Sebastien Buemi has taken the lead in the FIA Formula E Championship after an inspired victory on the streets of Punta del Este.
The Renault e.dams driver powered his way from fifth on the grid before going on to record his second win from three races this season.
Lucas di Grassi is just a point adrift of Buemi in the championship after following the Swiss driver home, while pole-sitter Jerome D’Ambrosio fended off Loic Duval for third.
A textbook start from Buemi saw him move by di Grassi into fourth on the run to the first corner.
The former Toro Rosso Formula 1 star soon found himself in second after completing moves on Duval and Sam Bird, before setting his sights on early leader D’Ambrosio.
Buemi quickly reeled in the Dragon driver, who built up a 1.8s lead, before diving underneath the Belgian for the lead as the race approached the quarter mark.
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Once ahead the e.dams racer opened up a 4.3s advantage over the field before the mandatory pit stops.
A slick stop from the Abt crew allowed di Grassi to move into second with the Brazilian’s victory hopes aided by a full course caution to retrieve Bird’s Virgin, which had come to halt on circuit with a suspected mechanical issue.
Di Grassi closed the gap to Buemi significantly prompting a tense finish.
However, Buemi kept his nerve to hold off the Abt driver and take the chequered flag by a 3.5s margin.
The battle for third proved to be hotly contested between the Dragon team-mates with D’Ambrosio holding off Duval for third.
Nicolas Prost came home in fifth ahead of Aguri’s Antonio Felix da Costa, with the remaining Virgin of Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth.
Daniel Abt, Venturi’s Stephane Sarrazin and Andretti’s Robin Frijns rounded out the top 10.
Jacques Villeneuve failed to make the start of the race following a crash in qualifying.
The FIA Formula E Championship continues with a visit to Argentina on February 6.
Result: FIA Formula E Championship, Punta del Este
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Buemi | e.dams | 33 Laps |
| 2 | Lucas di Grassi | Abt | +3.534s |
| 3 | Jerome D’Ambrosio | Dragon | +6.725s |
| 4 | Loic Duval | Dragon | +6.807s |
| 5 | Nicolas Prost | e.dams | +21.057s |
| 6 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Aguri | +22.410s |
| 7 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Virgin | +57.726s |
| 8 | Daniel Abt | Abt | +1:00.744s |
| 9 | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | +1:03.559s |
| 10 | Robin Frijns | Andretti | +1:03.840s |
| 11 | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti | +1 Lap |
| 12 | Oliver Turvey | China | +1 Lap |
| 13 | Oliver Rowland | Mahindra | +1 Lap |
| 14 | Nathanael Berthon | Aguri | +1 Lap |
| 15 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | China | Spin |
| DNF | Bruno Senna | Mahindra | Retirement |
| DNF | Sam Bird | Virgin | Retirement |
| DNS | Jacques Villeneuve | Venturi | Withdrawn |
Championship Standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sébastien Buemi | 62 |
| 2 | Lucas di Grassi | 61 |
| 3 | Jérôme D’Ambrosio | 28 |
| 4 | Sam Bird | 24 |
| 5 | Loïc Duval | 24 |
| 6 | Nick Heidfeld | 17 |
| 7 | Robin Frijns | 17 |
| 8 | Stéphane Sarrazin | 16 |
| 9 | António Félix da Costa | 16 |
| 10 | Nicolas Prost | 11 |
| 11 | Bruno Senna | 10 |
| 12 | Daniel Abt | 10 |
| 13 | Oliver Turvey | 8 |
| 14 | Jean-Éric Vergne | 6 |
| 15 | Nathanaël Berthon | 4 |
| 16 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | 4 |
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