 2020 Berlin E-Prix II
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 The Tempelhofring was reversed for its first race in 2020. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 6 August 2020 | |
| E-Prix No. | 65 | |
| Official Name | 2020 Berlin E-Prix I Race 2 Presented by CBMM Niobium | |
| Location |  Tempelhofring RBerlin, Brandenburg, Germany | |
| Format | 45 min + 1 Lap | |
| Lap length | 2.355 km (1.476 mi) | |
| Distance | 38 laps / 89.490 km (55.607 mi) | |
| Support Race | 2020 Berlin eTrophy Race 2
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| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  António Félix da Costa
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| Team |  DS Techeetah
| |
| Time | 1:06.442 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Stoffel Vandoorne
| |
| Team | Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team
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| Fastest Lap | 1:08.635 on lap 21 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| António Félix da Costa
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 Sébastien Buemi
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 Lucas di Grassi
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| Winner Team | DS Techeetah
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| Time | 46:19.412 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2020 Berlin E-Prix I
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2020 Berlin E-Prix III
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The 2020 Berlin E-Prix II, otherwise known as the 2020 Berlin E-Prix I Race 2 Presented by CBMM Niobium, was the seventh race of the 2019/20 FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the reversed Tempelhofring at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany on 6 August 2020.[1] The race was the second of the season to be held on the reversed layout of the Tempelhofring, with no changes to the circuit overnight.[1]
Qualifying for the second race of the midweek meeting would see Wednesday's dominant winner António Félix da Costa storm to his third straight pole position, acing his lap with a 1:06.442.[2] Best of the rest in Super Pole would be Sébastien Buemi, 0.417s off da Costa, with the Swiss racer himself just a tenth ahead of Alex Lynn and Nyck de Vries.[2]
da Costa would likewise repeat his start from the Wednesday race, sweeping off the grid with ease at the start, before moving across to block Buemi to secure the lead into turn one.[3] Behind, de Vries would fire the #17 Mercedes around the outside of Lynn to claim third, only for the Brit to muscle his way back past at turn two.[3]
All of the action in the early stages was to be had on the opening tour, with Maximilian Günther making his way up to eighth, while de Vries and Lynn engaged in a furious duel for third.[3] Out front, meanwhile, da Costa and Buemi would break clear from the fight for third, with Buemi remaining threateningly close to the tail of the #13 DS Techeetah.[3]
Indeed, it was only when Günther sustained front end damage and a puncture that the race was sparked into life, for the littered pieces of the #28 BMW-Andretti triggered a Full Course Yellow on lap ten.[3] That allowed several fights to condense before the race resumed again half a lap later, with Lucas di Grassi acing the restart to sprint ahead of de Vries, who had got caught out by a slow Robin Frijns, who had passed his compatriot shortly before the FCY.[3]
However, just moments after the restart the race had to be halted for a second time, this time due to debris left from Sam Bird's #2 Envision Virgin.[3] That restart saw the field condense even further, with the use of Attack Mode dragging Frijns, di Grassi and de Vries towards the tail of Buemi, who was still stalking da Costa out front.[3]
The complexion of the race changed again on lap 20, as de Vries triggered a FCY by stopping on the outside of turn two.[3] Fortunately the Dutchman was able to, quite literally, drag his car clear to ensure that the race resumed within two minutes, with da Costa this time able to break clear.[3]
The rest of the race would hence be about the scramble for the podium, with Buemi briefly losing out to di Grassi, before getting back past with Attack Mode.[3] di Grassi was hence left to fight for third with Frijns and a charging Stoffel Vandoorne, with the trio exchanging increasingly physical blows through the chequered flag.[3]
Out front, meanwhile, da Costa ran unopposed throughout the second half of the race to secure a dominant victory, and a huge 68 point lead in the Championship with four races to go.[3] Buemi was second ahead of a bruised di Grassi, while Frijns just kept Vandoorne at bay to claim fourth with Bird just behind in sixth.[3] Oliver Rowland was next up in seventh ahead of Edoardo Mortara, while André Lotterer and a frustrated Jean-Éric Vergne completed the scorers.[3]
