# 2015 Punta del Este ePrix

The 2015 Punta del Este ePrix (officially the 2015 FIA Formula E Julius Baer Punta del Este ePrix) was a Formula E motor race held on 19 December 2015 at the Punta del Este Street Circuit in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It was the second Punta del Este ePrix and the third championship race of the 2015–16 Formula E season, the second season of the single-seater, electrically powered racing car series. The race was won by Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi from team Renault e.Dams.

## Report
### Background

For this year, the circuit was slightly modified. The first corner was changed, instead of a right-left chicane it is now left-right. The idea behind this change is to make the pit exit much safer than last year, where the cars were exiting the pits on the racing line.
Mahindra driver Nick Heidfeld missed the event, after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage in his wrist after a crash at the previous race in Putrajaya. He was replaced by Formula Renault 3.5 champion Oliver Rowland, from Great Britain.
Team Trulli withdrew from the championship after failing to enter their new drivetrain for the first two events. Therefore, only 18 drivers participated in this race and also for the rest of the season.
Venturi driver Jacques Villeneuve crashed in qualifying. His team was unable to repair the damage in time for race day, and the Canadian was subsequently withdrawn.

## Classifications
### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | Renault e.Dams | 1:15.011 | | 5 |
| 2 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 1:15.115 | +0.104 | 4 |
| 3 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | 1:15.481 | +0.470 | 1 |
| 4 | 6 | Loïc Duval | Dragon Racing | 1:15.748 | +0.737 | 2 |
| 5 | 2 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 1:15.790 | +0.779 | 3 |
| 6 | 8 | Nicolas Prost | Renault e.Dams | 1:15.913 | +0.902 | 6 |
| 7 | 66 | Daniel Abt | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 1:15.993 | +0.982 | 7 |
| 8 | 55 | António Félix da Costa | Team Aguri | 1:16.014 | +1.003 | 8 |
| 9 | 21 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra Racing | 1:16.048 | +1.037 | 9 |
| 10 | 88 | Oliver Turvey | NEXTEV TCR | 1:16.154 | +1.143 | 10 |
| 11 | 27 | Robin Frijns | Amlin Andretti | 1:16.255 | +1.244 | 11 |
| 12 | 1 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NEXTEV TCR | 1:16.300 | +1.289 | 12 |
| 13 | 4 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Venturi | 1:16.353 | +1.342 | 13 |
| 14 | 77 | Nathanaël Berthon | Team Aguri | 1:17.573 | +2.562 | 14 |
| 15 | 28 | Simona de Silvestro | Amlin Andretti | 1:18.281 | +3.270 | 15 |
| 16 | 23 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra Racing | 1:19.414 | +4.403 | 16 |
| 17 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | DS Virgin Racing | 1:19.946 | +4.935 | 17 |
| 18 | 12 | Jacques Villeneuve | Venturi | 1:28.451 | +13.440 | 18 |
| Source: |||||||
Notes:
* ^1 – Final grid position of top five qualifiers determined by Super Pole shootout.

### Super Pole

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | 1:15.498 | | 1 |
| 2 | 6 | Loïc Duval | Dragon Racing | 1:15.875 | +0.377 | 2 |
| 3 | 2 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 1:16.109 | +0.611 | 3 |
| 4 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 1:16.635 | +1.137 | 4 |
| 5 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | Renault e.Dams | 1:19.811 | +4.313 | 5 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | Renault e.Dams | 33 | 45:59.697 | 5 | 25+2 |
| 2 | 11 | Lucas di Grassi | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 33 | +3.534 | 4 | 18 |
| 3 | 7 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | 33 | +6.725 | 1 | 15+3 |
| 4 | 6 | Loïc Duval | Dragon Racing | 33 | +6.807 | 2 | 12 |
| 5 | 8 | Nicolas Prost | Renault e.dams | 33 | +21.057 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | 55 | António Félix da Costa | Team Aguri | 33 | +22.410 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | DS Virgin Racing | 33 | +57.726 | 17 | 6 |
| 8 | 66 | Daniel Abt | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 33 | +1:00.744 | 7 | 4 |
| 9 | 4 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Venturi | 33 | +1:03.559 | 13 | 2 |
| 10 | 27 | Robin Frijns | Amlin Andretti | 33 | +1:03.840 | 11 | 1 |
| 11 | 28 | Simona de Silvestro | Amlin Andretti | 32 | +1 lap | 15 | |
| 12 | 88 | Oliver Turvey | NEXTEV TCR | 32 | +1 lap | 10 | |
| 13 | 23 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra Racing | 32 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 14 | 77 | Nathanaël Berthon | Team Aguri | 32 | +1 lap | 14 | |
| Ret | 1 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | NEXTEV TCR | 31 | Crash | 12 | |
| Ret | 21 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra Racing | 26 | Damage | 9 | |
| Ret | 2 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 17 | Battery | 3 | |
| DNS | 12 | Jacques Villeneuve | Venturi | 0 | Crash Damage | — | |
| Source: ||||||||
Notes:
* ^2 – Two points for fastest lap.
* ^3 – Three points for pole position.
* ^4 – Jacques Villeneuve did not start the race due to the heavy accident during Friday's qualifying session, he had to withdraw.

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Sébastien Buemi | 62 |
| 2 | Lucas di Grassi | 61 |
| 3 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio | 28 |
| 4 | Sam Bird | 24 |
| 5 | Loïc Duval | 24 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Renault e.Dams | 73 |
| 2 | ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport | 71 |
| 3 | Dragon Racing | 52 |
| 4 | DS Virgin Racing | 30 |
| 5 | Mahindra Racing | 27 |
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.