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Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV
Tempelhofring 2019
The Tempelhofring was restored to its original format for the Berlin E-Prix IV.
Race Information
Date 9 August 2020
E-Prix No. 67
Official Name 2020 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II Race 2
Location Flag of Berlin Tempelhofring
Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany
Format 45 min + 1 Lap
Lap length 2.355 km (1.476 mi)
Distance 37 laps / 87.135 km (54.143 mi)
Support Race Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin eTrophy Race 4
Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin eTrophy Race 5
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne
Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Time 1:06.107
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa
Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Fastest Lap 1:08.577 on lap 25
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi
Winner Team Flag of China DS Techeetah
Time 46:24.803
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix III Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix V
Post-Race Test

The 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV, formally known as the 2020 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II Race 2, was the ninth race of the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at the Tempelhofring in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany on 9 August 2020.[1] The race presented the first opportunity for António Félix da Costa to secure the 2019/20 Championship title, after establishing a huge 68 point lead.[2]

Qualifying had seen the two DS Techeetahs dominate, with Jean-Éric Vergne edging out da Costa by 0.140s in Super Pole.[3] Their closest challengers, some four tenths behind, would be the two Nissan e.Dams of Oliver Rowland and Sébastien Buemi, while Nyck de Vries and Felipe Massa also made it into Super Pole.[3]

The start of the race saw Vergne make a clean getaway to claim the lead, while Rowland almost managed to squeeze down the inside of da Costa through turn one.[2] The Brit would, however, back down and slot back into third, as behind Massa tried to get ahead of de Vries but instead slipped behind Alex Lynn.[2]

However, after three races with clean opening laps, the fourth Berlin E-Prix would see some opening lap carnage, as Maximilian Günther destroyed the front of his car and triggered a Safety Car.[2] Indeed, the German youth would get caught out by cars braking early into turn four at the back of the field, and subsequently slammed into the back of Oliver Turvey.[2]

The SC ended after a ten minute intervention, with Vergne, da Costa and Rowland braking away at the head of the field, while Buemi fended off de Vries.[2] Yet, the entire top five would quickly escape from Lynn, who would become a rolling road block throughout the early stages.[2]

The order at the head of the field would remain stable throughout most of the afternoon, with the only change coming when Rowland jumped da Costa when the Portuguese racer armed Attack Mode.[2] da Costa would, however, manage to dive back past the Brit to reclaim second, before being waved past by Vergne for tactical (energy conserving) reasons to lead the race.[2]

Indeed, the majority of the action would be in the midfield, with intense scraps throughout as Attack Mode jumbled the order.[2] The stars of that fight would be Lucas di Grassi and Mitch Evans as they fought their way up the field, while René Rast and Lynn fell back.[2]

Into the closing stages and da Costa would wave Vergne back past to give the Frenchman the lead, while the two Nissans rather clumsily swapped behind.[2] That negated their slim energy advantage over the Techeetahs in their closing stages, although Buemi still clawed his way onto da Costa's tail.[2]

Starting the final lap Buemi would be within striking distance of da Costa, although he would not manage to force a move on the Portuguese racer.[2] Behind, however, de Vries would make a move, sending a spectacular late lunge down the inside of Rowland at turn six to secure fourth.[2]

Out front, meanwhile, Vergne would calmly cross the line to claim victory, while da Costa escaped from Buemi in the final sector to claim the Championship with two races to spare.[2] That one-two, combined with pole for Vergne, ensured that DS Techeetah claimed the Teams' Championship, while Vergne moved up to second in the Drivers' Championship.[2]

Behind, Buemi ended up in a lonely third ahead of de Vries and Rowland, while di Grassi and Evans finished in sixth and seventh.[2] André Lotterer and Lynn were next up ahead of Massa, who would just hold onto the final point after coming under attack from Sam Bird on the final tour, with Stoffel Vandoorne, Alexander Sims, Edoardo Mortara, Jérôme d'Ambrosio and Rast finishing nose-to-tail in their wake.[2]

Background[]

The standard anti-clockwise Tempelhofring was unchanged for the fourth Berlin E-Prix of the 2019/20 Championship, with the circuit only getting quicker as more rubber was laid down across the race week.[1] Likewise, there were no changes to the field, although Sérgio Sette Câmara would serve a three place grid penalty for colliding with James Calado in the 2020 Berlin E-Prix III.[4] Furthermore, Sette Câmara's pit crew would be investigated for working on their car beyond the overnight curfew, and were subsequently cleared after working on damage sustained when the car was dropped from a crane, while Neel Jani was forced to take a new monocoque after hitting Sette Câmara in the same accident.[5][6]

Berlin IV: A New Hope?[]

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 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.

Entry List[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix IV 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:[7]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV would be conducted in FE's standard format, with the field split into four groups of six cars, based on Championship position.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]

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.[3]

Group 1[]

The opening sextet would feature the top six in the Championship, headlined by Champion-elect António Félix da Costa, who could all but seal the crown with a strong qualifying performance.[8] He would be joined on track by closest challenger Maximilian Günther of BMW-Andretti, Lucas di Grassi in the #11 Audi and Mitch Evans in the first of the Jaguars.[8] They would be joined by the #5 Mercedes of Stoffel Vandoorne and the #36 Porsche of André Lotterer, with the latter duo fighting to be best of the new manufacturers in the final three rounds.[8]

Günther was the first driver to leave the pitlane with 1:30 left on the clock, followed by Vandoorne, Evans and di Grassi in short order, while da Costa and Lotterer waited a few more seconds before joining the fray.[9] Günther hence became the first driver to open his flying lap, although some minor mistakes in the first sector undermined strong times in sectors two and three, and hence ensured that he could only claim a 1:07.103.[9] As a result his effort was instantly beaten by Vandoorne, before the Belgian's time was similarly beaten by Evans in the #20 Jaguar, with di Grassi slotting in between Evans and Vandoorne.[9]

Next across the line was da Costa, who rebounded from some rear-locking into turn one to set the fastest second sector, and duly go on to claim the fastest time overall with a 1:16.708.[9] Lotterer then completed the group, although the #36 Porsche was not on the outright pace and hence had to settle into fourth ahead of Vandoorne.[9]

Group 2[]

Group two would see those positioned seventh through twelfth in the Championship venture onto the circuit, all of whom were now seemingly in a fight for second after da Costa's late dominance.[8] Bookending the group would be the two Envision Virgin run Audis of Sam Bird and Robin Frijns, with the two Nissan e.Dams of Sébastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland also on track.[8] Jean-Éric Vergne would also be on track to try and help teammate da Costa to the title, with Alexander Sims rounding out the group in the second BMW-Andretti.[8]

Sims followed his teammate's example from group one by venturing onto the circuit first from the second sextet, with Vergne following him onto the circuit a few moments later.[9] Buemi, Bird, Frijns and Rowland all ventured out together after Vergne, and would spend the outlap swapping places in the wake of the #25 DS Techeetah.[9] Rowland ultimately emerged at the head of the quartet ahead of Bird, while Frijns passed Buemi at turn nine as they opened their flying laps.[9]

Regardless, it was Sims who would be the first to set a time, although a slide into turn one undermined his effort and left him in fourth at the end of his run.[9] Vergne was next across the line having set a new benchmark in the first sector, and duly went fastest overall with a 1:06.484 after strong times in sectors two and three.[9] Rowland followed the DS Techeetah across the line and matched the Frenchman's effort to the nearest thousandth, slotting into second, while Bird flashed across the line in seventh after minor mistakes in the second sector.[9] Frijns was next up and slotted into fourth, while Buemi completed the sextet by claiming third.[9]

Group 3[]

Group three would see the drivers positioned thirteenth through eighteenth venture onto the circuit, with most attempting to complete the season in the top ten with three races to go.[8] The group would feature three Mercedes cars, one in the hands of factory driver Nyck de Vries, as well as both of the customer Venturi cars of Edoardo Mortara and Felipe Massa.[8] Also in action would be Jérôme d'Ambrosio in the #64 Mahindra Racing, James Calado's #51 Jaguar, as well as Daniel Abt in the #33 NIO.[8]

de Vries was the first to head onto the circuit in the opening moments of the group, joined by his fellow Mercedes powered combatants Mortara and Massa who would all go straight onto their full power runs.[9] The Dutchman went on to record the first flying lap of the session, with de Vries going on to claim third overall having nearly matched Vergne in the second sector.[9] Mortara followed but dropped to ninth after a poor third sector undermined strong first and second sector times, while Massa slotted into fourth after strong times in all three sectors.[9]

As they made their way back to the pits the rest of the group would open their laps, with Calado the first to record a time, although the Brit's miserable form saw him slot into eleventh come the end of his run.[9] Abt was next across the line but recorded the slowest time overall in the noncompetitive NIO, with d'Ambrosio the last man to go having waited until the final two minutes to join the circuit.[9] Unfortunately for the Belgian racer the ploy would not work too well, with a mistake in the second sector undermining his strong opening and final sectors, leaving him in seventh at the end of his run.[9]

Group 4[]

The fourth and final sextet would see those in the bottom six in the Championship enter the fray, with track evolution potentially allowing them to challenge for Super Pole.[8] René Rast and Neel Jani arguably had the best chance given their respective Audi and Porsche teammate's pace, both of whom were in group one, while Alex Lynn was another strong contender after getting into Super Pole in Berlin III.[8] They would be joined by the two GEOX DRAGONs of Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nico Müller as well as Oliver Turvey in the #3 NIO.[8]

Jani copied the Mercedes from group three by going out right at the start of the fourth group, although a mistake ridden, opened by a slide through turn one, leaving him down in seventeenth.[9] Sette Câmara was the next man to open a lap, although after catching Lynn through turn two/three and Rast at turn nine, the Brazilian racer would set the slowest time of the session, knowing he was also to serve a three place grid penalty.[9] In contrast, teammate Müller would have a relatively strong lap, claiming thirteenth with a notably strong second sector.[9]

Turvey followed them past the chequered flag to claim seventeenth, with a poor third sector the main issue on his lap barring the noncompetitive state of the NIO in general.[9] Rast followed and would almost get into Super Pole, with a very strong third sector carrying him to seventh overall at the end of his lap.[9] Lynn then completed the sextet, narrowly beating Rast in every sector to claim seventh for himself to complete both the group and the session.[9]

Super Pole[]

Champion-elect da Costa would be the first drive to go out in the shootout, with the Portuguese racer completing a very slow out-lap to keep control over his rear tyre temperatures.[9] da Costa duly aced the run through the first few corners, using the rear to help turn the nose into the corner, and hence would go on to set a new benchmark in the first and second sectors en-route to a 1:06.247.[9] Indeed, such was the Portuguese pace that Buemi's perfectly clean lap a few moments later was made to look slow, with the Swiss racer ending his run with a 1:06.564.[9]

Massa went next and would do his best to gather speed at the start of the lap, taking a wide line through turn ten in order to get a better exit onto the start/finish straight.[9] Unfortunately the Brazilian racer would undermine a strong first sector with minor mistakes at turns six and nine, leaving him in third at the end of his run.[9] de Vries went next and put together a very aggressive lap, almost matching da Costa in the first sector, only to lock up in turn six on the bumps and lost time, dropping to third.[9]

The fifth man out on track in the shootout would be Rowland, who would maintain some rear sliding through turn one to beat teammate Buemi over the rest of the lap, slotting into second with a slide out of the final corner.[9] Vergne then ventured out onto the circuit to try and beat teammate da Costa, and duly opened his lap with an ultra tight line through turn one, leaving him a hundredth down on da Costa.[9] An even more precise run through the second sector, including a perfect apex through turn six, left him 0.03s up on the Portuguese racer, before an outright fastest third sector carried him to pole position with a 1:06.107.[9]

Post Qualifying[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix IV Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.107 1 G2
2nd 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.247 +0.140s 2 G1
3rd 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:06.552 +0.445s 3 G2
4th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:06.564 +0.457s 4 G2
5th 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:06.597 +0.490s 5 G3
6th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:06.777 +0.670s 6 G3
Super Pole
1st 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.484 SP G2
2nd 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:06.484 +0.000s SP G2
3rd 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:06.575 +0.091s SP G3
4th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:06.674 +0.190s SP G3
5th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:06.700 +0.216s SP G2
6th 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of China DS Techeetah 1:06.708 +0.224s SP G1
7th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:06.741 +0.257s 7 G4
8th 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:06.754 +0.270s 8 G4
9th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:06.778 +0.294s 9 G3
10th 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:06.818 +0.334s 10 G2
11th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:06.859 +0.375s 11 G1
12th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:06.866 +0.382s 12 G1
13th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:06.870 +0.386s 13 G3
14th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:06.904 +0.420s 14 G3
15th 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:06.940 +0.456s 15 G4
16th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:06.951 +0.467s 16 G2
17th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:06.953 +0.469s 17 G2
18th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:07.036 +0.552s 18 G1
19th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:07.038 +0.554s 19 G4
20th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:07.064 +0.580s 20 G1
21st 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:07.103 +0.619s 21 G1
22nd 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:07.119 +0.635s 22 G4
23rd 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:07.351 +0.867s 23 G3
24th* 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:07.492 +1.008s 24 G4
110% Time: 1:13.132[10]
Source:[10]

Race[]

It was a warm and humid afternoon in Berlin for the fourth Berlin E-Prix of the 2019/20 finale, with the air temperature hovering at 30°C, while the track temp sat at 35°C.[12] More significantly, however, there was rain in the area across from the circuit, with dark clouds hovering around Tempelhof Airport as the field assembled onto the grid.[12] There was also a late change to the order, with Robin Frijns unable to start the race after a battery failure when trying to join the field for the start.[12]

Report[]

The start of the race saw Oliver Rowland make the best start from the second row, although he was to be met by a solid wall of DS Techeetah on the run to turn one, and hence had to settle for third.[12] Indeed, an OK start for Jean-Éric Vergne had allowed the Frenchman to claim the inside line into the sweeping left ahead of teammate António Félix da Costa, with the Portuguese racer more concerned with keeping Rowland at bay.[12] Further back it was a reasonably tame start, with Alex Lynn the only man to seriously gamble into the first corners, lunging around the outside of Felipe Massa through turn three after the Brazilian racer had tried and failed to get inside Nyck de Vries into turn two.[12]

It was not to last, however, for Maximilian Günther would make a mess of his braking point into turn four and slam into the back of Oliver Turvey, destroying the front of the #28 BMW-Andretti.[12] In a bid to get challenge Sérgio Sette Câmara and Turvey into the left hand hairpin, Günther had thrown his car to the inside of the Penske powered duo, only to be caught out by the concertina effect of those ahead braking earlier as the entire field tried to muscle through turn four.[12] Günther duly pulled off at the exit of turn four with heavy front end damage, while Turvey limped around for a new left-rear tyre.[12]

The stranded BMW triggered an immediate Safety Car, preventing Vergne and da Costa from escaping during the opening tour, and hence keeping Rowland and Sébastien Buemi on their tail.[12] Günther was taken away to the medical centre, and was later whisked away to a hospital for a full examination after reporting a painful wrist, with the German racer later revealed to have sprained his wrist in the collision.[12] On track, meanwhile, it would prove to be a relatively quick clear up, with the #28 BMW dragged clear and the circuit cleared of debris within five minutes, resulting in a 5 kWh energy reduction.[12]

Vergne controlled the restart well enough at the start of lap four to retain the lead, although both da Costa and Rowland would pace the #25 Techeetah to create a three car break at the head of the field.[12] As this was going on, multiple drivers reported rain drops on the start/finish straight, although it was only light, and was instantly evaporating on the hot concrete track surface.[12] Furthermore, the start of lap four signalled that Attack Mode would come online, with drivers having to take the 35 kW power boost twice for four minutes at a time.[12]

The first move post safety car came on lap five, with Stoffel Vandoorne diving down the inside of Neel Jani into the first corner as he inched his way towards the top ten.[12] Mitch Evans was also on the warpath with a lunge at René Rast into turn six, although the German rookie opted to squeeze the New Zealander to the inside wall, resulting in Evans backing off and Rast holding eighth.[12] Rast went on to arm Attack Mode on the following tour to surrender eighth to Evans, although the German racer still managed to clip the back of the #20 Jaguar when he rejoined.[12]

That tap allowed Rast to setup a lunge on Evans into turn nine, with the #66 Audi duly scrambling down the inside of Evans on the brakes for the right hand hairpin, with rain now visibly falling in the final sector.[12] Rast went on to pass Felipe Massa on the following tour as the Brazilian took Attack Mode, while behind Massa's teammate Edoardo Mortara squabbled with Alexander Sims over thirteenth.[12] Other fights saw Sam Bird elbow his way past Vandoorne down the inside of turn one on lap eight, while Alex Lynn used Attack Mode of undercut Nyck de Vries when the Dutchman armed Attack Mode on the same lap as Bird's move.[12]

With the rain intensifying there would be more action, with Rowland and Buemi both falling to Lynn, while Rast elbowed his way past Massa into turn one to claim eighth.[12] A lap later and Vergne and da Costa took Attack Mode, although they would significantly remain ahead of Lynn, who was instead under attack from Rowland, who fired the #22 Nissan e.Dams down the inside of the #94 Mahindra into turn six.[12] Yet, so strong was Rowland's exit that he would also catch and pass da Costa on the short sprint to turn seven, while behind de Vries and Buemi squabbled over fifth.[12]