Background[]
There were no changes to the circuit ahead of the second race around the reversed Tempelhofring, although there had been modifications made to the pitlane.[1] Furthermore, there were no changes to the entry list, with no new Covid-19 tests conducted after the 2020 Berlin E-Prix I.[1]
Pitlane Protests[]
Several drivers, including Sébastien Buemi and the two Mahindras, had benefited from driving down the pitlane during an FCY in the First Berlin Race, as it cut off the inside of turn one.[4] Buemi and co. effectively gained five seconds by driving down the pitlane, stopping in their pit box briefly, and then rejoining at the exit of turn one, with Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Alex Lynn gaining four places between them.[4] Mercedes had protested Buemi and d'Ambrosio immediately after the race, citing that they had not stopped, although they were both cleared after a post-race investigation.[4]
However, to avoid further complications and fallout from drivers doing the same in the second Berlin race, the FIA decided to drop the pitlane speed limit from 50 km/h to 35 km/h.[4] This was officially done on safety grounds, while the time penalty for un-served drive-through penalties was increased to 26 seconds, and a 10 second stop-go to 41 seconds.[4]
da Costa Dominance[]
It had been an excellent start to the six race season finale for Championship leader António Félix da Costa, for his perfect score in the first Berlin race had seen him move onto 97 points for the campaign. Furthermore, non-scores for his two nearest rivals, Mitch Evans and Alexander Sims, had meant that the Portuguese racer ended the day with a significant 41 margin at the head of the hunt, and with arguably the fastest car heading into the second race on the reversed Tempelhofring. Elsewhere, Stoffel Vandoorne had moved back into the top five ahead of Maximilian Günther, while Sam Bird had risen to sixth.
In the Teams' Championship DS Techeetah had opened out their lead, having become the first team to move past the 100 point barrier courtesy of da Costa's dominance. Their tally of 128 points meant they were 36 clear of second placed BMW-Andretti, while Mercedes had climbed to third on 76. They hence relegated Jaguar Racing to fourth on 66 points, while NIO remained the only pointless team as the season passed half-distance.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II would be conducted in FE's standard format, with the field split into four groups of six cars, based on Championship position.[2] The first group would feature those in the top six in the Championship and so on, with each group getting six minutes on track to set a full 250 kW lap.[2] The top six overall would then progress to the Super Pole shootout, getting one final lap at full power to try and claim pole position.[2]
After the session a point would be handed to the fastest driver in the Group Stage, while three were to be awarded to the winner of Super Pole.[2]
Group 1[]
The opening group of the second Berlin race featured those at the head of the Championship hunt, headlined by António Félix da Costa after his dominance in the First Race.[6] He would be joined on track by Mitch Evans of Jaguar Racing, while Alexander Sims and Maximilian Günther would represent BMW-Andretti.[6] Stoffel Vandoorne was also set to join the fray for Mercedes, as was Envision Virgin's lead driver Sam Bird.[6]
After concerns about rear tyre temperatures during qualifying for Wednesday's race, all six drivers in the opening group opted to go straight onto their full power lap, meaning no one ventured onto the circuit until there were two minutes to go.[7] Vandoorne was the first to venture out of the pits, with Sims, Evans and Günther right behind them, while da Costa and Bird waited a few moments more before joining the fray.[7] Fortunately, the drivers would manage to space out from one another on their out-laps, with everyone starting their flying laps with time to spare.[7]
Vandoorne was hence the first to deliver a lap, and a clean effort saw him set the marker at a 1:07.292, which Sims would immediately fall shy of, and with the knowledge that he would serve a 20 place grid penalty for changing his battery.[7] Evans was next across the line but was 0.2s shy of Vandoorne, before Günther managed to topple the Belgian racer to top the timesheets, albeit briefly.[7] Indeed, he and the rest of group one would be blown out of the water by da Costa, who aced the first two sectors to go fastest by four tenths with a 1:06.791, with Bird setting the fastest third sector to claim second.[7]
Group 2[]
