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Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix III
Tempelhofring 2019
The Tempelhofring was restored for its third race in 2020.
Race Information
Date 8 August 2020
E-Prix No. 66
Official Name 2020 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II Race 1
Location Flag of Berlin Tempelhofring
Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany
Format 45 min + 1 Lap
Lap length 2.355 km (1.476 mi)
Distance 35 laps / 82.425 km (51.217 mi)
Support Race Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin eTrophy Race 3
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne
Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Time 1:06.277
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans
Team Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing
Fastest Lap 1:08.350 on lap 19
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne
Winner Team Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport
Time 46:15.512
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix II Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV
Post-Race Test

The 2020 Berlin E-Prix III, formally known as the 2020 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II Race 1, was the eighth race of the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Tempelhofring in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany on 8 August 2020.[1] The race was the third of the season to be held at the Tempelhofring, although the field would use the normal anti-clockwise layout, having used a reversed layout for the first pair of Berlin races.[1]

Qualifying would see Jean-Éric Vergne enjoy an impressive return to form, claiming pole position with a 1:06.277.[2] His closest challenger would be Maximilian Günther, half a second off, with Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Stoffel Vandoorne, Alex Lynn and Robin Frijns having completed the shootout.[2]

The start of the race saw Vergne make a strong start to claim the lead, while d'Ambrosio managed to muscle his way past Günther for second through turn one.[3] Lynn would also harass Günther through turns two and three having vaulted past Vandoorne, while behind the rest of the field made it through without major incident.[3]

Günther worked to get back past d'Ambrosio over the rest of the opening tour, securing second with a lunge into turn six.[3] He had, however, lost almost two seconds to Vergne at the head of the field, and would spend the rest of the opening stages of the race reeling the #25 DS Techeetah back in.[3]

Indeed, the opening laps were fairly tame, and it was only when Alexander Sims nailed the back of Sérgio Sette Câmara into turn nine on lap eleven that the picture of the race was changed.[3] Indeed, Sims' whack would push Sette Câmara into James Calado, puncturing the Jaguar's rear tyre, while Sette Câmara lost drive exiting turn nine.[3] Neel Jani then slammed into the slowing GEOX DRAGON, destroying both cars and triggering a Safety Car.[3]

After a ten minute clean-up the race resumed, with Vergne and Günther breaking away, with the German racer taking Attack Mode.[3] That appeared to be an error as he was left boxed in behind Vandoorne and Frijns, although over the following lap he would claw his way back onto Vergne's tail.[3]

Once again a stalemate would emerge at the head of the field, ahead of a rolling battle for fourth once Frijns elbowed his way past d'Ambrosio.[3] Indeed, most of the top ten would be involved in the fight, with António Félix da Costa, Champion-elect, managing to steadily rise up from eighth as the fighting continued.[3]

Into the closing stages and Günther had an energy advantage over Vergne, and was told by his team to wait until the final lap before making a move.[3] However, with five minutes to go and Frijns closing in, the German racer made his bid for the lead, scything down the inside of Vergne at turn six, with Vergne backing down in turn seven.[3]

With that the race seemed to be over, only for Frijns to pass Vergne with ease and close right onto the tail of Günther.[3] That setup a grand-stand finish on the final lap, with Frijns having a small energy advantage over Günther, resulting in the #4 Envision Virgin bobbing a weaving behind the #28 BMW-Andretti.[3]

Ultimately, however, Günther would do just enough to keep ahead, crossing the line with 0.0% available energy just a tenth ahead of Frijns.[3] Behind, Vergne would just manage to win a similar fight with teammate da Costa and André Lotterer to secure third, with all five drivers cleared of excessive energy use after the race.[3] Behind, Oliver Rowland secured sixth ahead of d'Ambrosio and di Grassi, Mitch Evans elbowed his way to ninth, while Sims secured the final point in tenth.[3]

Background[]

After a day off to allow teams to perform maintenance on their cars and equipment on Friday, the field would reconvene in the same garages for the second set of races in Berlin, albeit with one significant change.[1] Indeed, the field would now use the standard Tempelhofring layout, having run on a reversed version for the Berlin E-Prix I and Berlin E-Prix II, with no other changes to the circuit.[1] There were likewise no changes to the entry list ahead of the second pair of races, with no news on whether team personnel and drivers would have to be re-tested for Covid-19.[1]

de Vries Detriments[]

Ahead of the race it was revealed that Nyck de Vries had been heavily penalised for an incident during the Berlin E-Prix II, having climbed out of his cockpit and pushed the car on a live circuit.[4] The Dutchman had been forced to pull off the track at turn two after an issue, and ended up parked in the escape road in a dangerous position, prompting him to get out and push the car to safety.[4] However, he not only did so without the protection of a Full Course Yellow but without the permission of the race director, despite the fact that he, almost single-handedly, pushed the car away without major disruption to the race.[4]

The officials immediately issued de Vries a fine of €5,000 for climbing out of the car without permission, with a further investigation conducted after the final results of the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II had been published.[4] That investigation would rule that de Vries 'created a dangerous situation' by pushing his car on a live and then FCY covered circuit, and hence further penalised him with a five place grid penalty for the Berlin E-Prix III, as well as issued him with five penalty points on his racing licence.[4]

Pressured Performance[]

Other than a change in circuit layout, there would also be a significant change to the setup of the 24 Spark SRT05es, with Michelin introducing a revised minimum tyre pressure.[5] The French tyre manufacturer had opted to reduce the minimum pressure from 1.4 bar (20.305 psi) to 1.3 bar (18.855 psi), after high temperatures were predicted for the four remaining Berlin E-Prix.[5] The move was met with a mixed reception, with the change allowing teams to better control tyre temperatures, although it was given to them a day before the start of the Berlin E-Prix III, upsetting those planning setups.[5]

Reversed Rumbles[]

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.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III is displayed below:

2020 Berlin E-Prix III 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 FE06
3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team NIO FE-005
4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE06
5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01
6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX Dragon Penske EV-4
7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX Dragon Penske EV-4
11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE06
13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of China DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 20
17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01
18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric
19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01
20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type IV
22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM02
23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams Nissan IM02
25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah DS E-Tense FE 20
27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.20
28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.20
33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team NIO FE-005
36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of Germany TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric
48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01
51 Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado Flag of the United Kingdom Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type IV
64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M6Electro
66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE06
94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing Mahindra M6Electro
Source:[6]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III 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 first sextet of the session would feature those positioned in the top six in the Championship, headlined by leader António Félix da Costa who had dominated the two reverse races at the Tempelhofring.[7] He would be joined on track by Lucas di Grassi and Sam Bird, running factory and Envision Virgin run Audis, as well as Stoffel Vandoorne of Mercedes.[7] Sébastien Buemi would also feature in the opening group, as would Mitch Evans whom had struggled for form in Berlin to that point.[7]

Evans was the first driver to venture out of the pitlane, with the rest of the group charging out behind him with two minutes left on the clock.[8] Evans would go on to lead the sextet around, while behind Buemi and di Grassi would both overtake da Costa on their out-laps to try and gain track position.[8] Vandoorne and Bird would also try to pass da Costa, before settling in behind the #13 Techeetah to open their laps.[8]

Evans opened the session with a clean run through all ten turns, recording a 1:17.197, only for Buemi to immediately deliver a more precise, faster effort in the #23 Nissan.[8] di Grassi was next up and duly slotted in between Buemi and Evans, with da Costa then hitting the top of the timesheet with a new fastest third sector.[8] Vandoorne then stole the show by setting a new benchmark in the first and second sectors to go two tenths clear of da Costa, while Bird ruined his lap by getting too close to Vandoorne at the start of the lap to leave himself in sixth.[8]

Group 2[]

Group two would feature those positioned seventh through twelfth in the Championship take to the circuit, headlined by defending Champion Jean-Éric Vergne in the #25 DS Techeetah.[7] He would be joined on track by both of the BMW i Andretti Motorsport entries of Alexander Sims and Maximilian Günther, as well as the second Nissan e.Dams of Oliver Rowland.[7] Completing the group would be Edoardo Mortara in the first of the ROKiT Venturi Mercedes, as well as the #36 Porsche of André Lotterer.[7]

Unlike the first group those in group two would allow for more time to not only get onto the circuit, but also to space themselves out, with Sims the first to head out onto the circuit ahead of teammate Günther.[8] Sims duly became the first to set his flying lap, with a messy lap seeing the Brit slip into fifth overall, having smacked the kerb at turn four, as well as lock his rear wheels on the brakes for turns six and nine.[8] Günther trailed him across the line, but a far cleaner effort saw the #28 BMW Andretti slot into second overall.[8]

Vergne was next across the line, and new fastest second and third sectors for the Frenchman saw the #25 Techeetah head to the top of the standings with a 1:06.597.[8] Lotterer went next but despite matching Vergne in the first and second sectors, a poor run through the final two hairpins saw the Porsche drop back into fourth at the end of his lap.[8] The Venturi of Mortara went next but could only claim seventh, while Rowland had a quiet run to sixth as the last man in the group to set a time.[8]

Group 3[]

The third group of the session would feature those in thirteenth through eighteenth in the Championship head to the circuit, with several drivers considered potential Super Pole threats due to track evolution.[7] Headlining the group would be Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Robin Frijns and Nyck de Vries of Mahindra, Virgin and Mercedes respectively, all of whom had got in Super Pole in the previous two rounds.[7] They would be joined on track by James Calado in the #51 Jaguar, Felipe Massa in the second of the Venturi-Mercedes, and Daniel Abt in his new NIO.[7]

de Vries took an alternate approach to qualifying in group three, opting to leave the pitlane as the six minute session opened, only to go straight onto his full power lap.[8] However, a brush with the wall exiting turn five, combined with having to pass a very compliant Massa, and a slide in turn ten, worked to undermine his run, with the Dutchman claiming fifth at the end of the run.[8] Massa, meanwhile, would complete his lap a few moments later, but mistakes in the first and third sectors outweighed his new benchmark in the second sector, leaving the Brazilian in ninth.[8]

Abt was next across the line but even a very clean lap in the lowly NIO could only get the German racer in fifteenth and last of those to have set a time.[8] d'Ambrosio chased the #33 NIO across the line, and despite a controlled slide through turn one, the Belgian racer would shoot into third with excellent times in sectors two and three.[8] Calado trailed them across the line but was a distant fourteenth, while Frijns put together a very strong effort to secure third for himself, demoting d'Ambrosio.[8]

Group 4[]

The final sextet featured those drivers in the bottom six of the Championship, with track evolution likely the main determining factor on whether they could challenge for Super Pole.[7] Alex Lynn would be the standout name in the #94 Mahindra after his exploits two days earlier, while René Rast had been getting more comfortable in the #66 Audi.[7] Likewise, the two GEOX DRAGONs of Nico Müller and Sérgio Sette Câmara had set some impressive one-lap efforts in practice, although Neel Jani and Oliver Turvey had struggled to match the outright pace.[7]

The #6 Dragon of Sette Câmara was the first to venture out onto the circuit in group four, with the Brazilian youth delivering a spectacular lap, with a lively rear end through turns one, five and nine seeing Sette Câmara claim eleventh.[8] However, that was still enough to comfortably beat Jani, who delivered a very clean lap to go seventeenth overall, three tenths down on teammate Lotterer.[8] They were trailed across the line by Müller and Turvey, although miserable laps from both left them at the back of the field, with Rast joining them moments later as he battled with his new Audi.[8]

Instead, the star of the final sextet would be Lynn, who was the last man to set a time in his borrowed Mahindra.[8] The Brit would record very strong first and third sectors, and despite battling oversteer out of turn six, would have enough in hand to claimed third at the end of his effort, knocking Lotterer out of Super Pole in the final seconds on the group stage.[8]

Super Pole[]

Günther was the first driver to venture out in Super Pole, with the German youth opening the lap with a clean run through the first sector, before overcoming slides in turns six and ten as he picked up the power.[8] Günther recorded a 1:06.772 as a result, with d'Ambrosio following him out onto the track, and opening his lap with a clean run through the first sector, but surrendering a tenth to the #28 BMW-Andretti.[8] d'Ambrosio rallied back with better times in the second and third sectors, although he would still fall shy of Günther's benchmark by half a tenth.[8]

Next out was Frijns, with a slide to open his lap into turn one, combined with a poor exit from turn nine ensuring he would fall shy of both Günther and d'Ambrosio, ending his lap in third.[8] Lynn followed and would have a cleaner start to his lap, although heavy kerb strikes at turns seven and nine undermined his time through the third sector, and hence meant he slotted in just behind teammate d'Ambrosio.[8] The #5 Mercedes of Vandoorne was the following driver onto the circuit, although once again a strong opening sector would be undermined by minor mistakes, with Vandoorne locking up at turn six and a slide at turn ten to drop back to third.[8]

The final man in the shootout would be Vergne, who would charge into the first corner on full attack, with the rear of his car threatening to break away as he braked through the left-hander.[8] The Frenchman then aced the second sector with a strong exit from turn six, before again acing the final sector to go fastest with a 1:06.277 and claim pole position ahead of Günther.[8]

Post Qualifying[]

The final qualifying result for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III are outlined below:

2020 Berlin E-Prix III Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.277 1 G2
2nd 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:06.772 +0.495s 2 G2
3rd 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:06.825 +0.548s 3 G3
4th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:06.965 +0.688s 4 G1
5th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:07.177 +0.900s 5 G4
6th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:07.180 +0.903s 6 G3
Super Pole
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.597 SP G2
2nd 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:06.714 +0.117s SP G1
3rd 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:06.731 +0.134s SP G4
4th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:06.740 +0.143s SP G3
5th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:06.748 +0.151s SP G3
6th 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:06.846 +0.249s SP G2
7th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:06.867 +0.270s 7 G2
8th* 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:06.907 +0.310s 13 G3
9th 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.938 +0.341s 8 G1
10th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:06.947 +0.350s 9 G2
11th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:06.960 +0.363s 10 G1
12th 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:07.077 +0.480s 11 G4
13th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:07.090 +0.493s 12 G3
14th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:07.098 +0.501s 14 G2
15th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:07.140 +0.543s 15 G1
16th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:07.141 +0.544s 16 G2
17th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:07.147 +0.550s 17 G3
18th 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:07.193 +0.596s 18 G4
19th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:07.197 +0.600s 19 G1
20th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:07.208 +0.611s 20 G1
21st 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:07.261 +0.664s 21 G4
22nd 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:07.331 +0.734s 22 G3
23rd 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:07.366 +0.769s 23 G4
24th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:07.521 +0.924s 24 G4
110% Time: 1:13.257[9]
Source:[9]
  • * de Vries served a five place grid penalty for causing a dangerous situation by pushing his car during the 2020 Berlin E-Prix II.[4]

Race[]

It proved to be a very warm afternoon in Berlin, with the air temperature sitting at 33°C, while the track was a hot 35°C.[10] That introduced some concerns about how the drivers would manage battery and tyre temperatures, with several drivers having complained of losing the rear tyres over one lap.[10] Regardless, there were no changes to the order, with Jean-Éric Vergne leading the wheel spinning charge onto the full grid for the start.[10]

Report[]

When the lights went out there would be no stopping Vergne, who duly streaked off of pole position to claim a comfortable lead through the sweeping first corner.[10] Behind, Jérôme d'Ambrosio moved up to challenge Maximilian Günther down the inside of the first corner, and duly managed to elbow his way past the German youth through the exit of turn three after his lunge.[10] That allowed Alex Lynn to challenge Günther into turn four, although that allowed Stoffel Vandoorne to attack him on the run to turn six instead as Lynn had a compromised exit.[8]

Günther was also on the attack into turn six, although d'Ambrosio instantly moved to the defensive inside line into the hairpin in order to hold second, with Lynn doing likewise to keep Vandoorne at bay.[10] Günther tried again into turn nine with a lunge to the outside, with d'Ambrosio again having just enough on the exit to jet ahead of the #28 BMW-Andretti into turn ten.[10] Behind, Vandoorne would try and identical lunge on Lynn, only to run wide and slip back behind Robin Frijns and André Lotterer.[10]

All of that had allowed Vergne to build a two second lead by the end of the opening tour, with Günther again costing himself and d'Ambrosio time by trying a lunge around the outside of turn one.[10] d'Ambrosio again kept the #28 BMW-Andretti at bay, although Günther would have enough margin over Lynn to slot back in behind the #64 Mahindra and hold third.[10] That hence allowed him to try yet another lunge into turn six, with Günther finally managing to steal the inside line into the hairpin, and hence emerge from the left-hander in second.[10]

With that Günther went chasing off after Vergne, halving the Frenchman's lead in the space of a lap, as d'Ambrosio slipped back into the sights of teammate Lynn.[10] Indeed, the two Mahindras seemed to lack the pace of those around them, with the rest of the top ten queued up behind them as Attack Mode came online at the start of lap four.[10] Frijns was the first man in said queue and duly sent the #4 Envision Virgin down the inside of Lynn into turn six during lap four, and duly emerged from the hairpin in fourth.[10]

As Frijns moved up to challenge d'Ambrosio, Günther had managed to get onto the tail of Vergne for the lead, although the German racer would wait to launch a full attack for the lead.[10] Indeed, barring some changes to the order further down the pack, with Vandoorne finally elbowing his way past Lynn, the race was beginning to settle, the race was beginning to settle down.[10] Other early moves saw Lucas di Grassi controversially squeeze Felipe Massa to the inside wall of turn one when passing the #19 Venturi, which saw Massa get out of shape and touch the back of the Brazilian, before di Grassi slipped back behind Sébastien Buemi and Nyck de Vries.[10]

However, the relative stability was not to last, as a collision at turn nine on lap eleven would trigger a Safety Car, and hence draw the lead duo back into the pack.[10] The cause of the collision would be Sérgio Sette Câmara, who got out of shape defending from Alexander Sims into turn nine, and went sliding into the back of James Calado as the #51 Jaguar turned into the corner.[10] Sette Câmara then had trouble on the exit of the corner, having to pull across to the side of the track, only to be smashed into from behind by Neel Jani, who had no where to go to avoid the limping #6 GEOX DRAGON.[10] Both Sette Câmara and Jani were left with heavy damage, the front right of the #18 Porsche and left rear of Sette Câmara's Dragon, while Calado limped around to the pits with a puncture.[10]

A nine minute interruption followed, with Calado retiring with powertrain damage stemming from his smack from Sette Câmara.[10] Vergne, meanwhile, would fail in his attempt to leap clear of Günther when the BMW Qualcomm i8 SC pulled off, with the Frenchman instead taking a very defensive line into turn one to keep Günther at bay.[10] Indeed, sensing blood in the water Günther would opt to arm Attack Mode, although that seemed to be a mistake as he slipped behind d'Ambrosio, Frijns and Vandoorne, and would only just muscle back in ahead of Lynn.[10]

However, the additional 35 kW of power would soon tell for Günther, with the German youth quickly powering past Vandoorne on the run to turn one at the start of the following lap, before calmly sliding down the inside of Frijns into turn six a few moments later.[10] In the same moment Vergne and d'Ambrosio armed Attack Mode, with Günther almost taking the lead from Vergne, although was forced to relent as the Frenchman swept back across the circuit.[10] d'Ambrosio, meanwhile, would get passed by Frijns, before running side-by-side with Vandoorne through to turn nine in a fight that ended with a puncture on the #5 Mercedes.[10]

