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Flag of Germany 2018 Berlin E-Prix
Berlin Layout 2017
The unchanged Tempelhofring.
Race Information
Date 19 May 2018
E-Prix No. 42
Official Name 2018 BMW i Berlin E-Prix
Location Flag of Berlin Tempelhofring, Berlin, Germany
Format {{{format}}}
Lap length 2.375 km (1.476 mi)[1]
Distance 45 laps / 106.875 km (66.409 mi)
Support Race {{{support}}}
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of Germany Daniel Abt
Team Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Time 1:09.472
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Germany Daniel Abt
Team Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Fastest Lap 1:12.409 on lap 26
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne
Winner Team Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
Time 55:35.546
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of France 2018 Paris E-Prix Flag of Switzerland 2018 Zürich E-Prix
Post-Race Test {{{test}}}

The 2018 Berlin E-Prix, officially known as the 2018 BMW i Berlin E-Prix, was the ninth round of the 2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Tempelhofring, Berlin, Germany on 19 May 2018.[2] The race, which ensured that Berlin remained the only city to have hosted an E-Prix in each season, would see Daniel Abt claim one of the most dominant victories in FE history.[3]

Indeed, German born racer Abt would start the weekend in fine form, claiming pole position in qualifying in spite of an investigation into his power use.[4] Oliver Turvey was a surprise second for NIO, while Championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne would start from third, ahead of all of his major rivals.[4]

Things would get even better for the German at the start, with Abt pulling cleanly away from the grid to claim the lead, while Turvey swept across in front of Vergne to secure second.[3] The Brit's aggressive move allowed Jérôme d'Ambrosio to sweep around the outside of Vergne to take third, while Felix Rosenqvist tried to follow the Belgian, only to run into the dust and drop down the order.[3]

The rest of the opening tour would feature the usual bumping and grinding in the middle of the pack as, out front, Abt pulled out a small lead over Turvey.[3] Turvey had also escaped up the road during the first lap, leaving d'Ambrosio to defend from Vergne, Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi, while Sam Bird led the rest of the field through in seventh.[3]

With that, Abt would begin to check-out at the front of the field, leaving d'Ambrosio to fight an increasingly desperate rear-guard from his pursuers.[3] Indeed, the Belgian soon found his Dragon sliding down the order, with di Grassi going in the opposite direction.[3] Indeed, by lap thirteen the Brazilian was up into second, although teammate Abt was already four seconds up the road.[3]

The two Audi Sport ABT Schaefflers would duly pull clear of the field before the pitstops, leaving Turvey to fend off the attentions of those behind.[3] He was aided by a bruising fight between Vergne and Buemi, but ultimately had to stop a lap earlier than the rest after an energy consumption issue.[3]

Indeed, the majority of the field would stop at the end of lap 23, with di Grassi almost jumping teammate Abt as the German had to wait for Buemi to pass his garage.[3] Yet, the German would scramble out of the pits just ahead of the Brazilian and maintain his lead, before again pulling clear of di Grassi for the rest of the afternoon.[3]

The Buemi/Vergne fight would last for the foreseeable future too, although a decisive move by Vergne as the pair came onto the back of Turvey ultimately saw the Frenchman claim third.[3] Attention therefore turned to the fight to make it into the points in the closing stages, with Nelson Piquet Jr. almost getting into ninth, only to misjudge a move on José María López with two laps to go.[3]

A subsequent spin for the Argentine saw him drop to the back of the field, joining teammate d'Ambrosio who had a power issue in his second car.[3] Elsewhere, the confusion on the penultimate lap allowed André Lotterer to suddenly shoot into the top ten, despite the fact that the German had started the day dead last, and served a ten second time penalty.[3]

With that the race was run, with Abt cruising home with fastest lap to claim a famous win in front of his home fans, leaving teammate di Grassi over six seconds behind.[3] Vergne came home a distant third ahead of Buemi, Turvey, Mitch Evans and Bird, while Maro Engel, Lotterer and Nick Heidfeld completed the scorers.[3]

Background[]

The Flughafen Tempelhof or Tempelhof Airport would return to host the Berlin E-Prix in 2018, an event that would ensure that FE continued to use one of its original venues, albeit on a revised layout.[5] The circuit was unchanged from 2017, and so retained its notorious long radius corners, most of which involved braking.[5] The event sponsors also remained unchanged, with BMW using the race to promote their "BMW i" brand, with the popular FE tunnel making its return as well.[2]

Berlin Bonuses[]

The event would also be used to publicise two new pieces of equipment coming for the 2018/19 season, one for FE and the other for its new support series. The more anticipated of these demonstrations would be conducted by 2016 FIA Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg, who would become the first driver to run the new Spark Gen 2 in public.[6] His run was to be followed by the maiden voyage of the first Jaguar I-Pace in a public setting, set to be driven FE C.E.O. Alejandro Agag ahead of the launch of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series.[7]

