Championship leader Buemi disqualified from Berlin Formula E opener
Formula E championship leader Sebastien Buemi has been disqualified from the first Berlin race
The Renault e.dams driver charged from 14th to fifth in the first half of the Tempelhof double-header.
Post-race checks then revealed that all four tyres on both of his cars were below the minimum pressure stipulated by tyre supplier Michelin.
Minimum tyre pressure was set at 1.60 bar - the tyres on Buemi's first car came in at 1.46, 1.57, 1.54 and 1.52 bar respectively, while on the second car the pressures were 1.54, 1.54, 1.59 and 1.53 bar.
This breached Article 25.11 of Formula E's sporting regulations and Buemi has been disqualified as a result.
"It was a mistake from our side that cost us greatly," said team co-owner Alain Prost.
"It is our duty to do better in tomorrow's ePrix for the team and obviously to keep Sebastien in the championship battle."
Buemi said: "Obviously, I am very disappointed today.
"After a poor qualifying, I did a great race to finish in fifth position and score the maximum points I could.
"However, despite the disappointment, I remain focused to do another great race tomorrow and come back even stronger."
Buemi's exclusion cuts his championship lead from 32 points to 22, after nearest rival Lucas di Grassi qualified on pole position and finished second.
It also promotes Nico Prost to fifth in the race results and elevates Daniel Abt, Sam Bird, Jean-Eric Vergne, Maro Engel and (into the points) Oliver Turvey.
Renault e.dams maintains a healthy lead in the teams' championship, although its advantage over Abt Audi Sport drops from 66 points to 54.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra | 44 | 53m19.661s | - |
| 2 | Lucas di Grassi | Abt | 44 | 53m21.893s | 2.232s |
| 3 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra | 44 | 53m23.719s | 4.058s |
| 4 | Jose Maria Lopez | Virgin | 44 | 53m33.299s | 13.638s |
| 5 | Nicolas Prost | e.dams | 44 | 53m38.729s | 19.068s |
| 6 | Daniel Abt | Abt | 44 | 53m39.460s | 19.799s |
| 7 | Sam Bird | Virgin | 44 | 53m39.726s | 20.065s |
| 8 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Techeetah | 44 | 53m40.350s | 20.689s |
| 9 | Maro Engel | Venturi | 44 | 53m58.691s | 39.030s |
| 10 | Oliver Turvey | NextEV | 44 | 54m00.646s | 40.985s |
| 11 | Stephane Sarrazin | Techeetah | 44 | 54m02.343s | 42.682s |
| 12 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NextEV | 44 | 54m02.641s | 42.980s |
| 13 | Jerome d'Ambrosio | Dragon | 44 | 54m05.373s | 45.712s |
| 14 | Adam Carroll | Jaguar | 44 | 54m09.319s | 49.658s |
| 15 | Loic Duval | Dragon | 44 | 54m18.671s | 59.010s |
| 16 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Andretti | 44 | 54m19.930s | 1m00.269s |
| 17 | Robin Frijns | Andretti | 44 | 54m22.124s | 1m02.463s |
| 18 | Tom Dillmann | Venturi | 44 | 54m27.356s | 1m07.695s |
| - | Sebastien Buemi | e.dams | 44 | 53m37.549s | Disqualified |
| - | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 16 | 51m46.210s | Not classified |
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