Formula E London E-Prix II
Rast, Buemi at odds over race-ending London Formula E clash
Rene Rast and Sebastien Buemi disagree over who was to blame for the Formula E clash that wrecked both their races in the second London E-Prix.
Rachit Thukral Matt Kew
Edited: Jul 27, 2021, 9:42 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Nissan driver Buemi was battling with Rast for 11th position when he made a lunge into the tricky Turn 10 hairpin, bumping into the right-rear side of the Audi.
A second touch followed as they took the apex nearly side-by-side, forcing Rast into the barriers located on the outside. The Audi driver tried to weave back but a broken steering meant he ploughed side-first into the Nissan going into Turn 11, suffering terminal damage to his own car in the process.
Buemi was able to continue without any serious damage but was later hit with a hefty 10-second stop-go penalty for the collision, along with three penalty points on his license. That dropped him to 13th at the flag, leaving him with a 10th no-score of 2021 in 13 races.
Rast feels the 2015-16 champion owed him an apology after the race, saying his actions were "not understandable" of a professional driver of his stature.
"He apologised after New York, I think he has to apologise again," Rast told Motorsport.com.
"Two times he misjudged basically the situation. In New York he misjudged it. The cars in front of me were decelerating and he didn't.
"Today, I very early indicated to him what I was going to do. I went to the right side very, very early. He somehow followed me and just braked late and drove into me for no reason very early in the race. For me, it's not understandable and for a professional driver I don't know what he did."
Read Also:
- Why Formula E's London return delivered anarchy in the UK
- Di Grassi: London DSQ mistake will 'stay in my head forever'
Buemi felt that while he was responsible for the initial contact between the two drivers, he shouldn't be blamed for the subsequent hit that set off a chain of events that ultimately led to Rast's retirement.
"I touched him under braking, that's clear," he explained to Motorsport.com.
"But I don't think I destroyed his race by touching him [the second time] into Turn 10. As far as I can remember by then we were more or less side-by-side and I felt like he went to the wall on the left twice before also.
"I don't know if you've seen but the way he touches my wheel, I don't know if his front wheel was broken and that's why he went straight in the wall, or by trying to go back on power with his front tyre he touched my rear left and that sent him to the wall, I don't know.
"Of course he stopped there so I understand why they gave me a harsh penalty. I touched him under braking but I'm not sure I destroyed his race at that point."
Rene Rast, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, Audi e-tron FE07, Sebastien Buemi, Nissan e.Dams, Nissan IMO3
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The slow Turn 10 right-hander was the scene of the majority of the incidents and overtakes in the two races, as it was followed by another tricky hairpin before the cars headed towards the indoor section of the ExCeL stadium.
Asked if he felt the FIA should change the layout of the corner in time for next season's event, currently scheduled for July 30-31, Rast said: "Definitely, it's too tight.
"The combination is also not good, to have two hairpins after each other, because then it's always like a traffic jam and passing is so difficult there, and it's the only opportunity where you can pass, maybe on start/finish as well.
"But we saw as well what can happen there [with Andre Lotterer pushing Antonio Felix da Costa into the pit wall and prompting a safety car] so for sure, [it's] not the best track in terms of overtaking opportunities."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Da Costa slams “sore loser” Lotterer after London FE clash
Next article Vandoorne: "Bumper cars" Formula E crashes look "quite amateur"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rachit Thukral
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
5 h
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
MotoGP
MotoGP
Indonesian GP
6 h
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
More from
Sébastien Buemi
Sebastien Buemi questions WEC race control’s VSC/FCY calls
WEC
WEC
Fuji
Sebastien Buemi questions WEC race control’s VSC/FCY calls
Sebastien Buemi not ruling out Formula E comeback: “I don’t want to close any doors”
Formula E
Formula E
Sebastien Buemi not ruling out Formula E comeback: “I don’t want to close any doors”
More from
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Rast "proven wrong" by "unexpected" win in DTM comeback year
DTM
DTM
Imola
Rast "proven wrong" by "unexpected" win in DTM comeback year
Imola DTM: Audi's Rast claims first pole since return
DTM
DTM
Imola
Imola DTM: Audi's Rast claims first pole since return
Rast laments "difficult" Portimao weekend after point-less DTM return
DTM
DTM
Algarve
Rast laments "difficult" Portimao weekend after point-less DTM return
Latest news
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 41 min
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
1 h
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
2 h
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe