After missing out on the final qualifying phase by five-thousandths of a second, and then dropping fighting back from 19th to seventh place on Saturday, Vergne was hungry for revenge on Sunday.
"The first race was really complicated," said the French driver. "Everyone wants to preserve their energy by staying in the pack, I was hit several times and I even spun out. At the end of the day I was happy to finish seventh, because it also showed the potential of the car."
Usually, when the set-up and performance are there on day one, the standings are not much different the next day. In addition, making the Franco-American team’s challenge even tougher was that the leading manufacturers from the beginning of the season - Porsche and Jaguar - and their satellite teams were also running at the sharp end at the first European double-header of the season.
But on Sunday morning, the rain came for qualifying, throwing up a huge uncertainty. With the grooved tyres, which are the same for dry or wet conditions, the track becomes slightly cleaner as the laps go by. The teams are playing with the pressures to try to improve the grip. In a tense first stage of qualifying, Vergne set the best time in his group, then qualified fourth on the grid. Like Vergne the day before, Vandoorne just missed out on the last eight by a tenth of a second and started ninth.
Resisting the pressure
The energy strategy is at the heart of the race. At the front, the two attack modes were activated as quickly as possible to stay in the game. It's all about planning for the second half of the race, when everyone can attack without worrying about energy reserves. At the halfway point, a high-intensity battle began between the two Porsches, the DS Penske of Vergne and the Envision Nick Cassidy unfolded at the front, while both Jaguars and the Andretti of Jake Dennis were ready to strike too.
The gaps were very close, and the cars almost touched on several occasions, with attacks numerous but positions firmly defended.
With five laps to go, the top three were within a second of each other but the positions were fixed: Cassidy won ahead of Dennis and Vergne, who scored big points and consolidated his third place in the championship to put himself firmly in the drivers’ title fight.
"We've just had two complicated races, where the leaders are afraid to spend too much energy and this creates very tight packs, which is quite special," said the two-time Formula E champion after Sunday’s race.
In the constructors' standings, DS Penske remains fourth, but in touch with the front top three of Porsche, Envision and Jaguar.
In a fortnights' time, Formula E will move on to Monaco, on a track that is well known by all teams and drivers, for a single race. Last year, Vandoorne, then with Mercedes, won the race, while Vergne finished third.
