The Story So Far – Nick’s Moscow Masterclass

Take a trip back in time to ROKiT Venturi Racing's maiden Formula E podium in Moscow… 


The first leg of the Season 7 Diriyah E-Prix marked the FIA Formula E World Championship's 70th race to date.


As the first team to commit to the series back in 2013, we’ve been on the grid for every single one – but there are a few that stick in the memory more than most.


Across seven seasons of competition to date, we’ve recorded seven podium finishes – and it was on the streets of Moscow that we first discovered our taste for silverware.


With solid pace in qualifying, Nick Heidfeld grabbed a spot on the fourth row in P8, while a penalty for Stéphane Sarrazin relegated the Frenchman to the back of the grid in P20.


Although Nick found himself in the thick of the pack and Stéphane faced an uphill battle from plum last, we were still confident of mounting a strong points challenge.


Both drivers maintained their positions on lap 1 – but a strategic masterstroke coupled with aggressive energy management would prove to be crucial to a special result. Pitting from P2 at the end of lap 20 after extending his opening stint, Nick rejoined in P5 and from there began to show his fighting spirit.

Closing in on the battle for P3, the German cleared Jean-Eric Vergne on the final lap to take P4 at the chequered flag. But the story didn’t end there.

An ongoing investigation into an unsafe pit release for Sébastien Buemi eventually resulted in a post-race penalty of 29-seconds for the Swiss driver, handing us our maiden Formula E podium.

And so we got our first sip of that sweet podium champagne – and it’s fair to say we developed a taste for it from there…