After another difficult and disappointing weekend at the Paris ePrix with Renault e.dams, Sebastien Buemi has described the race in the French capital as not "satisfactory" although some positives can be taken away from the race.
At Renault's home race in the City of Lights, the Season Two champion started in eighth place following a poor showing of performance in Group 1 qualifying, and following a chaotic start which saw Buemi's team-mate Nico Prost get caught up in an accident with Tom Blomqvist, the Swiss racer moved into sixth.
Using the overcut strategy, Buemi extended his first stint in Paris to pit later, meaning that he had more usable energy for the second half of the race, rejoining in sixth.
After being locked in a three-way battle for fifth place with Maro Engel and Daniel Abt, Buemi dropped down to seventh when Audi's Abt found a way past in the closing stages of the race.
Following a crash at the front of the field between Sam Bird and Andre Lotterer, however, Buemi was able to benefit, moving into fifth place after passing Abt and Lotterer amidst the carnage, taking 10 points away from the eighth round of Season Four.
“The race got off to a great start as I gained two places on the first lap," said Buemi.
"After that my pace was good and our out-of-sync strategy – like [Lucas] di Grassi’s who finished second – looked promising. On the other hand, the second stint was trickier as my setup wasn’t ideal. I couldn’t get the car to do what I wanted and I remained stuck behind Engel.
"Abt got past me with the help of his fan boost and then I repassed him on the last lap. We made light contact and I finished fifth.
"While it’s not really satisfactory I can take away some positives,” he added.
With the 2017/18 season marking Renault's last season in Formula E as the French manufacturer switches its focus onto Formula 1, this season marks the first in the series' history that the squad has so far failed to secure a race win, with the reigning champions finishing in a best position of second at January's Marrakesh ePrix.
With 70 points to his name, Buemi sits in fourth in the Drivers' Championship while Renault sit in sixth in the Teams' Championship following a poor showing of performance on Prost's part, with the driver only scoring seven points so far this season.
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