A Fifth Adventure[]

Elsewhere, the first host city for the upcoming 2018/19 season was unveiled, with the historic Saudi Arabian capital of Ad Diriyah, close to the current capital Riyadh, signing a ten year deal with the series.[8] Although yet to be officially ratified by the FIA, the inaugural Ad Diriyah E-Prix, was the second confirmed addition to the season five calendar, joining the already contracted Monaco E-Prix.[8] In terms of a venue, the circuit was set to be drawn up in the outskirts of the city, which had been expanding its motorsport profile by hosting events such as the Race of Champions.[8]

Additionally, another new partnership would be formed between Formula E and a major sponsor, resulting in a new mini-series within the 2018/19 Championship.[9] Austrian based steel manufacturer voestalpine signed a deal to sponsor the European based rounds for the upcoming 2018/19 season, aiming to improve their recognition worldwide, with the FIA and Formula E agreeing to award a mid-season prize after the European phase of the season.[9] Those rounds would therefore form the voestalpine European Series, with the driver whom scored the most points during the European races getting a trophy for their efforts.[9]

Mercedes Machinations[]

HWA Logo

The arrival of HWA AG as a "privateer" signalled the beginning of Mercedes increased interest in the series.

On the topic of 2018/19 it was revealed in the build up to the Berlin E-Prix that another German based effort would be joining the series, making it an eleven team entry for the fifth FE season.[10] That team would be HWA AG, a long-time Mercedes customer in the DTM, who had partnered themselves with Venturi throughout 2017/18 to get used to the series.[10] The German privateers revealed that they would use a the Monegasque firm's powertrain for 2018/19, before becoming the de facto factory team for the Silver Arrows in 2019/20.[11] The HWA team would therefore change its name to the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team for season six.[11]

Agag Approach[]

Indeed, the impending demonstrations, as well as the arrival of new manufacturers and venues, meant that there was a surprise bid to take over ownership of Formula E from the FIA.[12] This shock bid, thought to be in the region of €600 million, was submitted by current FE C.E.O. Agag, who had overseen the series development since its inception.[12] Indeed, many companies, according the Motorsport.com, cited Agag as the reason behind the series increased success, and so were open to the Portuguese businessman's potential take over.[12]

Prior Commitments[]

Away from the long-future of FE and there were revisions to the entry list in the short term, with Edoardo Mortara set to miss out on the race due to his DTM commitments.[13] His seat at Venturi was expected to be taken up by reserve driver Tom Dillmann, although conformation of this fact would have to wait until the end of April.[13] Another change was revealed at NIO, with Luca Filippi retaking his seat from Ma Qing Hua, after the team used their discretion to swap drivers before the final three rounds.[14]

Further changes came at Andretti, who revealed that BMW factory driver Tom Blomqvist was leaving the team to focus on his World Endurance Championship commitments.[15] With Blomqvist absent, and the rest of the BMW factory squad busy with other projects, Andretti were left to hire FE veteran Stéphane Sarrazin, who had been without a drive since being dropped by Techeetah at the end of 2016/17.[15] The Frenchman was signed for the rest of the season, but was not expected to be a contender for a drive in 2018/19.[15]

Collision Costs[]

Elsewhere it was revealed that Techeetah and driver André Lotterer would be punished rather heavily for their antics at the end of the Paris E-Prix, with the German slapped with a ten place grid penalty in Berlin.[16] Lotterer was deemed to have driven across the path of Sam Bird in the closing moments of the race, causing a collision that ripped the front right corner from the Brit's car.[16] He was therefore set to be relegated to the back of the grid in Berlin, while his team were fined €2,500 for releasing the German's car "unsafely" from the pits after his car-change in the French capital.[16] This fine was the result of crew members standing in a dangerous position when Lotterer pulled out of the garage.[16]

Vergne on the Verge[]

Into the Championship and his excellent victory in his home town had allowed Jean-Éric Vergne to move over thirty points clear at the top of the Championship, although his advantage over Bird would have been higher but for the last corner confusion. The Brit was himself thirty points clear of Felix Rosenqvist in third, who was slowly slipping back towards Sébastien Buemi in fourth. Lucas di Grassi had been a big winner as he moved into the top five, while Maro Engel shot up the table after his best ever result.

Techeetah, meanwhile, had continued to lead the way in the Teams' Championship, extending their advantage over DS Virgin Racing up to 55 points. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler were also making ground as they climbed into the top three ahead of their home race, relegating Mahindra Racing down to fourth. Jaguar Racing remained in fifth but seemed to be slipping away, while Renault e.Dams found themselves with less than half the number of points than customers Techeetah in sixth.

The FanBoost vote for the 2018 Berlin E-Prix opened on the 14 May 2018, and would remain open until the opening minutes of the race.[17]

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2018 Berlin E-Prix is displayed below:

2018 Berlin E-Prix Entry List
No. Name Entrant Constructor Car
1 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE04
2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing DS Virgin DSV-03
3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type II
4 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VM200-FE-03
5 Flag of Germany Maro Engel Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VM200-FE-03
6 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States Dragon Racing Penske EV-2
7 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of the United States Dragon Racing Penske EV-2
8 Flag of France Nicolas Prost Flag of France Renault e.Dams Renault Z.E. 17
9 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Renault e.Dams Renault Z.E. 17
16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NextEV NIO 003
18 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China Techeetah Renault Z.E. 17
19 Flag of Sweden Felix Rosenqvist Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M4 Electro
20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type II
23 Flag of Germany Nick Heidfeld Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M4 Electro
25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China Techeetah Renault Z.E. 17
27 Flag of France Stéphane Sarrazin Flag of the United States MS&AD Andretti Formula E Andretti ATEC-04
28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States MS&AD Andretti Formula E Andretti ATEC-04
36 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing DS Virgin DSV-03
66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE04
68 Flag of Italy Luca Filippi Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NextEV NIO 003
Source:[18]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

The standard qualifying format would be followed at the Tempelhofring, with the drivers sorted in four groups of five based on their position in the Championship.[19] Each group would then get six minutes on circuit to set a quick time, before the fastest five drivers overall proceeded to the Super Pole shootout.[19] Those five would then go out, one at a time, to set a quick lap, with the rest of the grid, barring penalties, sorted based on their group times.[19]

Group 1[]

The opening group of the day would be headlined by local favourite and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler racer Daniel Abt, with the German one of those tipped to get into Super Pole.[19] He would be joined by Nelson Piquet Jr. and Mitch Evans in their Jaguars, as well as André Lotterer for Techeetah.[19] Oliver Turvey would complete the quintet for NIO, with all bar Abt considered outsiders for Super Pole.[19]

Lotterer was the man to get things underway during the first group of the afternoon, heading out with four minutes remaining to set his quali lap.[20] Unfortunately for him ha slap into the wall on the exit of turn seven meant his effort was immediately bettered by Evans, before Abt blew them all out of the water with a 1:09.774.[20] His effort was only challenged by Turvey, who followed the German across the line, while Piquet found himself in third.[20]

However, after returning to the pits, Abt would be informed that he was under investigation for switching power modes too early, leaving his ultimate fate in the lurch.[4] The German would be subsequently reprimanded by the stewards, who decided that Abt had not gained an advantage despite breaking article 33.3 of the rule book.[21]

Group 2[]

Group two would feature more German talent in the forms of Maro Engel and Nick Heidfeld, with both under pressure to perform as they looked to secure their seats for 2018/19.[19] They were to be joined by the first of the DS Virgins of Alex Lynn, as well as José María López in his Dragon.[19] António Félix da Costa completed the second quintet for Andretti Formula E, although, unlike the first group, none of the contenders were expected to challenge for Super Pole.[19]

Lynn headed out at the very start of the second group's window to guarantee himself some space on circuit, before recording a clean effort of 1:10.002 to go third overall.[20] López and Engel followed but were off the Brit's pace, while a messy lap for da Costa left the Portuguese racer just ahead of Lotterer.[20] Heidfeld, meanwhile, had taken a different approach and gone out right before the end of the session, although a mistake at the turn nine hairpin saw the German throw away any hopes of making it to Super Pole.[20]

Group 3[]

The third quintet of the afternoon featured those at the bottom end of the Championship table although, based on equipment, at least one member should have considered themselves a competitor for Super Pole.[19] That man was Nicolas Prost for Renault e.Dams, who knew that he was fighting for his FE future with the impending swap between Renault and Nissan at the end of the season.[19] He would be joined on circuit by Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Luca Filippi and the two returnees Stéphane Sarrazin and Tom Dillmann.[19]

As predicted the third group of the afternoon was not one containing much excitement, until d'Ambrosio flashed across the line to go second fastest overall, a 1:09.938 his time.[20] That had followed a miserable effort for Prost, who would end the session slowest, while Dillmann and Sarrazin found themselves ahead of their teammates.[20] Filippi, meanwhile, would follow the trend of Prost, falling some way shy of his teammate to slot in between Lotterer and Prost at the bottom of the pack.[20]

Group 4[]

The fourth and final group was expected to make up the majority of Super Pole slots containing, as it did, the top five in the Championship.[19] Leading the charge would be Championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne, although it was between him and Lucas di Grassi as to who was favourite for pole.[19] Also in action would be Sébastien Buemi, whose form was improving throughout the year, as well as title protagonists Sam Bird and Felix Rosenqvist.[19]

Buemi went out early with Bird and di Grassi for company at the start of the final quintet, his only real headache coming when Vergne exited the pits right in front of him at the start of his warm-up lap.[20] Regardless, Buemi put together a clean lap to claim fourth overall, only to see his time instantly beaten by Rosenqvist.[20] Vergne then caused a stir by hitting the top of the timesheets having not bothered to complete a warm-up lap, before di Grassi came charging across the line to displace the Frenchman.[20] Bird, meanwhile, was left in tenth after a self-inflicted mistake at the first corner, while Rosenqvist, who slipped to sixth in the final seconds, admitted that he "under drove" in the final sector.[20]

Super Pole[]

The small mistakes by Rosenqvist, Buemi and Bird in the final group meant that Turvey would get the ball rolling in Super Pole, the Brit duly recording a very strong effort of 1:09.735.[20] This was followed by the equally impressive d'Ambrosio, although the Belgian racer could not match his efforts from half an hour before, and duly slipped back behind the NIO.[20] Abt went next with the expectation of the home fans behind him, and duly delivered a 1:09.472 after a supreme middle sector.[20]

With Abt three tenths clear at the front of the field the pressure was now on Championship leader Vergne to find three tenths himself to claim pole, although a mistake at turn one saw him run wider than he intended.[20] A brush with the wall at turn nine ultimately caused the Frenchman to drop behind Turvey, before di Grassi wound himself up to try and sneak pole from his teammate.[20] Yet, the Brazilian was almost immediately destined for second after losing a tenth to Abt in the first sector, before a rear lock up into the hairpin ultimately dropped the defending Champion behind d'Ambrosio.[20]

Post Qualifying[]

The final qualifying results for the 2018 Berlin E-Prix are outlined below:

2018 Berlin E-Prix Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:09.472 1 G1
2nd 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:09.735 +0.263s 2 G1
3rd 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China Techeetah 1:09.991 +0.519s 3 G4
4th 7 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 1:10.054 +0.582s 4 G3
5th 1 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:10.498 +1.026s 5 G4
Super Pole
1st 1 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:09.620 SP G4
2nd 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China Techeetah 1:09.765 +0.145s SP G4
3rd 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:09.774 +0.154s SP G1
4th 7 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 1:09.938 +0.318s SP G3
5th 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:09.943 +0.323s SP G1
6th 19 Flag of Sweden Felix Rosenqvist Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:09.951 +0.331s 6 G4
7th 9 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Renault e.Dams 1:09.994 +0.374s 7 G4
8th 36 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing 1:10.002 +0.382s 8 G2
9th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:10.087 +0.467s 9 G1
10th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing 1:10.087 +0.467s 10 G4
11th 6 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 1:10.105 +0.485s 11 G2
12th 4 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 1:10.214 +0.594s 12 G3
13th 5 Flag of Germany Maro Engel Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 1:10.248 +0.628s 13 G2
14th 23 Flag of Germany Nick Heidfeld Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:10.264 +0.644s 14 G2
15th 3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:10.270 +0.650s 15 G1
16th 27 Flag of France Stéphane Sarrazin Flag of the United States Andretti Formula E 1:10.315 +0.695s 16 G3
17th 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States Andretti Formula E 1:10.417 +0.797s 17 G2
18th* 18 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China Techeetah 1:10.598 +0.978s 20 G1
19th 68 Flag of Italy Luca Filippi Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:10.601 +0.981s 18 G3
20th 8 Flag of France Nicolas Prost Flag of France Renault e.Dams 1:10.618 +0.998s 19 G3
110% Time: 1:16.582[22]
Source:[22]
  • * Lotterer hit with a ten place grid penalty for causing a collision in the previous race.[16]

Race[]

It was still a warm 20°C in Berlin ahead of the start of the race, which was set to start at 6:00pm local time after a day full of demonstrations of season five tech.[23] As such, most of the teams and drivers were concerned with rear tyre temperatures and cooling, while the extended race distance ensured that energy consumption would also be a concern.[23] Regardless, all 20 drivers would take to the grid for the start, although André Lotterer would start knowing that he had already been handed a time penalty.[24]

Report[]

In front of his home fans Daniel Abt would make a perfect start from pole position to streak into an early lead, leaving Oliver Turvey to fend off the attentions of Jean-Éric Vergne into the first corner.[23] The Brit's aggressive move to block Vergne ultimately succeeded, although it put him at risk of to a sweeping move around the outside of the long turn one.[23] Such a move was made Jérôme d'Ambrosio, although the Belgian ultimately had to slot in behind the NIO through turn two.[23]

Behind, Felix Rosenqvist would try to copy the Belgian's move, although the Swede ran too wide in his Mahindra and duly got into the dust.[23] That caused him to lose grip and slither down the order, slotting in well outside the top ten.[23] The rest of the field would bump and bounce off each other but make it through without any significant damage, although Mitch Evans did brush the wall while fighting Alex Lynn.[23]

Come the end of the similarly clean first lap Abt held a small lead over Turvey, who had some daylight behind his NIO before d'Ambrosio appeared.[23] Indeed, the Belgian was having to fend off the early attentions of Vergne and Lucas di Grassi, while Sébastien Buemi watched on with Sam Bird in his mirrors.[23] Ultimately, d'Ambrosio would only hold on to third until the mid-point of the following lap, as Vergne slid his Techeetah up the inside of the Dragon into turn six.[23]

It took di Grassi an additional lap to take fourth away from d'Ambrosio, pouncing at the turn nine hairpin, a move copied by Buemi a lap later.[23] Out front, meanwhile, Abt was smartly pulling away from Turvey, leaving the Brit to fend off the renewed challenge of Vergne.[23] Further down, Nick Heidfeld was on the move, passing Nelson Piquet Jr. around the outside of turn one for thirteenth, with teammate Rosenqvist having to wait until he got to turn nine to follow Heidfeld through.[23]

Indeed, Heidfeld would take the spotlight on the following lap as he pulled an excellent dive up the inside of José María López off into turn one, having looked too far back to make it stick.[23] Up ahead, Mitch Evans made a move stick on Bird into turn six, although Bird seriously considered a challenge into the near flat-out turn seven before wisely deciding to back off.[23] Abt, meanwhile, had pulled out of reach of Turvey at the front of the field, with the NIO now having to put up a rear guard to keep both Vergne and di Grassi at bay.[23]

Heidfeld's charge carried him into the top ten on lap nine with a dive on Tom Dillmann into the hairpin while behind Alex Lynn seemed to have an issue.[23] Indeed, the DS Virgin was losing two places at a time in the bottom half of the field, first getting elbowed out by Piquet and Rosenqvist, before Stéphane Sarrazin and António Félix da Costa blasted past.[23] The last move in him by da Costa was particularly impressive, with the Portuguese racer coming within millimetres of smacking the Virgin after a wild lunge through turn six.[23]

Back up to the fight for second and Buemi had joined the queue formed up behind Turvey, just in time to see di Grassi dive past Vergne for third at turn six.[23] The Brazilian's move disrupted the Frenchman's rhythm, leaving the Techeetah vulnerable to a dive into the hairpin of turn nine.[23] It was therefore no surprise to see Buemi send his Renault e.Dams down the inside of the sister car into said hairpin on the very same lap, meaning Vergne had slipped from third to fifth in a single lap.[23]

di Grassi, meanwhile, was in the perfect position to attack Turvey on the following lap, and would try an optimistic move on the NIO into turn one at the start of lap 12.[23] That move was predictably swatted aside, although that did not prevent the Brazilian throwing a dive past Turvey into turn six later in the lap, with the Brit too busy focusing on regen to respond.[23] That move by di Grassi therefore made it a one-two for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler at their home race, with Abt three seconds clear in the lead.[23]

The race soon settled down after that, with di Grassi pulling clear of Turvey, while Buemi was forced to defend from Vergne who seemed to have woken up having been passed twice in the space of four corners.[23] Elsewhere, Heidfeld's charge had come to a halt as he got caught behind Maro Engel, and so he now found himself having to defend from López.[23] Likewise, d'Ambrosio would slip further down the order after being passed by Evans and Bird, while Lotterer pulled himself into the top fifteen after a rather anonymous performance to that point.[23]

Indeed, it was only when the pit-window was set to open at the end of lap 22 that the order seriously changed, with Turvey leading the first pit callers in after picking up an energy use issue.[23] Before the Brit stopped, however, Vergne would throw a huge lunge at Buemi into turn one as the Swiss racer ran wide, only for the Frenchman himself to slide wide as he pulled alongside.[23] A mutual barge and bounce off one-another and the Techeetah was through into fourth, with both coming in at the end of lap 23, joining the Audis in the pits.[23]

Buemi would inadvertently affect the lead of the race too during his stop, for Abt was forced to wait until the Renault had pulled past his pit garage before being released.[23] That pause was enough to see his three second lead wiped out, with di Grassi right on his tail as the two Audis pulled out of the pitlane.[23] A more serious issue would delay the progress of Evans further down the order, with the Kiwi having to slam on the brakes to avoid collecting teammate Piquet as the Brazilian pulled into his garage, just as Evans was told to leave.[23]

Once the pitstops had been completed the order was Abt leading from di Grassi, before a sizeable gap back to Turvey, although the Brit would have to conserve a lot more energy in the closing stages.[23] Next up was Buemi ahead of Vergne after a slow stop for the Championship leader, while Evans was on his own in sixth.[23] d'Ambrosio was next but about to be pounced upon by Bird, while Heidfeld and Rosenqvist had lost out and dropped back out of the points after stopping early.[23]

