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Flag of Switzerland 2019 Swiss E-Prix
Bern Layout 2019
The Bern Street Circuit debuted in 2019.
Race Information
Date 22 June 2019
E-Prix No. 56
Official Name 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix
Location Arms of Bern Bern Street Circuit, Bern, Switzerland
Format {{{format}}}
Lap length 2.750 km (1.709 mi)
Distance 31 laps / 85.250 km (52.972 mi)
Support Race {{{support}}}
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne
Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Time 1:18.813
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird
Team Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing
Fastest Lap 1:21.905 on lap 19
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi
Winner Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Time 1:25:26.873
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of Germany 2019 Berlin E-Prix Flag of the United States 2019 New York City E-Prix I
Post-Race Test {{{test}}}

The 2019 Swiss E-Prix, otherwise officially known as the 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix or alternately as the 2019 Bern E-Prix, was the eleventh round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Bern Street Circuit in Bern, Switzerland, on 22 June 2019.[1] The race was to serve as the final round of the Voestalpine European Races, as it was the final round of the season to be staged in Europe.[1]

Qualifying saw Jean-Éric Vergne stamp his authority as the reigning FE Champion, sweeping to a stunning pole position ahead of Mitch Evans.[2] Sébastien Buemi, meanwhile, would start his home race from third, beating Pascal Wehrlein by just 0.004s, while Maximilian Günther and Sam Bird also made it through to Super Pole.[2]

The start of the race proved chaotic, with the E-Prix almost instantly halted via a red flag due to a pile-up at the first corner, caused by Wehrlein inadvertently getting pushed into the barriers by Buemi.[3] In the resulting chaos Lucas di Grassi, who had started down in nineteenth, leapt up to eighth, only for the field to be reset to grid order for the restart.[3]

The race resumed behind the BMW Qualcomm i8 safety car with 44 minutes to go, with Vergne just keeping Evans at bay at the full restart.[3] Those two quickly pulled clear of Buemi in third, while di Grassi, irate from being sent back to nineteenth in the field, struggled to make progress.[3]

The fight for the lead proved to be an out-right dogfight, with Evans using Attack Mode and all of his talents to try and pass Vergne.[3] Behind, Buemi had to fend off a charging Bird, moments after the Brit had swept around the outside of Günther at turn three.[3]

A Full Course Yellow would briefly neutralise the race, caused by Wehrlein stopping on track, resulting in Evans dropping into the sights of Buemi as the Kiwi was slightly muddled his restart.[3] The Swiss ace duly threw everything at Evans, while André Lotterer elbowed his way past Bird to secure fourth as the final minutes ticked away.[3]

However, with a couple of minutes to go Bern would be pounded by heavy rain, causing a tense final lap for Vergne as the Frenchman suddenly found himself under attack from Evans.[3] Indeed, Vergne would just manage to hold on by 0.160s at the line, with Evans half a second clear of third placed Buemi.[3]

Background[]

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship headed to Switzerland and the de facto capital Bern for the eleventh round of 2018/19, completing the Series' European tour.[1] With sponsorship from long-term FE partners Julius Bär, the Bern Street Circuit would make its FE debut on 22 June 2019, with a 2.750 km layout based around the Rosengarten park and the banks of the river Aare.[4] The circuit itself was deemed one of the 'most challenging' on the FE calendar, featuring elevation changes and sweeping corners, as well as chicanes and hairpins.[5]

Creative Calendars[]

The big news ahead of the Swiss E-Prix was the launch of the 2019/20 season calendar, which featured fourteen races, albeit with two rounds officially listed as TBA.[6] The sixth FE season was set to begin on 22 November 2019, with two races in Ad Diriyah, before the first TBA, scheduled for 14 December.[6] Visits to Santiago, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Rome, Paris, Seoul and New York City were to follow, with the season coming to an end on the 25-26 July 2020 with two races in London.[6]

Unfortunately the new calendar was met with a fair amount of criticism, largely due to the significant number of clashes with the World Endurance Championship.[7] Indeed, no fewer than three races between the two series would clash, with the two TBAs, as well as FE's trip to Seoul, set to be staged on the same weekend as the WEC races in Bahrain, Sebring and Spa.[7] FIA president Jean Todt was regretful about the clashes, stating that an FIA committee dedicated to avoiding calendar clashes had not met to prevent such issues.[7]

