams-Renault has already caused a sensation, since Sébastien Buemi set the fastest time on four of the five days. On 19 August, the final session before the single-seaters make their competitive debut in China, Buemi and Nicolas Prost even recorded a one-two!

Nicolas Prost

Although he is the son of the four-time Formula 1 world champion, Nicolas Prost was only allowed to start competing in motorsport events once he had finished his studies! Without going into karting, he swapped playing golf for Formula Renault Campus in 2003. His pursued his single-seater career in Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Spanish F3, Euroseries 3000 – that he won in 2008 – and A1GP. In 2009, he switched to endurance racing, becoming a key member of the Rebellion Racing team. In 2012 and 2014, he finished fourth overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He is also a development driver for the Lotus F1 Team.  Nicolas Prost will equally remain the first winner of a zero-emissions championship, as he won the first two editions of the electric Andros Trophy!

- Born on 18/08/1981 in Saint-Chamond, France - Lives in Fechy, Switzerland  
- 2014: currently 3rd in the World Endurance Championship
- 2013: 6th in the World Endurance Championship
- 2012: 4th in the World Endurance Championship
- 2011: 1st in the Le Mans Series and 1st in the Electric Andros Trophy
- 2010: 5th in the FIA GT1 championship and 1st in the Electric Andros Trophy
- 2009: 5th in the A1GP and 5th in the Le Mans Series
- 2008: 1st in the Euroseries 3000
- 2007: 3rd in the Spanish F3 championship
- 2006: 4th in the Spanish F3 championship
- 2005: 10th in the French Formula Renault Championship
- 2004: 18th in the French Formula Renault Championship
- 2003: 10th in the French Formula Renault Campus Championship 

Sebastian Buemi

Sébastien Buemi moved into single-seater racing after a brilliant career in karting. His rivals at the time included a certain Sebastian Vettel. After an initial test in F1 at just 15 years old, he cut his teeth in Formula Renault 2.0 and F3 Euro Series, as well as in GP2. Guided by the Red Bull Junior Team, he made his F1 debut in 2009. In the Toro Rosso, he scored his first points in his first ever Grand Prix! After three seasons at the top of the sport, he remained a part of the Red Bull family by becoming their reserve driver.  He has been developing his turn of speed in Endurance since 2013. Runner-up at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in his first appearance, Sébastien Buemi is the current leader of the FIA WEC.

- Born on 31/10/1988 in Aigle, Switzerland
- Lives in Monaco  
- 2014: currently 1st in the World Endurance Championship
- 2013: 3rd in the World Endurance Championship
- 2012: Red Bull Racing reserve driver
- 2011: 15th in the Formula 1 World Championship
- 2010: 16th in the Formula 1 World Championship
- 2009: 16th in the Formula 1 World Championship
- 2008: 6th in the GP2 Series and 2nd in the GP2 Asia
- 2007: 2nd in the F3 Euro Series
- 2006: 12th in the F3 Euro Series
- 2005: 2nd in the Formula BMW ADAC
- 2004: 3rd in the Formula BMW ADAC

FIA Formula E