With Vergne on AM it was status quo at the head of the field, with the #25 DS Techeetah leading the #28 BMW-Andretti away over the following laps, while Frijns stalked them having also armed AM.[10] Elsewhere, Oliver Rowland was on the warpath, taking sixth and fifth from Lotterer and Lynn respectively with identical lunges into turn six, while teammate Buemi elbowed his way past de Vries after some questionable, late, defending from the young Dutchman into the first corner.[10] António Félix da Costa was also on the move with a successful dummy to dive down the inside of Lynn at turn six to claim seventh, with Lotterer following the Portuguese Champion-elect through.[10]

Lotterer would go on to attack da Costa for seventh, just as the #13 Techeetah engaged Massa for sixth, resulting in a truel on the brakes for turn six with da Costa throwing his car to the inside of Massa, although he would run wide and slot in behind the #19 Venturi.[10] Up front, meanwhile, Günther would re-arm AM the moment that it ran out, with Frijns following him through the activation point, in a bid to undercut Vergne.[10] The Frenchman duly responded on the following tour, and would just manage to keep Günther at bay as he rejoined from the activation zone exiting turn six.[10]

However, the damage to Vergne's lead had been done, with Günther forcing Vergne to defend into turn nine, before opening lap 25 with a very defensive line into the first corner.[10] Günther further forced Vergne to defend into the turn four/five combination, and would almost get a run on the #25 Techeetah into turn six, before Vergne aggressively defended the inside once again.[10] That, ultimately, would be enough for Vergne to hold the lead, with Günther's AM boost ending without the German mustering another serious challenge.[10]

Elsewhere, da Costa and Lotterer had finally dealt with Massa, before da Costa cleverly used FanBoost to build enough of a margin over Lotterer into turn six that he could arm AM without dropping behind the #36 Porsche.[10] René Rast, meanwhile, was harassing de Vries as the Dutchman found himself stuck behind Lynn, although the German's lunge at turn one would not come off and the #66 Audi slipped back into the sights of Sims.[10] Sims duly attacked Rast around the outside of turn six a few moments later, only to be elbowed back down the order by di Grassi in the #11 Audi.[10]

Back with the leaders and Vergne's AM was over, and Günther was now back on his tail with a significant 1% advantage in energy reserves, enough for him to complete a lunge on the brakes without having to list and coast or re-gen.[10] Once again, as da Costa fired down the inside of d'Ambrosio for fifth into turn nine, the German youth would force the reigning Champion to defend into turn one, as well as into turn six on lap thirty, and hence have to ease off his re-gen.[10] On the following tour Vergne again took to the inside line into the first corner, although this time Günther committed to lunging around the outside of the #25 Techeetah.[10]

Seeing the #28 BMW-Andretti dive around the outside of his car, Vergne eased off the brakes into the first corner in order to force Günther to run wide, resulting in some minor contact as Günther turned in.[10] Vergne hence won that engagement, although it compromised his run through turns two and three, and then have to defend into turn four for yet another time.[10] That hence allowed Günther to get a run on the #25 Techeetah into turn six, with the German racer throwing a dummy against Vergne on the brakes for the hairpin before committing to the outside line.[10] That gave him better traction on the exit with Vergne hugging the inside kerb, resulting in the #28 BMW powering ahead on the exit to secure the lead, cutting off the nose of Vergne through turn seven.[10]

With that Günther was away, with Vergne instead having to focus on the looming purple nose of Frijns, who had been able to catch the lead duo as their fight reached its climax.[10] As the #4 Virgin moved to engage the now energy trouble Techeetah, da Costa would fire past Rowland into turn six to claim fourth, further enhancing his hold on the Championship lead with three races to go.[10] There were also changes further down as Mitch Evans elbowed his way inside Lynn at turn nine for ninth, while Massa was penalised for his collision with di Grassi in the early laps.[10]

Onto the penultimate lap and Frijns was now right on Vergne's tail, and had 2% more energy to play with as time slipped away.[10] As a result, there was little the Frenchman could do to deny the #4 Virgin from sweeping past down the start/finish straight, having tried to push too hard out of turn ten and got a load of oversteer.[10] Frijns duly charged away to challenge Günther, holding a 1% energy advantage over the German youth, while Vergne was left in the sights of teammate da Costa.[10]