Abt soon began to pull away from di Grassi as the race wore on, with the Brazilian reportedly carrying a steering issue in his second car.[23] With the German checking out at the front attention instead focused on the downward progress of d'Ambrosio, who, with fifteen laps to go, had a large queue of cars behind him, including teammate López, Heidfeld, Engel and Rosenqvist.[23] Indeed, so focused on passing the the #7 Dragon that both López and Heidfeld would be caught out by a huge lunge from Engel into turn one, with the German leaping up into ninth.[23]

Further ahead, Turvey had been caught by both Buemi and Vergne, with the Swiss racer duly barging past through turn ten at the end of lap 33.[23] Indeed, Buemi's move delayed the NIO so much that Vergne was able to cruise past on the exit of the corner, and was even in position to line-up a move on Buemi into turn one, but would ultimately decide against it for the time being.[23] Indeed, the Frenchman would wait until the pair had a fair gap over the NIO before launching a move, ultimately selling Buemi a dummy into turn six to claim third with ten laps to go.[23]

Buemi would try to make a cutback on Vergne on the exit of turn six, although all he really achieved as to bend his nose of the back of the Techeetah.[23] Vergne duly went chasing off after the Audis ahead, but would ultimately find himself on the wrong side of a ten second gap.[23] With that fight over attention once again focused on the general vicinity of d'Ambrosio whom, in the excitement of the Buemi/Vergne fight, had been passed by both Engel and López.[23]

Indeed, the Belgian would lose three places in the space of half a lap the next time he was shown on camera, with both himself and Heidfeld getting taken by a charging Tom Dillmann into turn one, the Frenchman copying Engel's move from earlier in the race.[23] Heidfeld ultimately scrambled past the Dragon into turn two, before Rosenqvist lined himself up for a dive into turn six, a move he duly pulled off.[23] Ahead, Engel and López had been fighting amongst themselves as they pulled within sight of Bird, meaning that there was now queue of cars from seventh down to thirteenth.[23]

In the middle of that queue would sit Piquet who, to that point, had had a quiet afternoon at Tempelhof having made no notable overtakes at the back of the field.[23] That would change as the Brazilian suddenly climbed up into twelfth with an excellent move on Rosenqvist into turn ten, with the Swede trying to use his FanBoost to respond.[23] Piquet, however, was on a charge, and after swatting aside Rosenqvist's rather belayed attack, the Brazilian went storming past the other Mahindra of Heidfeld on the following lap.[23]

Momentum would then carry Piquet up past Dillmann for tenth at the end of the same lap, a move that also allowed the Mahindras to move past the Venturi into turn one.[23] However, at the start of the penultimate lap, Piquet would try an optimistic dive on López into the first corner, only to lock up and run massively wide on the dust.[23] López, somewhat in sympathy, would also run wide and allow the Mahindras to sneak past, before spinning on the apex of turn three, although it was unclear as to whether he had received assistance.[23]

In the middle of that chaos, Lotterer would move up from fourteenth to tenth behind Heidfeld and Rosenqvist, before surging past the Swede at the start of the final lap.[23] He followed that up with a dive past his compatriot into turn six, leaving him in ninth having started at the very back of the field.[23] Out front, meanwhile, Abt was about to complete the most perfect day of his career, holding a seven second lead over teammate di Grassi.[23]

Indeed, Abt duly swept across the line to claim his second FE victory, collecting fastest lap as he did so to earn a maximum score in front of his home fans.[23] di Grassi was a satisfied, if lonely, second, while Vergne cruised home in third under no pressure from Buemi.[23] Turvey retained fifth as Evans' post-pit charge faded, while Bird was a very subdued seventh having been under pressure from Engel until the final laps.[23] The German himself would finish eighth ahead of Lotterer, while Heidfeld collected the final point ahead of Rosenqvist.[23]

Result[]

The final classification of the 2018 Berlin E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold:

