Renault E.Dams have been surprisingly off the pace in qualifying over the past couple of rounds of the Formula E Championship, and tire warm-up issues seem to be the main cause.

Sebastien Buemi has qualified eighth in the last two rounds of the championship while his main rival for the title Lucas Di Grassi has qualified third and second in the previous two rounds.

The Swiss driver admitted that they have struggled to get tire temperature into the car lately, and the cold conditions in Paris didn’t help their situation in qualifying.

“We have been struggling in qualifying lately, but our main problem here was getting temperature into the tires for our quick lap. Therefore, one lap qualifying is not good for us. However, once we are in the race and the tires are up to temperature, I think we are the quickest car out there.

“We caught and overtook drivers to get onto the podium. Also, it is hard to show your true pace when you are fighting in the middle of the field, so we are going to have to work really hard towards to the end of the season.

“We did have the best package at the start of the season, but now we are in a fight with the other teams to maintain that, but we are motivated and will try to end the season strongly,” said Buemi.

With Paris kicking off the European leg of the season, the French team will be looking for ways to resolve their tire warm up issues as the European tracks are noticeably much tighter than the previous circuits the teams have raced at.

Therefore, qualifying will become a crucial part of a successful weekend, but if Buemi continues to have to fight his way through the field to beat Di Grassi, his championship hopes may just begin to fade away from him.