The 2018 Santiago ePrix (formally the 2018 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race held at the Santiago Street Circuit in the Chilean capital city of Santiago on 3 February 2018. It was the fourth round of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship and the inaugural running of the event. The 37-lap race was won by Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne from pole position. Vergne's teammate André Lotterer finished second and e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi was third.
Vergne won pole position by recording the fastest lap in qualifying, and held off Nelson Piquet Jr. early in the race, which was neutralised for four laps after two cars were left stranded at the side of the track from getting involved in separate accidents on the first lap. Vergne kept the lead after every driver made their mandatory pit stops to enter into a second car and his teammate Lotterer passed Piquet for second. Vergne, who was saving electrical energy due to a loss in pit-to-car radio communication, held off his teammate Lotterer for the rest of the race to win for the second time in Formula E and Lotterer finished second to achieve the first one-two finish in series history.
The result moved Vergne to the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time with 71 points, five ahead of previous leader Felix Rosenqvist. Sam Bird finished fifth and fell to third as Buemi's third-place finish moved him to fourth. Techeetah took the lead of the Teams' Championship with Mahindra two points behind in second. Virgin fell to third while e.Dams-Renault moved to fourth with eight races left in the season.
Background
In February 2017 a diplomatic committee led by former driver Eliseo Salazar began talking to Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag in Buenos Aires about the possibility of holding a race in the Chilean capital of Santiago. The race was officially confirmed by the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), in June, and was added to the 2017–18 Formula E calendar by the FIA World Motor Sport Council three months later. It was the fourth of twelve single seater electric car races of the season and took place on 3 February 2018. Prior to the event, a non-championship Formula One race won by Juan Manuel Fangio was held on the streets of Santiago in 1950. Despite also having hosted regional soccer tournament Copa América (in 1991 and 2015) or Dakar Rally (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), the press predicted the race would be the largest sporting event in Chile since the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and organisers expected 20,000 people to attend. A total of 20 drivers each representing ten teams of two competitors each were entered for the race.
Heading into the ePrix Mahindra driver Felix Rosenqvist led the Drivers' Championship with 54 points, four ahead of Sam Bird in second and a further seven in front of Jean-Éric Vergne in third. Nelson Piquet Jr. was fourth with 25 points and Edoardo Mortara (24 points) was the highest-placed rookie in fifth. In the Teams' Championship, Mahindra led with 75 points with Virgin 18 points behind in second place. Techeetah and Jaguar were third and fourth with 43 and 40 points respectively and Venturi was fifth with 30 points.
Starting from Santiago, the minimum pit stop time, which had been implemented since the championship began in 2014, was discarded. It came after the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), deferred the ruling at the preceding Marrakesh ePrix three weeks before the Santiago race after teams raised concerns over safety. To prepare for the change, chassis manufacturer Spark Racing Technology designed an endurance racing-style seat belt in its aim to improve the efficiency of its application and team and driver safety. Some teams were handed samples to practice with. The FIA later permitted teams to employ spotters behind the pit lane wall and directly opposite their garages to guide drivers into their correct stopping positions. Someone holding a sign to direct the driver into the garages was allowed to move outside the boundaries of their pit box.