Buemi wants Renault e.dams to strip car down after Formula E issues
Sebastien Buemi wants his Renault e.dams team to strip its cars apart before the European leg of the Formula E season in order to steady his title challenge


The Swiss driver won the season opener and took victory from fifth on the grid in Punta del Este, but suffered technical problems in Putrajaya and had to charge from the back of the grid in Buenos Aires after a qualifying mistake.
He made another error in qualifying at Mexico City before a messy run to third, which became second after Lucas di Grassi was excluded, then had a crash in Long Beach after missing out on the superpole.
It means Buemi has slipped to a one-point deficit to di Grassi in the championship.
e.dams discovered a brake system problem after Mexico that it believes was a factor in its driver's run of qualifying mistakes, and Buemi hopes more intensive analysis before the Paris round on April 23 will allow it to regain composure.
"I think we need to work on all details to try to find the serenity and the performance," he told Autosport.
"Now we have the car going back to Europe so we will send the mechanics to Donington and take apart the whole car.
"I think we have some small issues going on but it's difficult because you only have one day when you arrive [at races] so you can't go into detail, you do the basics.
"All in all I still think we can do it - we had a fantastic start, now we are having a hard time.
"We will be back in good form for Paris."
Buemi insisted there were no major performance issues in Long Beach, where he and team-mate Nico Prost both failed to make the superpole session in qualifying and finished outside of the points.
He apologised to Robin Frijns for rear-ending the Andretti Autosport driver and ruining both drivers' races.
"The performance was back in the race," Buemi said. "I'm a bit annoyed I didn't show it but I was starting to come back.
"We were quicker than the rest and I caught them a lot in the opening laps - I'm disappointed because it's a missed opportunity."
Prost has also called on Renault to rediscover its early-season form and clinch the teams' championship, and said he would now evaluate how he can aid Buemi's drivers' title bid as well.
"The target for the rest of the season is obviously the teams' championship and maybe I need to help Seb - in a fair way," he said.
"I need to work with him because for me it will be very hard to win the championship.
"We must understand why we've completely lost the edge. Now we're not the best team any more.
"Maybe we were too far ahead and took it a bit too easy."

Can Formula E prevent an arms race?
Lucas di Grassi wants Abt Formula E team to continue to take risks

Latest news
Why WTR Acura lacked pace to beat MSR in Daytona 24 showdown
Filipe Albuquerque admits that he knew it would be a tall order for Wayne Taylor Racing to overcome sister Acura squad Meyer Shank Racing in last weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
How MSR took Acura to the first win of sportscar racing's new era
After much anticipation, the new dawn for sportscar racing got underway with a result that mirrored last year's IMSA SportsCar Championship's season-opener run to the previous DPi rules. Here's how Acura once again took top honours in the Daytona 24 Hours with a 1-2 led by Meyer Shank Racing, as the new GTP class for LMDh hybrid prototypes made its bow
Alonso's pushy trait a boost for me in 2023 F1 season, says Stroll
Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll says Fernando Alonso's pushy nature will be a boost to both him and the squad this year.
Porsche aims to “learn quick” from Daytona 24 Hours disappointment
Porsche’s director of factory racing Urs Kuratle says his team will gain valuable answers from its disappointing results in the Daytona 24 Hours.
How Wehrlein's Diriyah double reveals Formula E's form book shake-up
After Porsche-powered drivers locked out the top two positions to open Formula E's new Gen3 era in Mexico, the order was reversed in Diriyah. Ex-Formula 1 driver Pascal Wehrlein's factory car headed Jake Dennis's customer Andretti machine in both races under the Riyadh lights in a display that leaves little doubt as to which package currently has the edge
The first impressions of Formula E's brave new era
OPINION: Formula E kicked off its Gen3 era at Mexico City with keen anticipation - and anxiety - surrounding its new, more powerful cars. Here's how the new machinery got on in its first race, and what could be open to improvement later down the line
How Dennis dominated Formula E's new generation opener
Formula E’s Gen3 era kicked off with more unpredictability as Andretti’s Jake Dennis recovered from poor pre-season testing to dominate in Mexico. Here's how it played out and what the opener hints at what is to come in the new generation of the electric series
Is this a Formula E 'nearly man's' best chance yet at title glory?
With braking issues scuppering his championship hopes at a crucial moment in the 2021-22 Formula E season, Mitch Evans is more determined than ever heading into this year. He explains how he plans to make it third time lucky after two title near-misses
Can McLaren make a success of its foray into Formula E?
McLaren kept a two-time title-winning Formula E team alive after purchasing the Mercedes entry. But with new drivers and a switch to customer status, can it continue to succeed in its new orange era?
10 things we learned from Valencia Formula E testing
The prologue to the 2022/2023 Formula E season has concluded as the series gets set for the new Gen3 era. After almost four days of testing in Valencia this week, Autosport takes a look at the 10 major talking points that will dominate the build-up to the new campaign getting underway in January.
How Jaguar got its teeth into Formula E's Gen3 development race
With Mercedes gone and DS moving teams, Jaguar has a big opportunity at the start of Formula E's Gen3 era. The technical challenges in understanding the new car have been vast, with senior figures James Barclay and Phil Charles outlining to Autosport the pitfalls along the way
The top 10 Formula E drivers of 2021-22
After a wild 2020-21 season, this year's Formula E campaign had a much stronger narrative to it, but ended with the same result as a driver from the Silver Arrows squad triumphed. Here's our guide to those who shone brightest during the campaign
Subscribe and access Autosport.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.