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The Frenchman was investigated for breaching
safety car regulations but was allowed to celebrate his victory,
unlike Sam Bird who was slapped with a post-race penalty
following his win in Hong Kong in the last race.
Nissan's Oliver Rowland finished second while BMW Andretti's
Antonio Felix Da Costa was the third driver on the podium.
Rowland started on pole ahead of reigning champion Vergne in
what was the first Formula E race at Sanya, with only two points
separating the top four drivers going into the sixth race of the
season.
Vergne took the lead with 21 minutes left on the clock with a
daring overtaking maneuver by braking late and going past
Rowland on the inside of a tight corner at turn 11.
Virgin Racing's Bird, who was leading the championship, was out
of the race in the opening lap after a clash with Stoffel
Vandoorne of HWA Racelab, who also saw their other driver Gary
Paffett retire early.
Nelson Piquet Jr's race in the Jaguar was also ended when he
collided with the wall.
The day got worse for British drivers after Alexander Sims was
also forced to retire after his right rear tyre was damaged
following a collision with the wall. It resulted in a red flag
while his BMW was recovered from the track.
Robin Frijns collided with the back of Lucas di Grassi's car at
a hairpin on turn eight in a chaotic final minute of the race
which resulted in a full-course yellow, allowing Vergne to take
the chequered flag, less than two seconds ahead of Rowland.
Da Costa now leads the championship, with a three-point lead
over Belgian Jerome d'Ambrosio. The next race of the season is
the Rome ePrix in Italy on April 13.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto
Ganguly)
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