Rule Revision[]

Elsewhere there would also be some revisions made to the rule book ahead of the 2019/20 season, with various sporting and technical changes for season six.[6] The biggest change was the out-lawing of the use of dual-motors, after questions were raised about how Nissan, the only dual motor equipped manufacturers, were using their motors during 2018/19.[6] There was also a change to Attack Mode, with a 10kW increase in boost, as well as a change to qualifying, with an additional point to be awarded to the fastest driver in the group stages.[6]

A Late Breakout[]

Jean-Éric Vergne had retained the lead in the Championship after climbing grabbing a late podium last time out in Berlin, and had even managed to open his advantage to six points. Berlin race winner Lucas di Grassi, meanwhile, had emerged as the Frenchman's closest challenger, with ten points between himself and André Lotterer in third. Elsewhere, António Félix da Costa had retained fourth ahead of Robin Frijns, while Mitch Evans and Daniel Abt had slipped further away from the fight in sixth and seventh as the top five began to break away from the rest with three races to go.

DS Techeetah had seen their lead in the Teams Championship reduced to 25 points in Berlin, with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler having moved into second on home soil. Envision Virgin, meanwhile, had made way for their supplier, slipping to third and 51 points off the lead, while Nissan e.Dams had retained fourth. Mahindra Racing completed the top five, while Berlin race sponsors BMW retained sixth, but remained in title contention.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2019 Swiss E-Prix is displayed below:

2019 Swiss E-Prix Entry List
No. Name Entrant Constructor Car
2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05
3 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III
4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05
5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany HWA Racelab Venturi VFE 05
6 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States GEOX Dragon Penske EV-3
7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX Dragon Penske EV-3
8 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004
11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05
16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004
17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab Venturi VFE 05
19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE 05
20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III
22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM01
23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM01
25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 19
27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of Germany BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18
28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of Germany BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18
36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 19
48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE 05
64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M5Electro
66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05
94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M5Electro
Source:[8]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the Bern E-Prix would follow the established format, with the field split into four groups based on Championship position.[9] Each group would get six minutes on circuit to allow each driver to set a single full power (250kw) lap, with the fastest six over all proceeding to Super Pole.[9] The drivers in Super Pole would then head out one-by-one to set another flying lap, with the fastest of those starting the race from pole.[9]

Group 1[]

Group one was to feature the top five in the Championship, all of whom were considered major title contenders with three races to go.[9] Headlining them would be the two DS Techeetahs of Jean-Éric Vergne and André Lotterer, the former arriving in Bern at the head of the Championship.[9] They would be joined by Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, António Félix da Costa in the BMW Andretti, and Robin Frijns in his Virgin Racing run Audi.[9]

di Grassi was the first of the quintet to head out onto the circuit with three and a half minutes left, with Lotterer and Verge following him out.[10] da Costa and Frijns, meanwhile, gambled on not doing a warm-up lap at 200 kW, meaning they emerged in-between the trio already out on the circuit when they headed out with a couple of minutes to go.[10] As such there was a lot of bunching as the drivers prepared to go for their full power laps, with di Grassi slowing dramatically towards the end of the lap meaning Frijns, at the back of queue, only just crossing the line in time to start his lap.[10]

A scruffy lap for di Grassi, including a lock up into the turn nine chicane, saw the Brazilian's effort beaten almost instantly by Lotterer.[10] da Costa, who had followed di Grassi, also had a poor run, slotting in behind the Brazilian, before all three were blown out of the water by Vergne, who produced a stunning 1:19.232.[10] The Frenchman was therefore comfortably the quickest of the group, with Frijns slotting in between Lotterer and di Grassi after a lap of minor mistakes.[10]

Group 2[]

The second quintet of the afternoon would feature those positioned sixth through tenth in the Championship head out onto the circuit, with all five entertaining slim hopes of taking the crown.[9] Qualifying ace Sébastien Buemi was the stand-out name of the group, with himself and teammate Oliver Rowland, who would also run, having shared three of the last four pole positions.[9] They would be joined by 2018 Zürich E-Prix pole sitter Mitch Evans, Daniel Abt in the second of the factory Audis, and Jérôme d'Ambrosio in his Mahindra.[9]

In contrast to the first group, everyone in the group two would complete a warm-up lap, with Rowland leading the quintet out with fairly even spacing between them.[10] The Brit himself ultimately produced a scruffy lap, with slides through turns three and six, with a poor sector three effort leaving him in fourth behind Frijns.[10] His effort was therefore instantly beaten by d'Ambrosio, who duly claimed fourth a few seconds later, before Evans caused a stir by shooting to the top of the timesheet.[10]

Abt, meanwhile, would looked to be on the Kiwi's pace, although a slower sector three meant he could only slot in between the two Techeetahs in third.[10] That duly became fourth when Buemi crossed the line, the Swiss racer claiming third for himself after a clean lap.[10]

Group 3[]

The first sextet of the session would see those positioned in eleventh through to sixteenth in the Championship head out, headlined by Sam Bird of Envision Virgin.[9] He would be joined by FanBoost master Stoffel Vandoorne of HWA Racelab, with the factory Venturis of Felipe Massa and Edoardo Mortara joining the Belgian on circuit.[9] Also on track would be Alexander Sims in the second of the BMWs, and Pascal Wehrlein in the second Mahindra.[9]

Vandoorne was the first driver to head out midway through the six minute session, although a scruffy lap left the Belgian adrift of the ultimate pace.[10] Sims followed him out but was unable to beat the Belgian's time, before Bird caused a stir by claiming fourth overall, despite not completing a warm-up lap.[10] Indeed, the Brit seemed to be in some distress about his team's decision not to do a practice run, with the team manager of Envision Virgin telling Bird to calm down over the radio prior to his lap.[10]

Elsewhere, Massa survived a lock-up into the final chicane to claim ninth, beating Vandoorne and Sims, with Mortara significantly slower in the sister car.[10] Wehrlein, meanwhile, would light-up the timing screens as the others completed their laps, and duly claimed third to knock Lotterer out of Super Pole having set the fastest first sector of the day.[10]

Group 4[]

Group four would see those at the bottom of the Championship hit the circuit, their hopes of a strong grid position resting on how the track evolved during the session.[9] Arguably the favourite from the group would be Alex Lynn in the Jaguar, given his teammate's pace, although both GEOX DRAGONs of Maximilian Günther and José María López had featured in Super Pole in recent races.[9] They would be joined by Gary Paffett in the second HWA, as well as the off-pace NIOs of Oliver Rowland and Tom Dillmann.[9]

Once again the fourth group would all opt to complete warm-up laps, with Dillmann leading them out onto the circuit.[10] Unfortunately for the Frenchman a poor sector one left him out of contention early on, although he did beat teammate Turvey as they duelled for twenty-first on the grid.[10] López, meanwhile, would slot into fourteenth having run between the two NIOs, before Günther swept into the top six with an excellent run, securing fifth.[10]

Indeed, Günther's run would overshadow the efforts of Lynn and Paffett, with the former claiming tenth and the latter sixteenth.[10]

Super Pole[]

Bird was the first driver to set a lap in Super Pole, with a scruffy opening to lap, combined with a stunning final sector, leaving the Brit on a 1:19.536.[10] Günther went next and duly eased ahead of the Bird by a tenth and a half, with a clean run across all three sectors.[10] He was followed onto the circuit by Buemi, who delivered a strong effort to overcome a minor lock-up into the first corner to secure provisional pole.[10]

Wehrlein's hopes of Super Pole were effectively ended by a mistake at the first corner, although the German recovered spectacularly to finish his lap just 0.004s slower than Buemi.[10] However, all of their efforts were to be blown out of the water by Vergne, who produced a stunning lap of 1:18.813 to claim top spot, three tenths clear of Buemi in second.[10] Indeed, Evans was ultimately powerless to prevent the Frenchman taking pole, despite setting a superior sector three time to grab second.[10]

Post Qualifying[]

The final qualifying result for the 2019 Swiss E-Prix are outlined below:

2019 Swiss E-Prix Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:18.813 1 G1
2nd 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:19.120 +0.307s 2 G2
3rd 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:19.164 +0.351s 3 G2
4th 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:19.168 +0.355s 4 G3
5th 6 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:19.371 +0.558s 5 G4
6th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:19.536 +0.723s 6 G3
Super Pole
1st 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:18.897 SP G2
2nd 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:19.232 +0.335s SP G1
3rd 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:19.265 +0.368s SP G3
4th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:19.310 +0.413s SP G2
5th 6 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:19.325 +0.428s SP G4
6th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:19.435 +0.538s SP G3
7th 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:19.554 +0.657s 7 G2
8th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:19.585 +0.688s 8 G1
9th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:19.591 +0.694s 9 G1
10th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:19.608 +0.711s 10 G4
11th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:19.613 +0.716s 11 G2
12th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 1:19.638 +0.741s 12 G3
13th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:19.670 +0.773s 13 G2
14th 7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:19.714 +0.817s 14 G4
15th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 1:19.719 +0.822s 15 G3
16th 17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 1:19.804 +0.907s 16 G4
17th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:19.908 +1.011s 17 G3
18th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 1:20.023 +1.126s 18 G3
19th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:20.034 +1.137s 19 G1
20th 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:20.081 +1.184s 20 G1
21st 8 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:20.506 +1.609s 21 G4
22nd 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 1:20.551 +1.654s 22 G4
110% Time: 1:26.786[8]
Source:[8]

Race[]

Race afternoon proved to be fairly cool and overcast, with a significant threat of rain looming over Bern as the start time approached.[11] If anything the cooler temperatures would aid the field, reducing the risk of hitting battery temperature warnings which would limit energy re-generation and deployment in the latter half of the race.[11] Regardless, Jean-Éric Vergne would lead the field onto the grid, lining up on pole position ahead of title rival Mitch Evans.[11]

Report[]

Ultimately Vergne would get a clean start to claim the lead, while Evans had to fend off the attentions of Sébastien Buemi into the tight first chicane.[11] Behind, however, there would be chaos, with Robin Frijns getting spun into the outside wall by Jérôme d'Ambrosio, while the Belgian's teammate Pascal Wehrlein was spun into the inside wall of the chicane.[11] The German was subsequently smacked into by Maximilian Günther in his GEOX DRAGON, with the two cars completely blocking the circuit in the middle of the chicane.[11]

Several drivers, including Felipe Massa, Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa, would gain hugely from the collision, sneaking down the escape road on the opposite side of the chicane to leap into the top half of the field.[11] However, with the track blocked the race had to be stopped, with the officials throwing a red flag to allow Wehrlein and Günther's cars to be untangled.[11] The field would hence make their way slowly back to the pits having found their own way past the incident, with André Lotterer and Sam Bird limping back with damage (front wing and puncture respectively) while Frijns was out completely with a broken driveshaft.[11]

Once the field made it back into the pits it was revealed that the order would be reset to how it had been on the grid, resulting in a rather petulant display from some of the drivers.[11] Indeed, di Grassi and Massa would be particularly vocal about being relegated back down the order, claiming that they had crossed a timing line before the race was stopped and hence entitling them to hold their improved positions.[11] Regardless, the organisers would reset the order to how the field had started the race, with Wehrlein and Günther, whose cars returned without race ending damage, sent around to complete an extra lap to bring their available energy pool back down to the rest of the field.[11]

Restart[]

After a quarter of an hour delay the race would resume behind the BMW Qualcomm i8 safety car, with 44 minutes left on the clock.[11] One slow lap later and Vergne tried to bolt away at the head of the field, only to have to back off on the start straight after almost catching the safety car.[11] That allowed Evans to tuck in right behind the DS Techeetah as they came to start lap three, with the New Zealander having a half look at the Frenchman for the lead into turn three.[11]

Vergne and Evans duly broke away during the early stages, with Vergne having to take defensive lines into turns three and seven to prevent the #20 Jaguar diving inside him for the lead.[11] Indeed, Evans was trying every trick in the book to pass the Frenchman, even trying an optimistic lunge around the outside of the #25 DS Techeetah through the down hill turn three.[11] Buemi, meanwhile, would run in a fairly lonely third during the opening laps, while Wehrlein and Günther were exchanging blows as they fought over fourth place.[11]