The second sextet would feature those positioned seventh through twelfth in the Championship after the 2020 Berlin E-Prix I, with Jean-Éric Vergne expected to head the hunt for DS Techeetah.[6] He would be joined on track by the first of the factory Audis of Lucas di Grassi, as well as qualifying ace Sébastien Buemi.[6] Also on track would be Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, driving factory and Venturi run Mercedes powertrains respectively, as well as the #36 Porsche of André Lotterer.[6]
Much like group one, everyone in the second group would opt to complete just their flying lap, with track temperatures still climbing as the day session progressed.[7] de Vries was the first driver to venture out, and despite appearing to have a lot of twitches at the rear of the car through turns one, five and ten as he picked up the throttle, the Dutchman would fire the #17 Mercedes up to second.[7] Indeed, Lotterer would deliver a cleaner effort a few seconds later, but would only manage to secure fifth at the end of his effort.[7]
Mortara was next to set a time, and duly went up to fourth with an okay lap, before di Grassi jumped into third, having come close to matching da Costa in the first sector.[7] Next across the line was Vergne, although the Frenchman was only able to secure fourth, two tenths off his teammate's pace from the first group, having had an out-lap fight with Buemi for track position.[7] However, while Vergne won the battle for track position it was Buemi who had the final laugh, for the Swiss ace delivered new fastest first and third sectors to go fastest overall, 0.012s ahead of da Costa.[7]
Group 3[]
Group three was to feature those positioned thirteenth through eighteenth in the the Championship take to the circuit, with track evolution making all six potential Super Pole contenders.[6] Oliver Rowland and Robin Frijns were the standout names given their equipment, with Felipe Massa and James Calado likewise having Super Pole potential cars despite their poor form.[6] They would be joined by Jérôme d'Ambrosio of Mahindra Racing, who had made it Super Pole on Wednesday, as well as Daniel Abt in the lowly NIO 333 FE Team.[6]
Unlike the earlier groups there would be a mix of strategies in group three, with Rowland the first to venture out of the pitlane with three minutes to go, although he would crawl very slowly out of the pits.[7] The reason for that was because he would then go immediately onto his full power lap, just as Massa, d'Ambrosio, Calado and Frijns entered the fray.[7] In contrast Abt, who had joined Rowland out on track early on, would complete a warm-up lap, before venturing onto his full power effort.[7]
Rowland would pass Frijns on his flying lap, with an okay lap overall leaving him in fifth at the end of his lap, with Massa next to complete a lap to go fourteenth after a miserable final sector.[7] d'Ambrosio was the next driver to complete his flying lap, although a slide at turn six on the brakes ensured that he dropped to twelfth in the field, while Calado locked up in turn one, ruining his lap to leave him in sixteenth.[7] Frijns then delivered the best lap of the third group, going third fastest overall with a new benchmark in the second sector, while Abt rounded out the group by going seventeenth.[7]
Group 4[]
The fourth and final group would see those positioned in the final quarter of the Championship take to the circuit, with those drivers likely relying on track conditions to get into the top end of the field.[6] Headlining the group would be Alex Lynn for Mahindra Racing, who was joined on track by René Rast in the second and final factory Audi.[6] Oliver Turvey and Neel Jani would also join the fray for NIO and Porsche respectively, with the two GEOX DRAGONs of Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nico Müller rounding out the group.[6]
Turvey would lead the fourth sextet onto the circuit, with himself, Sette Câmara and Müller joining him on track instantly suggesting they were all completing warm-up laps.[7] However, while Turvey and Müller would go on to complete warm-ups, Sette Câmara would decide to go straight to his full power lap, although a slide exiting turn two, combined with a missed apex at turn five and slide through turn ten saw him fumble his way to seventeenth at the end of his lap.[7] With that the rest of the group, including Jani, Rast and Lynn began to start their flying laps, with Müller and Turvey in the middle of the late comers.[7]
Amid the jumble it was Jani who delivered the first lap after Sette Câmara, with the Swiss racer going on to claim seventeenth in the #18 Porsche, only to be displaced by Müller a moment later.[7] Rast was next, having passed Turvey on his out-lap, although a poor final sector dumped him to 22nd at the end of his effort, while Turvey claimed an impressive fifteenth with a surprisingly strong first sector.[7] However, it was Lynn who emerged as the star of the final group, as the Brit danced the #94 Mahindra around to third overall, having controlled some rear sliding beautifully through turns one and ten.[7]
