Sebastien Buemi ended a winless streak stretching all the way back to 2019 by winning the second race of the Monaco E-Prix, becoming the outright holder of the record for most wins in the series in the process.
While it looked as if Nissan driver Oliver Rowland might repeat his win from Saturday, a battle with Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Penske open the door for Envision Racing’s Buemi to pounce and take an unlikely victory.
Rowland, who started from pole, left both of his uses of Attack Mode late, ceding the lead early on to Vergne who took his first use of the additional 50kW power and four-wheel-drive on lap 4. It wasn’t until lap 18 of the 29 (extended to 30) that Rowland took his first, and a lap later he made use of that to close right up to Vergne.
The two exited the tunnel side-by-side, remaining that way until the Nouvelle Chicane, where neither gave way, and Rowland cut over the curbs to take position. Initially planning to give the position back, Rowland slowed, but with the chasing pack behind, he was exposed.
That left the door open for Nyck de Vries to get by both Rowland and Vergne on the entry to Tabac, although his time in the lead barely lasted. The Mahindra driver outbraked himself into the corner, with Rowland back ahead by the exit.
On lap 22, Rowland took his final Attack Mode, but ceded position to Vergne ont he run to Portier to negate a potential penalty from their earlier battle. Meanwhile, with more Attack Mode left than de Vries, Buemi had powered to the lead, and eked out a 4.169s margin by the checkered flag.
The moment Sébastien Buemi became a THREE TIME Monaco winner
#MonacoEPrix pic.twitter.com/8Opz4ErVil
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 4, 2025
Rowland held on for second, ahead of Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy, another hard charger utilizing a late second Attack Mode, while de Vries faded to fifth by the race end, behind Antonio Felix da Costa.
Lap 27/29
Da Costa is all over the back of Cassidy but a defensive masterclass from the Kiwi prevents it !
#MonacoEPrix pic.twitter.com/SzR0FRIlED
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 4, 2025
Vergne, who had gambled on a wet setup, finished sixth. A mixture of the conditions – a drying line emerged in the latter stages of the race – and a safety car for Nico Mueller who hit the wall at Massenet on lap 13 caught him out, derailing his strategy and causing him to fall from a certain podium finish.
Pascal Wehrlein finished seventh, ahead of Maximilian Guenther, with Jake Dennis and Stoffel Vandoorne completing the points scorers.
Aside from Mueller, Lucas di Grassi was the race’s only other retirement. The Lola Yamaha Abt driver went into the barriers at Portier, bringing out a brief full course yellow.
Rowland saw his chance of a weekend sweep slip away, but the Nissan driver at least earned a consolation prize. Joe Portlock/Getty Images
With his first and second over the weekend, Rowland was awarded the HSH Albert II of Monaco Trophy as the highest points scorer of the weekend. He also maintains his lead in the drivers’ championship, with a 48-point lead over da Costa.
Reigning champion Wehrlein sits third, a single point behind his Porsche teammate, while Taylor Barnard maintains fourth despite a brace of 16th place finishes over the weekend. He did, however, get three points for his pole position on Saturday.
TAG Heuer Porsche keeps on top of the teams’ championship, seven points ahead of Nissan, but Nissan leads the manufacturers’ standings, 28 points ahead of Porsche.
RESULTS