2018 Berlin E-Prix Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 45 55:35.546 1:12.409 29
2nd 1 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 45 +6.758s 1:12.675 18
3rd 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China Techeetah 45 +12.894s 1:12.488 15
4th 9 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi FanBoost Flag of France Renault e.Dams 45 +17.282s 1:13.080 12
5th 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 45 +19.620s 1:13.171 10
6th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 45 +24.586s 1:13.057 8
7th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing 45 +34.610s 1:12.999 6
8th 5 Flag of Germany Maro Engel Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 45 +37.814s 1:13.518 4
9th 18 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China Techeetah 45 +44.359s 1:12.818 2
10th 23 Flag of Germany Nick Heidfeld Flag of India Mahindra Racing 45 +45.931s 1:13.440 1
11th 19 Flag of Sweden Felix Rosenqvist FanBoost Flag of India Mahindra Racing 45 +46.381s 1:13.655
12th 3 Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 45 +49.087s 1:13.120
13th 4 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 45 +50.150s 1:13.530
14th 8 Flag of France Nicolas Prost Flag of France Renault e.Dams 45 +50.381s 1:13.298
15th 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States Andretti Formula E 45 +52.715s 1:13.706
16th 36 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing 45 +53.000s 1:13.707
17th 68 Flag of Italy Luca Filippi Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 45 +53.302s 1:13.505
18th 6 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 45 +53.611s 1:13.408
19th 7 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 45 +54.289s 1:13.723
20th 27 Flag of France Stéphane Sarrazin Flag of the United States Andretti Formula E 45 +1:06.954 1:13.669
Source:[22]
  • FanBoost Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Pole, victory and fastest lap would propel Daniel Abt into the top four of the Championship, although with three rounds to go it seemed as if the German was out of the title fight. Indeed, despite failing to win the race Championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne had seen his lead increase over the chasing pack, the Frenchman leaving Berlin with a 40 point advantage. Indeed, with just 87 points still available the only man who had a realistic shot at beating him was second placed Sam Bird, although the Brit would need to win all three remaining races to do so.

In the Teams' Championship things were much less certain, for although Techeetah held a 44 point lead, German based Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler had climbed into second and now had momentum on their side. Indeed, the Ingolstadt backed effort had overhauled DS Virgin Racing in their late season charge, although the Anglo-French squad were still holding outside hopes of a maiden title triumph. Mahindra Racing retained fourth ahead of Jaguar Racing, while NIO pulled a little further clear of both Dragon Racing and Andretti Formula E at the bottom of the pile.

 
2017/18 Drivers' Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 162 ◄0
2nd Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 122 ◄0
3rd Flag of Sweden Felix Rosenqvist 86 ◄0
4th Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 85 ▲2
5th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 82 ▼1
6th Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 76 ▼1
7th Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 51 ▲1
8th Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. 45 ▼1
9th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey 44 ▲1
10th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 43 ▼1
11th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 29 ◄0
12th Flag of Germany Maro Engel 27 ◄0
13th Flag of Germany Nick Heidfeld 22 ◄0
14th Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn 17 ◄0
15th Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 16 ◄0
16th Flag of Argentina José María López 14 ◄0
17th Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 12 ◄0
18th Flag of France Nicolas Prost 7 ◄0
19th Flag of the United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist 4 ◄0
20th Flag of Italy Luca Filippi 1 ◄0
2017/18 Teams' Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of China Techeetah 205 ◄0
2nd Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 161 ▲1
3rd Flag of the United Kingdom DS Virgin Racing 139 ▼1
4th Flag of India Mahindra Racing 108 ◄0
5th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 96 ◄0
6th Flag of France Renault e.Dams 89 ◄0
7th Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 56 ◄0
8th Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 45 ◄0
9th Flag of the United States Dragon Racing 26 ◄0
10th Flag of the United States Andretti Formula E 20 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References[]

Videos and Images:

References:

  1. 'Guide: welcome to the 2018 BMW i Berlin E-Prix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 17/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/guide-welcome-to-the-2018-bmw-i-berlin-e-prix/, (Accessed 18/05/2018)
  2. 2.0 2.1 'BMW i increases ties with Formula E as race title partner in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/04/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/bmw-i-increases-ties-with-formula-e-as-race-title-partner-in-berlin/, (Accessed 17/04/2018)
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 'Abt leads Audi one-two win at home race in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/abt-leads-audi-one-two-win-at-home-race-in-berlin/, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 'Abt on Pole for home race in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/abt-on-pole-for-home-race-in-berlin/, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Formula E brings racing return to Switzerland', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 21/09/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/september/formula-e-brings-racing-return-to-switzerland/, (Accessed 22/09/2017)
  6. 'Nico Rosberg gets back behind the wheel at the 2018 Berlin E-Prix', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/04/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/nico-rosberg-gets-back-behind-the-wheel-at-the-2018-berlin-e-prix/, (Accessed 23/04/2018)
  7. 'Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy to debut in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/jaguar-i-pace-etrophy-to-debut-in-berlin/, (Accessed 23/04/2018)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 'Formula E to race in Riyadh for opening round of Season 5', fiaformuale.com, (FIA Formula E, 17/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/formula-e-to-race-in-riyadh-for-opening-round-of-season-5/, (Accessed 17/05/2018)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 'Formula E partners with voestalpine for European races', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/formula-e-partners-with-voestalpine-for-european-races/, (Accessed 12/06/2018)
  10. 10.0 10.1 'HWA AG join the Formula E grid for Season 5', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/hwa-ag-join-the-formula-e-grid-for-season-5/, (Accessed 09/05/2018)
  11. 11.0 11.1 'Mercedes EQ Formula E Team gear up for Formula E fight', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E 17/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/mercedes-eq-formula-e-team-gear-up-for-formula-e-fight/, (Accessed 17/05/2018)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Anthony Rowlinson, 'Agag makes surprise €600m bid for full FE ownership', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 04/05/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/agag-surprise-bid-ownership-formulae-1033584/, (Accessed 07/05/2018)
  13. 13.0 13.1 'Tom Dillmann to replace Mortara in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/04/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/tom-dillmann-to-replace-mortara-in-berlin/, (Accessed 30/04/2018)
  14. Chris Soulsby, 'Luca Filippi returns to NIO for Berlin ePrix', motorsportweek.com, (Motorsport Media Services Ltd., 03/05/2018), https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/18015, (Accessed 07/05/2018)
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 'Stephane Sarrazin joins Andretti for the remainder of Season 4', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 07/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/april/stephane-sarrazin-joins-andretti-for-the-remainder-of-season-4/, (Accessed 07/05/2018)
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Alex Kalinauckas, 'Paris Formula E: Lotterer penalised, slammed by Bird and di Grassi', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 28/04/2018), https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/135668/lotterer-penalised-and-slammed-by-rivals, (Accessed 30/04/2018)
  17. @FIAFormulaE, '#FANBOOST is open for the 2018 @BMWi #BerlinEPrix!', twitter.com, (Twitter: ABB Formula E, 14/05/2018), https://twitter.com/FIAFormulaE/status/996057560179531776, (Accessed 15/05/2018)
  18. 'Season 4: official team & driver entry list confirmed', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 03/11/2017), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2017/october/season-4-official-team-driver-entry-list-confirmed/, (Accessed 03/11/2017)
  19. 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 19.13 19.14 'BMW i Berlin E-Prix: Group Qualifying Lottery results revealed', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 18/05/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/may/bmw-i-berlin-e-prix-group-qualifying-lottery-results-revealed/, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
  20. 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 20.18 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named QH
  21. Alex Kalinauckas, 'Abt keeps Berlin pole after power mode infraction', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 19/05/2018), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/abt-keeps-berlin-pole-after-power-mode-infraction-1039385/, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 'Round 9 - Berlin ePrix: Results Booklet', fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/05/2018), http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/Results/03_2017-18/10_R09%20Berlin/85_ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/29_R09%20Berlin%20Booklet.pdf, (Accessed 19/05/2018)
  23. 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 23.11 23.12 23.13 23.14 23.15 23.16 23.17 23.18 23.19 23.20 23.21 23.22 23.23 23.24 23.25 23.26 23.27 23.28 23.29 23.30 23.31 23.32 23.33 23.34 23.35 23.36 23.37 23.38 23.39 23.40 23.41 23.42 23.43 23.44 23.45 23.46 23.47 23.48 23.49 23.50 23.51 23.52 23.53 23.54 23.55 23.56 23.57 23.58 23.59 23.60 23.61 23.62 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named RH
  24. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AlPen
2017/18 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Entrants
Audi Sport ABT SchaefflerDragon RacingDS Virgin RacingMahindra RacingMS&AD Andretti Formula ENIO Formula E TeamPanasonic Jaguar RacingRenault e.DamsTecheetahVenturi Formula E Team
Manufacturers
Andretti TEAudiDSJaguarMahindra & MahindraNextEVPenskeRenaultVenturi Automobiles
Cars
Andretti ATEC-03Audi e-tron FE04DS Virgin DSV-03Jaguar I-Type IIMahindra M4 ElectroNextEV NIO 003Penske EV-2Renault Z.E. 17Venturi VM200-FE-03
Drivers
1 Lucas di Grassi • 2 Sam Bird • 3 Nelson Piquet Jr. • 4 Edoardo Mortara/Tom Dillmann • 5 Maro Engel • 6 Neel Jani/José María López • 7 Jérôme d'Ambrosio • 8 Nicolas Prost • 9 Sébastien Buemi • 16 Oliver Turvey • 18 André Lotterer • 19 Felix Rosenqvist • 20 Mitch Evans • 23 Nick Heidfeld • 25 Jean-Éric Vergne • 27 Kamui Kobayashi/Tom Blomqvist/Stéphane Sarrazin • 28 António Félix da Costa • 36 Alex Lynn • 66 Daniel Abt • 68 Luca Filippi/Ma Qing Hua
E-Prix
Hong Kong IHong Kong IIMarrakechSantiagoMexico CityPunta del EsteRomeParisBerlinZürichNew York City INew York City II
Tests
ValenciaRookie Test
Related Content
FIA Formula E Championship2016/172018/19
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