Super Pole[]
di Grassi was the first driver to set a time in Super Pole, and seemed to have thrown away his lap with a lock-up at turn one, although he did make the apex and continued.[7] That ultimately translated into an OK effort of 1:07.292, although it was instantly beaten by de Vries, with the Dutchman delivering a more spectacular effort with the rear of the #17 Mercedes sliding its way to a 1:06.921.[7] The third man to enter the shootout would be Frijns, although lock-ups into turns five and and a wide line through turns eight and nine undermined a strong first sector, leaving him on a 1:06.974 and behind de Vries.[7]
Lynn joined the shootout after Frijns' lap, and would again battle a nervous rear end on his car through turn one to go fastest, edging out de Vries with a 1:06.919 having delivered a new marker in the second sector.[7] da Costa then ventured out onto the circuit, and despite a wide line through turn one, would set an ominously strong new fastest first sector to open his bid for pole.[7] That was further backed by an ultra clean second sector, before the Portuguese racer aced the third to claim a 1:06.442, a lap he would celebrate over the radio as near perfect.[7]
Only Buemi could deny da Costa a second straight pole, although despite completing the first sector in a calm, precise, fashion, the Swiss racer was immediately a tenth down on the Portuguese racer.[7] It was a similar story through the second sector, dropping another tenth to the #13 Techeetah, before a twitch out of turn ten when picking up the throttle saw the Swiss racer fall four tenths shy in second, delivering a 1:08.839.[7] da Costa hence would start the second Berlin E-Prix of the season from pole position, setting up another potential Grand Slam for the Portuguese racer and add three points to his already strong Championship lead.[7]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II are outlined below:
| 2020 Berlin E-Prix II Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.442 | — | 1 | G1 |
| 2nd | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
 Nissan e.Dams
|
1:06.859 | +0.417s | 2 | G2 |
| 3rd | 94 |  Alex Lynn
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:06.919 | +0.477s | 3 | G4 |
| 4th | 17 |  Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.921 | +0.479s | 4 | G2 |
| 5th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:06.974 | +0.532s | 5 | G3 |
| 6th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:07.292 | +0.850s | 6 | G2 |
| Super Pole | |||||||
| 1st | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:06.779 | — | SP | G2 |
| 2nd | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.791 | +0.012s | SP | G1 |
| 3rd | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:06.873 | +0.094s | SP | G4 |
| 4th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:06.924 | +0.145s | SP | G3 |
| 5th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.951 | +0.172s | SP | G2 |
| 6th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:06.961 | +0.182s | SP | G2 |
| 7th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:07.018 | +0.239s | 7 | G3 |
| 8th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:07.035 | +0.256s | 8 | G2 |
| 9th | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:07.148 | +0.369s | 9 | G1 |
| 10th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
 ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:07.218 | +0.439s | 10 | G2 |
| 11th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
 BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:07.269 | +0.490s | 11 | G1 |
| 12th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:07.285 | +0.506s | 12 | G2 |
| 13th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:07.292 | +0.513s | 13 | G1 |
| 14th | 64 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.338 | +0.559s | 14 | G3 |
| 15th* | 27 | Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:07.368 | +0.589s | 24 | G1 |
| 16th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:07.451 | +0.672s | 15 | G4 |
| 17th | 20 |  Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.516 | +0.737s | 16 | G1 |
| 18th | 19 | Felipe Massa
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:07.557 | +0.778s | 17 | G3 |
| 19th | 7 | Nico Müller
|
GEOX DRAGON
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1:07.581 | +0.802s | 18 | G4 |
| 20th | 18 | Neel Jani
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Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:07.640 | +0.861s | 19 | G4 |
| 21st | 6 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
1:07.846 | +1.067s | 20 | G4 |
| 22nd | 33 | Daniel Abt
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:08.005 | +1.226s | 21 | G3 |
| 23rd | 51 | James Calado
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:08.432 | +1.653s | 22 | G3 |
| 24th | 66 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:08.464 | +1.685s | 23 | G4 |
| 110% Time: 1:13.456[8] | |||||||
| Source:[8] | |||||||
- * Sims was awarded a twenty place grid penalty for changing his battery.[9]
Race[]
Conditions remained dry and warm for the second E-Prix on the reversed version of the Tempelhofring, with the air and track temperatures hovering at 30°C as the grid was cleared.[10] There would, however, be some changes to the grid, with Alexander Sims and René Rast both starting from the pitlane after receiving multiple mechanical penalties.[10] Furthermore, Sims would have to serve a drive-through penalty for being unable to serve his full grid penalty during the race, likely ending any hopes he had of scoring points to keep his Championship challenge alive.[10]
Report[]
Unlike the Wednesday race, there would be no delay with the lights for the start of the Berlin E-Prix II, with da Costa once again acing his getaway to claim an early lead.[10] Indeed, the Portuguese ace had enough in hand over Sébastien Buemi to ease the #13 DS Techeetah across the nose of the #23 Nissan e.Dams to block the Swiss racer into the first corner and fully secure the lead.[10] Behind, Nyck de Vries jinked from the inside to the outside of the hairpin first corner on the brakes to rob third from Alex Lynn, with the rest of the field once again getting off the grid without issue.[10]
Lynn would get his revenge on de Vries soon after, however, with the Brit driving right around the outside of the #17 Mercedes through turn two to reclaim third.[10] Behind, Maximilian Günther managed to scramble ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne through the flick of turn four, with Stoffel Vandoorne following him past the #25 Techeetah into turn five.[10] Vandoorne would go on to harass Günther for eighth, while ahead the Belgian's teammate de Vries was lining up another attack on Lynn.[10]
Indeed, at the start of the second tour de Vries would throw another lunge at Lynn into turn one, although this time the effort came down the inside of the #94 Mahindra into the right-hander.[10] Lynn attempted to pull an over-under through the corner, although de Vries would get a better exit and power ahead to ensure that he secured third through the left-hand hairpin of turn two.[10] Lynn hence had to tuck in behind as, up ahead, da Costa and Buemi managed to break clear of the fight for third.[10]
Indeed, de Vries would lack the pace of the lead duo during the early stages despite passing Lynn, although the #17 Mercedes was saved from attack behind for the time being.[10] Instead, it was Lynn who came under attack from behind, with Robin Frijns the first to elbow his way past the #94 Mahindra down the inside of turn six/seven for fourth.[10] di Grassi was next and duly elbowed his way through down the inside of turn one on lap six to claim fifth, while Oliver Rowland would force his way past a lap later with an identical move.[10]
de Vries' respite was only temporary, however, with Frijns crawling all over the back of the #17 Mercedes within a lap of passing Lynn.[10] That prompted some questionable defending from the Dutchman, who notably pulled across the nose of Frijns to block the inside line into turn one on lap seven, after Frijns had committed to the move.[10] However, that would only serve to undermine de Vries, who subsequently made a poor exit from the hairpin right, and hence was too late to prevent Frijns from lunging down the inside of turn two a few moments later to claim third.[10]
With that Frijns was away, with de Vries slipped into the sights of di Grassi and Rowland after they had dealt with Lynn.[10] Elsewhere, Günther and Sam Bird would collide at turn eight when the Brit tried to dive down the inside of the #28 BMW-Andretti on lap seven, with the clash leaving both with damage to the front bodywork.[10] Günther's nose section duly disintegrated over the following lap, scattering bits of the #28 BMW down the start/finish straight, with Günther having to complete a full lap with a front left puncture as well.[10]
The debris from Günther's car would ultimately trigger a Full Course Yellow, albeit not before Buemi had armed Attack Mode and dropped right into the sights of Frijns, while de Vries and di Grassi were able to close right onto the Dutchman's tail.[10] However, it was only to be a brief interruption, with de Vries attempting to get the jump on Frijns out of turn five as the race resumed, only to mistime his launch and back off to avoid hitting the back of the #4 Envision Virgin.[10] As a result he was instantly passed by di Grassi, while ahead Buemi went charging off to catch da Costa, who had yet to arm AM.[10]
However, just a lap later and the FCY was required again, this time for debris from Bird's car, which not only stemmed from the same collision, but had ended up in an almost identical place to the worst of Günther's damage.[10] This came after Bird had slipped back behind Vergne having armed AM, and would similarly end within thirty seconds of being deployed after quick work from the marshals.[10] Rowland and Lynn, meanwhile, would head through the AM activation zone as the FCY ended, although Lynn would miss the mark and fail to activate the boost, an issue only enhanced as Vergne and Bird both got ahead of him.[10]
Likewise, the fight for the lead was also evolving, with Buemi now on the back of da Costa with his AM boost over, while Frijns, di Grassi and de Vries were all steadily closing, the latter two having taken AM.[10] Frijns subsequently dropped back when he armed Attack mode on lap fourteen, slipping behind di Grassi, while behind Lynn lost touch with the lead group and slipped behind Edoardo Mortara.[10] However, the fight at the front was to be interrupted, with de Vries suddenly slowing at the start of lap sixteen.[10]
Indeed, having locked up while lunging at Frijns, de Vries' #17 Mercedes slowed dramatically out of the first corner, with the Dutchman seemingly have no drive out of the hairpin.[10] de Vries duly stopped on the outside of turn two, before climbing out of the car and pushing it towards the gap in the barriers further down the escape road.[10] However, the Dutchman created a dangerous situation, and would force race director Scott Elkins to throw a FCY to cover the removal of the #17 Mercedes, with de Vries later receiving hefty penalties for his actions.[10]
Ironically, however, de Vries' decision to push the car away himself would help to keep the FCY impact to a minimum, with a two minute interruption causing a 2 kWh reduction in available energy.[10] When the race resumed da Costa instantly armed Attack Mode, and would hold the lead on the exit with Buemi otherwise occupied fending off di Grassi.[10] Behind, Mortara would drop behind Vergne when he armed AM, while Vandoorne just kept ahead of the #25 Techeetah when he did so a lap later, powering away from turn five after Vergne tried to squeeze him to the outside wall on exit.[10]
With that the race began to settle down, with da Costa setting a new fastest lap to escape from Buemi, while di Grassi came under attack from Frijns and hence fell slightly off the back of the #23 Nissan.[10] Elsewhere, Bird and Rowland were about to be mugged by Vandoorne, with the Belgian racer taking full advantage of a failed Bird lunge at Rowland down the inside of turn five to power past the pair of them on the run to turn six.[10] The #5 Mercedes hence climbed up to fifth, while Bird managed to out-brake Rowland into turn six/seven to effectively hold onto sixth, before joining Vandoorne in a bid to catch the leaders.[10]
Buemi's second AM activation ultimately settled the race, for the Swiss racer not only slipped behind di Grassi, but also fell four seconds behind da Costa with fifteen minutes remaining.[10] Frijns, meanwhile, would almost manage to get ahead of the #23 Nissan on the exit of turn five, but had to back off, before Buemi streaked straight back onto the tail of di Grassi to challenge for second.[10] The Swiss racer duly made his move through turns six and seven, dancing the #23 Nissan around the outside of the #11 Audi through the kink to claim the inside line for turn seven, and hence reclaim second.[10]
Frijns moved up to challenge di Grassi, and would subsequently throw a lunge to the outside of turn one in a bid to get ahead of the factory Audi, although di Grassi held the inside line.[10] Frijns did, however, get alongside for the run to turn two with the inside line, with di Grassi squeezing him to the kerb through the hairpin, before cutting across the nose of the #4 Virgin through turn three.[10] That battle would wage on for the forseeable future, as behind Mortara moved ahead of Bird and Vergne, only to slip back behind them when Bird fired the #2 Virgin down the inside of the #48 ROKiT Venturi into turn one, with Vergne dragged along with him.[10]
Into the closing stages and da Costa had armed AM for a second time without losing the lead, while Buemi was running in no-mans-land in second having escaped from di Grassi.[10] di Grassi himself, meanwhile, would finally fall to Frijns when he armed AM for the second time, only to repeat Frijns' attack on him at the start of the following tour, lunging to the outside of turn one.[10] The Brazilian would then try and over-under through turn two, which Frijns thwarted by blocking the #11 Audi at the apex, only for the lost momentum to allow di Grassi to make a lunge into turn five.[10] Frijns would hold on around the outside of the hairpin right, although the extra 35kW of power for di Grassi ensured that the #11 Audi powered ahead of the sister #4 Virgin on the run to turn six to secure third.[10]
