The 2018 New York City ePrix (formally the 2018 Qatar Airways New York City E-Prix) were a pair of Formula E electric car races held on 14 and 15 July 2018 at the Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn. They were the 11th and 12th rounds of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship, and it was the second annual edition of the event. The first race, contested over 43 laps on July 14, was won by Lucas di Grassi of the Audi team after starting 11th. His teammate Daniel Abt finished second, and e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi was third. The second race on July 15 also lasted 43 laps, and was won by Techeetah's Jean-Éric Vergne from third. Di Grassi and his teammate were second and third, respectively.
Buemi took the tenth pole position of his career by posting the fastest lap in qualifying and held the lead until Abt passed him on the fifth lap. Di Grassi overtook Buemi for second 15 laps later. Abt maintained the lead through the mandatory pit stops to change into a second car. On lap 24, di Grassi passed Abt for first after his teammate made a driver error. A safety car on lap 35 closed the field up to allow marshals to clear debris after Alex Lynn of Virgin crashed The race restarted with two minutes to go, and di Grassi retained the lead to secure his second consecutive victory, and the eighth of his career.
For the second day running, but on a wet track, Buemi won the pole position with the fastest qualifying lap, the eleventh of his career, but he immediately lost the lead to Vergne at the start. The race was neutralised on lap eight because the Dragon car of José María López needed to be moved after his suspension failed, and for a three car accident on the straight linking turns ten and eleven. Racing resumed four laps later with Vergne leading through the next 12 laps, and the switch into a second vehicle at the halfway point. In the final six laps, Vergne held off di Grassi to take his fourth victory of the season, and the fifth of his career.
The race results won Vergne his first Drivers' Championship after finishing fifth in the first race. Di Grassi's results saw him pass Sam Bird, Vergne's rival entering the event, for second. Buemi maintained fourth, and Abt finished the season in fifth. In the Teams' Championship, Audi outscored Techeetah in both races to win the title by two points. Virgin took third with 160 points. The battle for fourth position was won by Mahindra by five points over e.Dams-Renault in fifth.
Background
The 2018 New York City ePrix double header was confirmed as part of Formula E's 2017–18 series schedule by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in September 2017. They were the 11th and 12th scheduled single-seater electric car races of the 2017–18 Championship, and it was the second annual edition of the event. The races were held at the 14-turn Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn on July 14 and 15. It was the final two races for the Spark-Renault SRT 01E car, which was replaced by the SRT05e from the 2018–19 Championship onward. Renault made its final appearance as a Formula E team and powertrain manufacturer, and were replaced by corporate partner Nissan. Organisers of the ePrix expected 40,000 people to converge to the circuit over the weekend. Formula E arranged a partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to provide organizations in the Red Hook community with a 1,000 race day tickets to give away to local residents for free.
Before the race, Jean-Éric Vergne of Techeetah led the Drivers' Championship with 163 points. Virgin's Sam Bird was second with 140 points, and Audi driver Lucas di Grassi was third with 101 points. With 92 points, Sébastien Buemi of e.Dams-Renault was fourth and Mahindra driver Felix Rosenqvist was six points behind in fifth. In the Teams' Championship, Techeetah led with 219 points, 33 ahead of Audi. Virgin were third with 157 points with Mahindra (116 points) and Jaguar (105) fourth and fifth. 58 points were available for the final two races of the season, which meant Vergne could win the Drivers' Championship in the first race if he won and Bird did not earn one point for the fastest lap and three for taking the pole position.