The 2017 Paris ePrix (formally the 2017 Qatar Airways Paris ePrix) was a Formula E electric motor race held on 20 May 2017 at the Circuit des Invalides in the Les Invalides building complex before a crowd of 46,000 people. It was the sixth race of the 2016–17 Formula E Championship and the second Paris ePrix. e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi won the 49-lap race from pole position. José María López finished second for the Virgin team and Mahindra driver Nick Heidfeld third.
Buemi won the pole position by recording the fastest time in qualifying and held off second-placed starter Jean-Éric Vergne to keep the lead at the start of the race. Buemi pulled away from Vergne but the field was closed after a crash between championship rival Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa on the 16th lap brought out a full course yellow. All drivers, including Buemi, made their mandatory pit stops to switch into a second car as a consequence of the accident. Buemi regained the lead three laps after the restart from Mike Conway when the latter made his own stop to switch into his second car. Vergne crashed on lap 34 which caused the safety car to be deployed. Buemi held off López at the restart four laps later and led the rest of the race to claim the victory. There were three lead changes among three different drivers during the course of the race.
It was Buemi's fifth victory of the season, the eleventh of his career, and his first in Paris. The result extended Buemi's Drivers' Championship advantage to 43 points ahead of di Grassi, and his teammate Nico Prost maintained third place. Heidfeld's strong finish moved him to fourth and Vergne's failure to finish meant he to fifth. e.Dams-Renault consolidated their lead in the Teams' Championship to 75 points in front of the non-scoring Audi Sport ABT, and Mahindra kept third position with six races left in the season.
Background
The Paris ePrix was confirmed as part of Formula E's 2016–17 series schedule in September 2016 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. It was the sixth of twelve scheduled single-seater electric car races of the 2016–17 Championship, the second Paris ePrix, and was held on 20 May 2017 at the Circuit des Invalides in the Les Invalides building complex. The 2016 race was held in April but the 2017 edition was moved to May to enable teams and drivers to drive in better weather. The Circuit des Invalides is long, run in an clockwise direction and is composed of 14 turns.
Before the race e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi led the Drivers' Championship with 104 points, 15 ahead of Lucas di Grassi in second and a further 43 in front of third-placed Nico Prost. Jean-Éric Vergne was fourth with 40 points and Sam Bird was fifth with 34 points. e.Dams-Renault led the Teams' Championship with 152 points; Audi Sport ABT were in second place on 115 points. Mahindra stood in third with 60 points, while Techeetah and Virgin contended for fourth position.
Buemi, the pre-race favourite, stated that after winning the Monaco ePrix one week prior, he ventured to Paris with more motivation to achieve another podium finish, saying: "It's a special weekend for us with the team and I will do my best to continue our top form." José María López stated he felt his team were due a good finish after a sub-par performance in Monaco and had prepared extensively for the race. He looked forward to competing in Paris for the first time and expected to achieve a decent points-scoring position. Mahindra's Nick Heidfeld said he sought another podium finish to allow Mahindra to retain third place in the Teams' Championship but was wary of cold weather causing several cars to struggle on cold tyre temperatures. Vergne spoke of his belief Paris would be his "best race of the year" and praised the work the city put in to hold the race, "The Paris track is not the kind of track we have been to except for Hong Kong – really bumpy, narrow, difficult to drive – so we'll see how it goes."