The fight was no over however, with Frijns staying within touching distance of the #11 Audi, before reeling di Grassi back in once the Brazilian's AM boost came to an end.[10] Furthermore, the Dutchman was dragging Vandoorne along with him onto the back of the factory Audi, with Bird also closing in having escaped from Vergne.[10] Indeed, Vergne was struggling as the race wore on with overheating rear tyres, and hence came under intense attack from Mortara, who after several attempts into turn one, finally caught the Frenchman out with a dummy through turn six.[10]
Onto the penultimate lap and Frijns opened his final bid for the podium, throwing a lunge to the outside of di Grassi entering turn one in order to try and claim the inside line for turn two.[10] Unfortuantely for him di Grassi was able to hold the position by easing off his re-gen, while Vandoorne came down the inside of the #4 Virgin to try and rob him of fourth.[10] Frijns held him off before Vandoorne tried again at turn five, with minor contact resulting when the #5 Mercedes tried to muscle its way down the inside of the #4 Virgin.[10]
Onto the final lap and Vandoorne's attacks on Frijns had dropped both off the back of di Grassi, and also allowed Bird to close right onto their tail as they charged into turn one for the final time.[10] Vandoorne tried another lunge at Frijns on the brakes, although his bid to try around the outside was blocked by Frijns, who was able to run the Belgian out wide on the exit.[10] Bird was hence able to challenge the #5 Mercedes around the outside of turn two, although the trio would ultimately emerge from the hairpin as they had entered it, with Frijns ahead of Vandoorne, while Bird was stuck behind.[10]
Out front, meanwhile, it would be a simple cruise to the finish line for da Costa, who duly secured his third straight victory and a commanding lead in the Championship with four races to go.[10] Buemi was a lonely second ahead of di Grassi, while Frijns, Vandoorne and Bird finished nose-to-tail in fourth fifth and sixth, five seconds clear of Rowland in seventh.[10] Mortara was next up having passed Vergne late on, with the Frenchman likewise falling to a late move from André Lotterer on the final tour to leave him in tenth place, and ultimately end his hopes of retaining the title.[10]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.
| 2020 Berlin E-Prix II Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 13 | António Félix da Costa 
|
DS Techeetah
|
38 | 46:19.412 | 1:08.778 | 28 |
| 2nd | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
38 | +3.090s | 1:09.376 | 19G |
| 3rd | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
38 | +8.296s | 1:09.036 | 15 |
| 4th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
38 | +9.239s | 1:09.257 | 12 |
| 5th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
38 | +9.696s | 1:08.635 | 10 |
| 6th | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
38 | +10.081s | 1:09.274 | 8 |
| 7th | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
38 | +13.897s | 1:09.190 | 6 |
| 8th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
38 | +16.367s | 1:09.115 | 4 |
| 9th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
38 | +16.893s | 1:09.181 | 2 |
| 10th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
38 | +20.919s | 1:09.110 | 1 |
| 11th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
38 | +21.288s | 1:09.340 | |
| 12th | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
38 | +22.157s | 1:08.912 | |
| 13th | 66 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
38 | +22.631s | 1:08.983 | |
| 14th | 7 | Nico Müller
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
38 | +23.579s | 1:09.100 | |
| 15th | 18 | Neel Jani
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
38 | +26.381s | 1:09.745 | |
| 16th | 33 | Daniel Abt
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
38 | +35.424s | 1:09.887 | |
| 17th | 6 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
GEOX DRAGON
|
38 | +35.727s | 1:09.780 | |
| 18th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
38 | +36.356s | 1:09.711 | |
| 19th | 27 | Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
38 | +42.395s | 1:08.674 | |
| 20th | 51 | James Calado
|
Jaguar Racing
|
38 | +52.828s | 1:09.371 | |
| DSQ* | 64 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
Mahindra Racing
|
38 | Disqualified | 1:09.497 | |
| NC | 19 | Felipe Massa
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
37 | Out of Energy | 1:09.151 | |
| Ret | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
27 | Damage | 1:09.185 | |
| Ret† | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
15 | Retired | 1:09.374 | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.- G Indicates a driver secured a bonus point for setting the fastest time during the group stage of qualifying.