Elsewhere, Gary Paffett almost slipped behind di Grassi, having had a move on José María López into turn seven swatted aside, with the Brazilian still down in a lowly seventeenth ahead of da Costa.[11] Wehrlein, meanwhile, would finally escape from Günther's attentions to harass Buemi for third, leaving his compatriot at the head of a long queue featuring the rest of the top ten.[11] Indeed, Sam Bird was looking particularly racey behind the #6 Dragon, and duly pulled the overtake of the race by driving right around the outside of Günther through turn three, aided by Attack Mode.[11]

Indeed, it was not long before Bird was on the back of Wehrlein, who was simply unable to pass Buemi for third as the Swiss ace armed Attack Mode to defend from the German.[11] Ultimately, it looked to be a failed lunge from Wehrlein on Buemi into turn three that gave Bird a run on the German for fourth, with the Brit duly lunging past into turn seven on lap twelve.[11] However, Wehrlein had a far more serious issue with his Mahindra, and subsequently stopped at the exit of turn eight a few seconds later with a total loss of drive.[11]

With Wehrlein's car in a dangerous place the officials were forced to throw a Full Course Yellow, moments after Evans tried an ambitious lunge around the outside of Vergne for the lead in turn three.[11] The New Zealander was hence in a perfect position to harass the Frenchman when the race resumed on the following lap, although another half-lunge at turn three was swatted aside.[11] Further back, Günther had a long queue of cars behind him, while da Costa and di Grassi made the best of their restarts, vaulting past José María López into turns three and six respectively.[11]

Back with the leaders and Vergne was backing Evans back into the clutches of Buemi, who was now being harassed by Bird, while the Günther queue was also slowly inching towards the fight for the lead.[11] Indeed, Evans, knowing that he was coming under-pressure from those behind, opted to arm his second and final Attack Mode boost with twenty minutes still to run, granting him his best chance of passing Vergne.[11] Indeed, Evans would once again try a lunge into turn three, before a late defensive move by Vergne into turn six gave the Frenchman enough room to arm Attack Mode himself on the following lap.[11]

As they squabbled for the lead the other DS Techeetah of André Lotterer was on the move, the German managing to force his way past Daniel Abt for sixth on lap nineteen in-spite of his compatriots very defensive driving into turn seven.[11] Regardless, the #36 pilot sprinted away to catch Günther, with a lunge into turn seven on the following lap leaving Lotterer in fifth, and with a significant energy advantage over those ahead.[11] He duly set about catching the lead group, which had briefly broken clear again, as, further down, di Grassi finally moved into the top ten with a lunge past Oliver Rowland.[11]

Vergne, meanwhile, was able to gain a brief bit of respite once Evans' Attack Mode boost came to an end, although as the race entered its final few minutes the New Zealander began to close up once again.[11] Behind, Buemi was reportedly struggling with battery temperatures in his Nissan e.Dams, although he was fairly safe from attack from Bird, who had his own issue to deal with in the form of Lotterer.[11] Indeed, with time running out Lotterer's pace was only getting stronger, with the German almost managing to force his way past Bird's Envision Virgin into turn nine on lap 26.[11]

A lap later and Lotterer was through, a rare mistake from Bird having seen the Virgin lock-up its front wheels while braking for turn seven and run wide, allowing the DS Techeetah to slip through for fourth.[11] However, that move would be overshadowed by news that heavy rain had arrived at the circuit, with turn one receiving a pounding just as Vergne came through to start lap 29.[11] A very cautious approach from the Frenchman allowed Evans to get right back onto the Frenchman's tail, although a lunge at turn three by the #20 Jaguar was once again swatted aside.[11]

Onto the penultimate lap and the entire circuit had received some water, leaving the circuit greasy despite the fact that the heaviest rain had already passed.[11] Evans duly tried one more feint into turn three, only for Vergne to just make the corner with a late dive on the brakes, before trying another half-hearted lunge at turn seven on the final tour, only for Vergne to staunchly hold the inside line.[11] With that the race was effectively over, although Evans did get a strong exit out of turn eleven to allow him to entertain a lunge at Vergne into the final chicane.[11]

Ultimately, however, there would be no late lunge from Evans, meaning Vergne was able to just scramble across the line ahead of the New Zealander to claim victory.[11] Buemi, meanwhile, survived a late assault from Lotterer to secure third, with the German subsequently receiving a time penalty for ignoring a red light in the pitlane during the red flag confusion.[11] That hence promoted Bird, who almost spun exiting turn eleven on the last lap, into fourth, while di Grassi ultimately ended the afternoon in ninth behind Massa, who had almost squeezed his compatriot into the outside wall of turn seven on the final lap.[11]

Result[]

The final classification of the 2019 Swiss E-Prix is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.

