MONTREAL – Formula E leader Sebastien Buemi crashed into wall during a practice session Saturday at the Hydro-Quebec Montreal ePrix electric car race.
With just under nine minutes left in the day’s second practice, Buemi’s Renault went straight into a barrier on a chicane.
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His car’s front end was in pieces, but the Swiss driver walked away.
“It was a big hit but I’m all right,” Buemi told a trackside reporter.
Quick repairs will be needed to get the car back on track for the race later Saturday, but he will need to use his second car for qualifying. Drivers need both cars to take part in the race.
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The 30-minute session was red-flagged with Nico Prost, Buemi’s teammate, posting the quickest lap of one minute 22.451 seconds on the 2.75-kilometre circuit. Jean-Eric Vergne of Techeetah was second best at 1:22.378 with Felix Rosenqvist of Mahindra third at 1:22.394.
Buemi has won six of the eight races he has entered this season and holds a 10-point lead over Lucas Di Grassi of the Abt Audi team going into the final races of the 2016-17 season Saturday and Sunday on the downtown Montreal street course.