Renault e.dams' Sebastien Buemi has revealed that first place wasn't possible at the Mexico City ePrix, despite the driver starting from third on the grid.
At the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez circuit, Buemi set the fastest time in group qualifying to secure a place in Super Pole but was unable to string a competitive lap time together, leaving the driver in fifth.
Through penalties for Alex Lynn and Antonio Felix da Costa, Buemi was promoted to third on the grid and maintained his podium position in the opening stint of the race, jumping up to second place following a technical problem for race leader Felix Rosenqvist on lap 14.
In the pit stop phase, however, Buemi was shuffled down the field to fourth place after being jumped by both Audi's Daniel Abt and Techeetah's Jean-Eric Vergne, later managing to regain third from Vergne.
Despite closing in on second-placed man Oliver Turvey, Buemi was unable to find a way past the British driver but was able to hold off a hard-charging Nelson Piquet Jr, finishing in third place and securing a third consecutive podium.
"I knew that P1 was not possible, Daniel [Abt] was way too far," said Buemi post-race.
"I was trying to get him [Turvey] to, you know, be in a really bad spot in the last three laps but he did an amazing job, you know, he's a proper snake.
"Last year, he learned how to close the door, they didn't have a good car and this year was hard, especially here you know I, I only had one opportunity and yeah, I didn't do such a good job but in the end I'm happy, you know, I used the Fanboost, manage to pass back JEV.
"It was a tough pit stop for me because Nico [Prost] came in when I came out so we nearly collided but, at the end, it's another podium, it's better," he added.
Through this result, Buemi successfully closed the gap to Rosenqvist and DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird who currently lie in second and third place in the Drivers' Championship while Vergne sits on top of the standings, 13 points ahead of his nearest challenger as Formula E heads to its mid-way point in two weeks at the Punta del Este ePrix in Uruguay.
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