Sebastien Buemi dedicated Nissan e.dams' maiden ABB FIA Formula E Championship victory at the New York City E-Prix to team founder Jean-Paul Driot as the Frenchman continues to battle against a long-term illness.
Securing pole position for Race 1 of the New York City E-Prix, Buemi stormed to a dominant victory, leading from lights to flag by holding off a constant threat from Jaguar Racing team-mates Alex Lynn and Mitch Evans throughout the 45-minute + 1 lap race.
Buemi's victory in the Big Apple marked his first win in over two years, with the Swiss racer last standing on the top step of a Formula E podium at the end of the second leg of the 2017 Berlin E-Prix in Season 3.
After winning Race 1, Buemi dedicated the win to Driot who did not attend the final race of the season due to his battle while Francois Sicard served as Team Principal:
“I’m quite emotional because it has been more than two years between victories," said Buemi post-race.
"I really wanted to win for Nissan e.dams team principal Jean-Paul Driot who hasn’t been doing well lately with health issues and this win is for him.
“The safety car actually helped me in the end," he continued. "Early in the race, my crew told me we were doing well on energy management compared to the guys behind me.
"In the end, it was similar to Rome – I had to slow down a little to cross the line after the 45-minute mark, so we didn’t have to do an extra lap.
"For the first season for Nissan, we had wins, podiums, pole positions – we have to be proud of that."
While the win kept Buemi in contention for the Season 5 title, the former Formula E champion's title hopes came to an end in qualifying for Race 2 after the driver missed out on pole position although the Swiss driver secured the runner-up spot in the final standings.
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