2019 Swiss E-Prix Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 31 1:25:26.873 1:22.013 28
2nd 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 31 +0.160s 1:21.985 18
3rd 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi FanBoost Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 31 +0.720s 1:21.928 15
4th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 31 +2.996s 1:21.905 13
5th 6 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 31 +4.625s 1:22.260 10
6th 66 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 31 +6.930s 1:21.956 8
7th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 31 +9.972s 1:22.106 6
8th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 31 +12.310s 1:22.000 4
9th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 31 +13.073s 1:22.052 2
10th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne FanBoost Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 31 +13.386s 1:22.154 1
11th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 31 +14.714s 1:21.347
12th* 28 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa FanBoost Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 31 +18.917s 1:21.240
13th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 31 +21.872s 1:21.834
14th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of China DS Techeetah 31 +23.106s 1:21.913
15th 8 Flag of France Tom Dillmann Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 31 +40.084s 1:22.629
16th 16 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 31 +46.622s 1:23.182
17th 17 Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 31 +1:22.512 1:21.965
DSQ 7 Flag of Argentina José María López Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 31 Disqualified 1:21.740
Ret 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 21 Suspension[12] 1:22.840
Ret 94 Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein Flag of India Mahindra Racing 11 Electrical[12] 1:23.567
Ret§ 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 5 Brakes[12] 1:24.643
Ret 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 0 Collision
Source:[8]
  • FanBoost Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.
  • * da Costa was awarded a five second time penalty for speeding during a FCY.[8]
  • Lotterer had a drive through penalty converted to a 22 second time penalty for ignoring a red light in the pitlane.[8]
  • López was disqualified from the race after using more power than permitted.[8]
  • § Mortara received a five place grid penalty for the 2019 New York City E-Prix I for causing a collision.[12]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory ensured that Jean-Éric Vergne opened out a commanding lead in the Championship with two races to go, moving 32 points clear of second placed Lucas di Grassi. That meant that di Grassi would have to outscore the Frenchman by four points in the opening race in New York City just to keep the title fight alive ahead of the final race. Elsewhere, Mitch Evans, André Lotterer, António Félix da Costa and Robin Frijns were all still in the hunt, although they would have to hope that Vergne failed to score in either race in New York just to challenge.

DS Techeetah had managed to extend their lead in the Teams Championship after the visit to Bern, moving 43 points clear with two races to go. Indeed, they would win the Championship at the opening race in New York City if they could outscore Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler by five points. Regardless, the French-Chinese alliance would head to the US as favourites for the Teams title, with third placed Envision Virgin Racing too far back to challenge in third.

2018/19 Drivers Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 130 ◄0
2nd Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 98 ◄0
3rd Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 87 ▲3
4th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 86 ▼1
5th Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 82 ▼1
6th Dutch Flag Robin Frijns 81 ▼1
7th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 76 ▲3
8th Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 75 ▼1
9th Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 69 ▲2
10th Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 65 ▼1
11th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 63 ▼2
12th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 52 ◄0
13th Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein 52 ◄0
14th Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa 36 ◄0
15th Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 31 ◄0
16th Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims 24 ◄0
17th Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther 20 ◄0
18th Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn 10 ▲2
19th Flag of the United Kingdom Gary Paffett 8 ▼1
20th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey 6 ▼1
21st Flag of Argentina José María López 3 ◄0
22nd Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr. 1 ◄0
2018/19 Teams Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of China DS Techeetah 216 ◄0
2nd Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 173 ◄0
3rd Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 150 ◄0
4th Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 139 ◄0
5th Flag of India Mahindra Racing 117 ◄0
6th Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 106 ◄0
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 98 ▲1
8th Flag of Monaco Venturi Formula E Team 88 ▼1
9th Flag of Germany HWA Racelab 39 ◄0
10th Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 23 ◄0
11th Flag of the United Kingdom NIO Formula E Team 6 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References[]

