2018 Rome ePrix

2018 Rome ePrix
Race 7 of 12 of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details[1][2]
Date	14 April 2018 (2018-04-14)
Official name	2018 CBMM Niobium Rome E-Prix Presented By Mercedes EQ[3]
Location	Circuto Cittadino dell'EUR, EUR, Rome
Course	Street circuit
Course length	2.860 km (1.777 mi)
Distance	33 laps, 94.38 km (58.65 mi)
Weather	Dry but cloudy
Attendance	45,000
Pole position
Driver	Felix Rosenqvist	Mahindra
Time	1:36.311
Fastest lap
Driver	Daniel Abt	Audi
Time	1:37.910 on lap 30
Podium
First	Sam Bird	Virgin-Citroën
Second	Lucas di Grassi	Audi
Third	André Lotterer	Techeetah-Renault
Lap leaders

The 2018 Rome ePrix (formally the 2018 CBMM Niobium Rome E-Prix Presented By Mercedes EQ) was a Formula E electric car race held at the Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR in the EUR residential and business district of the Italian capital of Rome on 14 April 2018 before a crowd of 45,000 people. It was the seventh round of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship and the inaugural running of the event. The 33-lap race was won by Virgin driver Sam Bird from a second position start. Lucas di Grassi finished second for Audi and Techeetah driver André Lotterer took third.

Felix Rosenqvist of Mahindra won the pole position by recording the fastest lap in qualifying and maintained the lead through the mandatory pit stops for the change into a second car until he hit a kerb on the 22nd lap and retired with a broken rear-left suspension. That allowed Bird into the lead but he was challenged by Jaguar's Mitch Evans, who had made a pit stop one lap later and had more electrical energy, with four laps left but he could not get ahead. Evans was then passed by di Grassi and Lotterer in the final laps as his energy depleted and Bird held off di Grassi to take his second victory of the season and the seventh of his career.

The result allowed Jean-Éric Vergne of Techeetah to retain his lead in the Drivers' Championship but his points advantage was reduced to 18 as Bird's victory put him ahead of Rosenqvist. e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi maintained fourth and di Grassi's teammate Daniel Abt moved into fifth after coming fourth. Techeetah extended their advantage in the Teams' Championship to thirty-eight points over Virgin. Mahindra scored no points and fell to third with five races left in the season.