The final tour saw Frijns casually draw onto the tail of Günther, and hence force the #28 BMW to half cover a lunge into the first corner at the start of the lap.[10] Into turn six and Günther again felt the need to defend the inside line, although Frijns appeared to be waiting for the #28 BMW to run into serious energy woes with less than 1% battery left to cover the remainder of the lap.[10] That was, until the Dutchman gambled on a lunge around the outside of turn nine, a move swatted aside by Günther, which gave the German racer enough of a margin through the final corner of turn ten to head a sprint to the line.[10]

Indeed, Günther would just cross the line as his battery reserve his 0% to claim victory, 0.128s ahead of the #4 Virgin, which still had 0.2% available charge as they flashed past the chequered flag.[10] Behind, Vergne kept teammate da Costa at bay as both hit 0% on the run to the chequered flag, with Lotterer right on their tail having likewise hit 0% on the start/finish straight.[10] Rowland was next up ahead of d'Ambrosio, di Grassi and Evans, while Sims battled his way past Lynn on the final tour to secure the final point in tenth.[10]

Result[]

The final classification of the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.

2020 Berlin E-Prix III Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 35 46:15.512 1:08.957 25
2nd 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 35 +0.128s 1:08.922 18
3rd 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 35 +2.569s 1:08.860 19G
4th 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa FanBoost Flag of China DS Techeetah 35 +2.743s 1:08.657 12
5th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer FanBoost Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 35 +3.136s 1:09.090 10
6th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 35 +5.547s 1:08.926 8
7th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 35 +7.893s 1:09.244 6
8th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 35 +12.672s 1:08.922 4
9th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 35 +13.511s 1:08.350 3
10th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 35 +19.248s 1:09.118 1
11th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 35 +20.240s 1:09.008
12th 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 35 +20.486s 1:08.615
13th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 35 +20.733s 1:09.032
14th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 35 +20.944s 1:09.283
15th 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 35 +21.948s 1:09.529
16th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 35 +22.774s 1:09.334
17th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 35 +23.181s 1:09.447
18th* 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 35 +32.520s 1:09.085
19th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 35 +36.549s 1:08.642
Ret 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 30 Retired 1:08.824
Ret 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne FanBoost Flag of Germany Mercedes 17 Puncture 1:09.690
Ret 51 Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 13 Damage 1:09.680
Ret 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 10 Collision 1:09.859
Ret 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 10 Collision 1:09.988
Source:[9]
  • FanBoost Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.
  • G Indicates a driver was awarded a bonus point for recording the fastest time in the group stage of qualifying.
  • * de Vries was handed a ten second time penalty for causing a collision with Rast.[11]
  • Sette Câmara handed a three place grid penalty for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV for causing a collision with Calado.[12]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

António Félix da Costa had inched closer to his maiden Formula E crown as the finale reached its halfway point, with his lead standing at a healthy 68 points. That meant that he would seal the title with pole and victory in the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV, or with victory and nearest rival Maximilian Günther finishing third or lower. Indeed, Günther and co. would likely have to see da Costa retire from two of the final three races in order to have a hope of challenging, and would need to win two of the E-Prix to boot.

In the Teams' Championship DS Techeetah had continued their late march to the title, with a strong third-fourth finish in the Berlin E-Prix III leaving them on 188 points for the season. That translated into a 70 point margin over BMW-Andretti in second, while Nissan e.Dams were 92 points away in third, having yet to break past the 100 point mark. Envision Virgin were next up in fourth ahead of Mercedes, while NIO were still the only pointless team with three races to go.

