The Battle in Berlin

FORMULA E 12 THEBATTLE INBERLIN

Last month saw the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship return to the iconic Tempelhof Airport in Berlin for a double-header filled with action and drama. Charlie Atkinson reports.

ROUND 7

Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport is a staple of the Formula E calendar, with the venue hosting six races in the COVID-stricken Season 6, and back in May, all 22 drivers returned to the airfield once again for Round 7 and 8 of the Championship. The double-header in Germany marked the halfway point of the season, with Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne leading the drivers’ standings heading into the weekend, with DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans just behind following a consistent run of form for the pair. However, ROKiT Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara reignited his Championship bid after he secured his first ever pole position in Formula E, beating off stiff competition from Mahindra’s Alex Sims in the duels – a result even ROKiT Venturi team principal, Jérôme D’Ambrosio, was surprised with. In the race, Mortara’s risky Attack Mode strategy paid off, saving both of his extra power boosts for the last minute, enabling him to maintain his position at the front of the grid. Despite late onslaughts from Jean-Éric Vergne, Mortara held firm to claim his second win of the season, capping off a perfect day for the Swiss-Italian-French driver. Commenting on his victory, Mortara said: “I think we can be very happy about how we executed the race today. It was amazing to take my first pole postion in qualifying, especially after coming close to it quite a few times this season. “Coming off the back of two DNFs, it was important to have a good result this weekend and I hope we can be strong again tomorrow.” ROUND 8

Mortara continued to flourish in Berlin as, on the Sunday, he ran fastest in FP1 before claiming his second Formula E pole position in as many days. Racing on a reverse layout of the circuit for Round 8, Mortara had over a tenth on Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns early through the decisive lap and continued to build on his lead, to claim his backto-back poles over the weekend. Having ended a five-year wait for his first pole position on the Saturday before doing the same the very next day, it appeared that this weekend was made for Mortara, but reigning champion Nyck De Vries of Mercedes EQ had other plans. On the very first corner of the opening lap, De Vries flew up the inside of Envision’s Robin Fri-

13 FORMULA E

jns and Mortara to take the lead of the race, and from this point on, the Dutchman would never look back. As the grid battled with the soaring temperatures, De Vries kept his cool and cantered to victory, finishing 2.5s ahead of Mortara who claimed another podium finish, along with fellow championship rival Stoffel Vandoorne. It was redemption for De Vries, who, after winning the first race of the season, has struggled throughout much of this campaign. Speaking after the race, De Vries set out his intention to carry this momentum through the rest of the season. “We’ve had a bit of a difficult ride through the past four races and struggled to execute a result. I don’t think on each occasion there was much wrong but there was just something little missing,” said an emotional de Vries, moments before taking to the top step of the podium at Tempelhof. “Everything was there but it just didn’t work out. It just starts to build up. People score points and you begin to lose momentum. To come back and turn it around now was very important. I hate losing - it eats me, especially when you know there’s nothing wrong. I don’t think it’s the right time to think about points. Things change around so quickly. We’ve just got to keep our heads down and make sure the coin falls our way. It’s very good to get a good result in but we definitely have to try and keep the momentum from now on.” With everything to play for as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship enters the second half of the season, it is Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne that leads the drivers’ standings on 111 points, with Edoardo Mortara catapulting himself right back into contention, with two pole positions, a fastest lap, a race win and a second placed finish lifting him to second in the table. DS Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne slips down to third in the table. The teams’ standings sees Mercedes EQ build on its considerable lead, with ROKiT Venturi Racing and DS Techeetah up against it for the rest of the season.

UP NEXT

Formula E will race in Jakarta for the very first time when the season resumes on 4th June for Round 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND

The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, has confirmed that the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will continue to be held at Berlin Tempelhof Airport for the next two years.

McLaren Racing has confirmed it will compete in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from next season, following its acquisition of the MercedesEQ Formula E Team.

Avalanche Andretti Formula E has announced that it will join forces with Porsche from the start of Season 9. Porsche will provide the powertrain and other support services for Avalanche Andretti under a long-term agreement.