- * d'Ambrosio was disqualified from the race for exceeding the maximum energy limited of 45 kWh.[11]
- † de Vries was handed a €5,000 fine for leaving his cockpit without the permission of the race director.[12] He was also handed a five place grid penalty for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III, as well as five penalty points on his licence for causing a 'dangerous situation'.[13]
Milestones[]
- Twentieth E-Prix for Felipe Massa, Alexander Sims and Stoffel Vandoorne.
- Fifth victory for António Félix da Costa.
- da Costa became the first driver since Sébastien Buemi at the 2017 Buenos Aires ePrix to win three E-Prix in a row.
- Also da Costa's tenth podium finish.
- Techeetah claimed their eleventh victory as an entrant in Formula E.
- DS secured their eleventh win as a powertrain supplier.
- Maiden fastest lap recorded by Vandoorne.
- da Costa and Vandoorne scored their twentieth FanBoost victories.
- Maiden FanBoost win for Mitch Evans.
Standings[]
António Félix da Costa ended the first part of the six race season finale with a huge lead in the Championship, and would head into the second set of Berlin races with 68 points in hand. That meant that he could mathematically secure the title in the Berlin E-Prix III, although it would require his closest challengers Lucas di Grassi and Stoffel Vandoorne to fail to score more than seven points apiece. Indeed, behind da Costa the fight for second was very close, with just 21 points covering di Grassi in second, and Oliver Rowland in tenth.
In the Teams' Championship it had been another impressive afternoon for DS Techeetah, as they moved onto 157 points after da Costa's third straight win. BMW-Andretti were next up in second, trailing the Chinese squad by 65 points, while Nissan e.Dams had moved up to third on 88 points. Fourth, meanwhile, was occupied by the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team, while Envision Virgin had moved into the top five ahead of Jaguar Racing.
|
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Only point scoring drivers are shown.
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'Formula E season resumes with six-race Berlin showdown', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 17/06/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/june/berlin-announcement, (Accessed 17/06/2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 'Da Costa at the double with second storming pole in as many days in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-7-qualifying, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 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 'Three-in-a-row for dominant da Costa as standings leader extends advantage', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-7-race, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sam Smith, 'FULL COURSE YELLOW PIT LOOPHOLE CLOSED AMID MERCEDES PROTEST', the-race.com, (The Race, 06/08/2020), https://the-race.com/formula-e/full-course-yellow-pit-loophole-closed-amid-mercedes-protest/, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 'Final 2019/20 season entry list revealed', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/10/2019), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2019/november/season-six-full-entry-list, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 'Doc. 70: ROUND 6 & 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX 5 - 6 AUGUST 2020 Qualifying Groups - RACE 2', results.formulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 ABB Formula E, 'Qualifying LIVE | Round 7 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix | Presented by CBMM | Niobium', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M0-1zld_Ws, (Accessed 07/08/2020)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults - ↑ 'Doc. 66: ROUND 6 & 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX 5 - 6 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 20', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 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 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 10.33 10.34 10.35 10.36 10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 10.41 10.42 10.43 10.44 10.45 10.46 10.47 10.48 10.49 10.50 10.51 10.52 10.53 10.54 10.55 10.56 10.57 10.58 10.59 10.60 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ 'Doc. 91: ROUND 6 & 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX 5 - 6 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 29', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/06_R06%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/91_Doc%2091%20-%20Decision%20No.%2029.pdf, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 'Doc. 94: ROUND 6 & 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX 5 - 6 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 32', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/06_R06%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/94_Doc%2094%20-%20Technical%20Report%2014.pdf, (Accessed 06/08/2020)
- ↑ 'Doc. 93: ROUND 6 & 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX 5 - 6 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 31', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 06/08/2020), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/06_R06%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/94_Doc%2094%20-%20Technical%20Report%2014.pdf, (Accessed 06/08/2020)