The battle for the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship returns to the streets of the French capital this weekend (28 April) for the series’ third visit to the iconic city. The Paris E-Prix will be round eight of the current campaign, with Jean-Eric Vergne currently leading the standings for TECHEETAH.

The 1.92km circuit is the second shortest on the calendar, with the narrow streets surrounding the complex of monuments and museums at Les Invalides in the seventh arrondissement providing a tough challenge for the 20 drivers that will take to the grid.

The circuit is quite a contrast to the Rome circuit that hosted the previous round, where Sam Bird took victory for DS Virgin Racing, closing the gap at the top of the table to 18 points. Third place in the standings is Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist, who will be looking to make up for a disappointing end to what had been a very strong weekend in Rome, where after having put his car on pole position by an incredible 0.676s, broken suspension took him out of a commanding race lead.

Sebastien Buemi was victorious in Paris last season and from fourth in the standings will be hoping for a repeat performance this time around to boost his title challenge in front of Renault e.dams’ home crowd. There will be additional local support for his French team-mate Nico Prost, who will be looking for a good result following a tough first half of the season.

Just seven points separate Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt in fifth, and the Panasonic Jaguar Racing pairing of Nelson Piquet Jr and Mitch Evans who sit sixth and seventh respectively. With six different teams represented in the top six championship positions, the competitiveness of the fourth season of Formula E is plain to see.

Reigning champion Lucas di Grassi won the inaugural Paris E-Prix but failed to finish last year’s race. With back-to-back second place finishes at the last two events, the Audi driver will likely be in the hunt once again this weekend.

Other former podium finishers in Paris include DRAGON’s Jose Maria Lopez and Mahindra’s Nick Heidfeld.

There will be a driver change at NIO this weekend, with Ma Quing Ha, who raced in the championship in seasons two and three, replacing Luca Filippi. 

With the backdrop of the stunning buildings of Les Invalides and the world-renowned Eiffel Tower, the Paris E-Prix represents one of the highlights of the season. Add to this the significance of Paris on the global stage as a champion of new mobility and environmental action, and it makes for one of the best examples of Formula E’s dual mission to bring motor sport to high profile city centre locations and raise awareness of electric vehicle technologies.

Championship standings: