Sebastien Buemi triumphed to an epic and well-awaited victory on Monte Carlo streets today, beating treacherous wet conditions and a chaotic race to secure his first win since 2019. By so doing, the Swiss driver did not only inject much-needed lift to underpressure Envision Racing team but also took back title of most accomplished driver in the history of Formula E with 14th overall career win.
Rowland leads as Vergne takes early command
From the moment the lights went out, it was Oliver Rowland who asserted early leadership from pole position. The Nissan driver eased through Sainte Dévote untroubled, with Jean-Eric Vergne showing enough aggression to pass his DS Penske teammate Maximilian Günther for third. Pascal Wehrlein suffered behind them with a disastrous start, dropping from sixth to 13th position, as the field eased into a rhythm on the damp Monaco track.
The early laps were a fairly conservative affair with the top five remaining the same until Attack Mode strategies began to emerge. Sebastien Buemi was the first of the leaders to flinch, gaining a position on António Félix da Costa before battling past Günther. Once the DS Penske duo extended their own attack modes, Vergne was able to stick, but Günther was brought back by Buemi.
De Vries struggles, Vergne hits
Nyck de Vries, the then-second-placed driver, fell two positions behind Buemi and Vergne when he engaged his attack mode on Lap 5. Vergne capitalised by taking the lead of the race, but he was in front for only a short while before chaos struck.
There was drama on Lap 6 as Jake Hughes and David Beckmann made contact at Turn 1. Beckmann was forced into the run-off area and developed a puncture, struggling back to the pits and ending any hope of points from his 18th-starting position. De Vries was warned for hard defending, and shortly afterward Lucas di Grassi plowed into the wall while braking, leading to a full course yellow.
Once racing resumed, everyone focused on Rowland, the only driver in the top 10 still holding both attack modes. He was clearly biding his time behind Vergne, waiting for that magic moment to make a move. That moment came on Lap 16, but the strategy went slightly awry — he dropped one place to De Vries when activating.
The top three battle Monaco mayhem
What followed was a hectic sequence of wheel-to-wheel battles and overtakes as Rowland, De Vries, and Vergne fought each other through the twisty streets of Monaco. The turning point came on Lap 19 when Rowland ran into Vergne in the Nouvelle Chicane and shortened the track. De Vries momentarily took advantage, but Rowland rammed past in a physical move that surely raised an eyebrow among the stewards. Sébastien Buemi was the silent giant in their rear, entering his last attack mode and overtaking Rowland and De Vries on Lap 21 to take the lead. The veteran never looked back from there.
Later down the pack, Nick Cassidy battled his way into podium fight after dispatching De Vries and keeping Da Costa at bay in a last-lap fight. Cassidy’s third place was his maiden podium of the year — a much-needed confidence booster for Jaguar after yet another underwhelming qualifying performance in which their drivers were on the outside looking in of the top 13.
Heartbreak for Jaguar duo and Vergne
Meanwhile, Sam Bird, who crashed hard in qualifying and started from the pit lane, never appeared and ended up finishing in 20th place. Mitch Evans also had a forgettable day, ending 18th after a puncture. There was further misery for Jean-Eric Vergne. Having been out front early and saving his energy, a poorly timed safety car — called after Nico Müller spun and retired on Lap 14 — took his lead away. He ended up falling back to sixth after hard late-race defending and congestion.
Buemi masters closing laps for record victory
When the race director included the event into 30 laps, the final laps saw Buemi moving ahead of the rest. Rowland, with limited energy and time, could not close the three-second gap. Da Costa battled Cassidy hard for the final podium spot, but energy limitations held him back. When the chequered flag fell, it was Buemi who finally broke his 80-race winning drought with a masterful performance in the Principality — his third Monaco victory, becoming the most successful driver of all time on the historic track.
Final Classification – Top 10
- Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing)
- Oliver Rowland (Nissan)
- Nick Cassidy (Jaguar)
- António Félix da Costa (Porsche)
- Nyck de Vries (Mahindra)
- Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske)
- Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)
- Maximilian Günther (DS Penske)
- Jake Dennis (Andretti)
- Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske)
This result reopens the championship narrative, with multiple teams back in contention and Buemi’s resurgence adding fresh fire to the title fight. Formula E heads next to Tokyo, but for now, the story belongs to Sébastien Buemi — a masterclass in patience, precision and persistence.