2019/20 Drivers Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 137 ◄0
2nd Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther 69 ▲7
3rd Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 61 ▼1
4th Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 59 ◄0
5th Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 57 ▼2
6th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 55 ▲2
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 52 ▼2
8th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 52 ▼2
9th Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 51 ▲3
10th Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims 49 ▼3
11th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 44 ▼1
12th Dutch Flag Robin Frijns 40 ▲2
13th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 36 ▼2
14th Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries 30 ▼1
15th Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 19 ▲1
16th Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein 14 ▼1
17th Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado 10 ◄0
18th Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 8 ◄0
19th Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa 2 ◄0
20th Flag of New Zealand Brendon Hartley 2 ◄0
21st Flag of Germany René Rast 1 ◄0
2019/20 Teams Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of China DS Techeetah 188 ◄0
2nd Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 118 ◄0
3rd Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 96 ◄0
4th Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 92 ▲1
5th Flag of Germany Mercedes 87 ▼1
6th Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 70 ▲1
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 69 ▼1
8th Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 55 ◄0
9th Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 38 ◄0
10th Flag of India Mahindra Racing 33 ◄0
11th Flag of the United States GEOX Dragon 2 ◄0
12th Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 0 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References[]

Videos and Images:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 '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. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 'Vergne vaults to commanding pole whilst standings leader da Costa lines up ninth', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-8-qualifying, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  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 'BMW’s Guenther pips Frijns to win on home soil in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-8-race, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 '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)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sam Smith, 'FORMULA E TEAMS GET LATE TYRE PRESSURE CURVEBALL FROM MICHELIN', the-race.com, (The Race, 08/08/2020), https://the-race.com/formula-e/formula-e-teams-get-late-tyre-pressure-curveball-from-michelin/, (Accessed 20/08/2020)
  6. '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)
  7. 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 'Doc. 15: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Qualifying Groups - RACE 1', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.26 8.27 8.28 8.29 8.30 8.31 ABB Formula E, 'Qualifying LIVE | Round 8 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WNDSGGTeQg, (Accessed 19/08/2020)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 'Round 8 - Berlin II ePrix: ABB FIA Formula E Championship: Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/08_R08%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/Booklet/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship_Round08_BOOKLET.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 20/08/2020)
  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 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 ABB Formula E, 'FULL RACE! Round 8 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix | ABB FIA Formula E Championship', youtube.com, (YouTube: 08/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAq-Yv3vX4I, (Accessed 20/08/2020)
  11. 'Doc. 32: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 5', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  12. 'Doc. 36: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 7', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Entrants
Audi Sport ABT SchaefflerBMW i Andretti MotorsportDS TecheetahEnvision Virgin RacingGEOX DRAGONMahindra RacingMercedes-Benz EQ Formula E TeamNIO 333 FE TeamNissan e.DamsPanasonic Jaguar RacingROKiT Venturi RacingTAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
Manufacturers
AudiBMWDSJaguarMahindra & MahindraMercedes-BenzNIONissanPenskePorsche
Cars
Spark SRT05e
Audi e-tron FE06BMW iFE.20DS E-Tense FE20Jaguar I-Type IVMahindra M6ElectroMercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01NIO FE-005Nissan IM02Penske EV-4Porsche 99X Electric
Drivers
2 Sam Bird3 Oliver Turvey4 Robin Frijns5 Stoffel Vandoorne6 Brendon Hartley/Sérgio Sette Câmara7 Nico Müller11 Lucas di Grassi13 António Félix da Costa17 Nyck de Vries18 Neel Jani19 Felipe Massa20 Mitch Evans22 Oliver Rowland23 Sébastien Buemi25 Jean-Éric Vergne27 Alexander Sims28 Maximilian Günther33 Ma Qing Hua/Daniel Abt36 André Lotterer48 Edoardo Mortara51 James Calado64 Jérôme d'Ambrosio66 Daniel Abt/René Rast94 Pascal Wehrlein/Alex Lynn
E-Prix
Diriyah IDiriyah IISantiagoMexico CityMarrakechBerlin IBerlin IIBerlin IIIBerlin IVBerlin VBerlin VI
Cancelled E-Prix
Sanya E-PrixRome E-PrixParis E-PrixSeoul E-PrixJakarta E-PrixNew York City E-PrixLondon E-Prix
Tests
ValenciaRookie Test
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