Videos and Images:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'Bern completes the calendar for Season 5 of Formula E', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/10/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/october/bern-completes-the-calendar-for-season-5-of-formula-e/, (Accessed 12/10/2018)
  2. 2.0 2.1 'Vergne clinches Julius Baer Pole Position in the battle for Bern, disaster for di Grassi', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/qualifying-bern-2019, (Accessed 23/06/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 'Vergne victorious in frantic battle for Bern ahead of Championship finale', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/race-report-bern-2019, (Accessed 23/06/2019)
  4. 'The Swiss E-Prix 2019 race track in Bern', swisseprix.com, (Swiss ePrix Operations AG, 2019), https://www.swisseprix.com/festivalguide/race/?lang=en, (Accessed 22/06/2019)
  5. Sam Smith, 'Paffett: Bern Will Be Formula E’s “Most Challenging Track”', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 19/06/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/paffett-bern-will-be-formula-es-most-challenging-track/, (Accessed 22/06/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 '2019/20 calendar revealed: London and Seoul star in sixth Formula E campaign', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/2019-20-season-calendar-revealed, (Accessed 14/06/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sam Smith, 'Todt: Calendar Clashes Result of “Misunderstandings”', e-racing365.com. (John Dagys Media, LLC., 15/06/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/todt-calendar-clashes-result-of-misunderstandings/, (Accessed 22/06/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 'Round 11 - Swiss ePrix: Results Booklet', fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/06/2019), http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/Results/04_2018-19/14_R11%20Bern/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/66_R11%20Bern%20Booklet.pdf, (Accessed 23/06/2019)
  9. 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 'Pre-race round-up: 'Hardcore street circuit' has 'no room for error,' & Buemi 'confident' in home race despite drought', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 21/06/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/june/pre-race-round-up-bern-2019, (Accessed 22/06/2019)
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named QH
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 11.33 11.34 11.35 11.36 11.37 11.38 11.39 11.40 11.41 11.42 11.43 11.44 ABB Formula E, 'Full Race - 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix (Season 5 - Race 11)', youtube.com, (YouTube, 29/06/2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGZOKbfgehE, (Accessed 18/07/2019)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Sam Smith, 'FORMULA E: Bern Post-Race Notebook', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 23/06/2019), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/bern-post-race-notebook/, (Accessed 24/06/2019)
2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Entrants
Audi Sport ABT SchaefflerBMW i Andretti MotorsportDS TecheetahEnvision Virgin RacingGEOX DRAGONHWA RacelabMahindra RacingNIO Formula E TeamNissan e.DamsPanasonic Jaguar RacingVenturi Formula E Team
Manufacturers
AudiBMWDSJaguarMahindra & MahindraNIONissanPenskeVenturi
Cars
Spark SRT05e
Audi e-tron FE05BMW iFE.18DS E-Tense FE 19Jaguar I-Type IIIMahindra M5ElectroNIO Sport 004Nissan IM01Penske EV-3Venturi VFE 05
Drivers
2 Sam Bird • 3 Nelson Piquet Jr./Alex Lynn • 4 Robin Frijns • 5 Stoffel Vandoorne • 6 Maximilian Günther/Felipe Nasr • 7 José María López • 8 Tom Dillmann • 11 Lucas di Grassi • 16 Oliver Turvey • 17 Gary Paffett • 19 Felipe Massa • 20 Mitch Evans • 22 Oliver Rowland • 23 Sébastien Buemi • 25 Jean-Éric Vergne • 27 Alexander Sims • 28 António Félix da Costa • 36 André Lotterer • 48 Edoardo Mortara • 64 Jérôme d'Ambrosio • 66 Daniel Abt • 94 Pascal Wehrlein/Felix Rosenqvist
E-Prix
Ad DiriyahMarrakechSantiagoMexico CityHong KongSanyaRomeParisMonacoBerlinBernNew York City INew York City II
Tests
ValenciaAd DiriyahRookie TestMexico City
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