Buemi eventually won that fight and moved clear of the #17 Mercedes, before catching and passing Lynn with a simple dive to the inside of turn six on lap eleven to reclaim fourth.[12] da Costa, meanwhile, would have to wait until Rowland's AM boost ended to get his revenge, slithering down the inside of the #22 Nissan on the brakes for turn one to claim second, before sprinting off after teammate Vergne.[12] Indeed, having seen the Champion-elect slip into the grips of the Nissans, Techeetah decided to try and give da Costa some clear air, with Vergne waving the Portuguese ace through into turn six after they broke clear of Rowland.[12]

As half distance approached the race order at the head of the field began to settle, with da Costa leading Vergne, while Rowland, Buemi and an optimistic de Vries stalked them in a quintet at the head of the hunt.[12] Elsewhere, Rast made an aggressive lunge on teammate Lucas di Grassi into turn one that ruffled the Brazilian's feathers, while Sims and Bird touched at the sweeping left-hander as the #27 BMW tried to muscle down the inside of the #2 Envision Virgin.[12] Elsewhere, James Calado was making a steady fall down the field having start the race on the verge of the top ten, while Nico Müller surprisingly managed to overtake Vandoorne, who was still mired outside of the points.[12]

Rast once again became the centre of attention after di Grassi moved back through, with the German racer making some questionable defensive moves to keep Jérôme d'Ambrosio at bay, marginally weaving down the start/finish straight.[12] d'Ambrosio remained calm in the fight for tenth and duly made his bid for the position into turn six, with Rast subsequently making a late lunge to the inside of the hairpin on the brakes to keep the Belgian at bay.[12] d'Ambrosio tried once again down the inside of turn nine, and duly managed to muscle his way inside Rast and elbow the #66 Audi wide, prompting Rast to complain over the radio that d'Ambrosio had been "running him into the wall."[12]

Out front, meanwhile, there would be some more fun and games with Attack Mode, with de Vries the first of the lead quintet to take his second 35 kW boost on lap 20.[12] That prompted Rowland and Buemi to take it on the following tour, with de Vries again managing to undercut Buemi and claim fourth, although Rowland just managed to keep ahead.[12] As a result da Costa and Vergne would take AM in reaction to the two Nissan's trying the undercut, with Rowland just falling shy of taking Vergne as the #25 Techeetah rejoined on the exit of turn six.[12]

Buemi would be the man to watch as the leaders' AM boosts came to an end, with the Swiss racer first dancing his way past de Vries, who made some questionable late defensive moves into turns one and six in an unsuccessful bid to deny the #23 Nissan.[12] The Swiss racer then went on to challenge Rowland, with the Brit unable to keep up with the two Techeetahs who still had a minute of AM left as the Nissans' boost ended.[12] Those two duly broke clear at the head of the field, while Buemi's first attempt to pass the sister Nissan was thwarted by a smart defence from Rowland into turn one.[12]

Elsewhere, Evans had moved into the point scoring positions and had caught the back of Lynn, although an AM enhanced Massa would attempt to reclaim eighth from the New Zealander with a lunge down the inside of the #20 Jaguar into turn six on lap 28.[12] Evans did, however, manage to hold on, with Massa instead having to try another attack to the outside of turn nine, only for Evans to try a lunge on Lynn with the Brit defending the inside line into the hairpin.[12] Lynn duly held on through the exit, with Evans having to complete an over-under on Massa to retain eighth, before the three again went three abreast into the final corner, with Lynn down the inside.[12] Evans duly emerged from the hairpin left with seventh, only for Massa to pass Lynn on the exit, before darting around the outside of Evans down the start/finish straight to claim seventh into turn one.[12]

Lynn's woes would continue onto the following lap, with a loss of dashboard compounded by a move from André Lotterer on the #94 Mahindra that relegated the Brit to ninth.[12] Lotterer would go on to challenge and claim eighth from Massa, who had been forced to surrender seventh to Evans into turn six after their earlier fight, before both he and Massa would pass the #20 Jaguar when Evans went for Attack Mode a few moments later.[12] Out front, meanwhile, da Costa would successfully let Vergne back through with five minutes to go without slipping behind Rowland, prompting Buemi to ask the Nissan team to let him past his teammate and into third.[12]

The request was granted, although it was clumsily completed on the brakes for turn six, with Buemi running wide of the apex and compromising Rowland's exit, and hence allow de Vries to move right onto the Brit's tail.[12] That quickly turn into Rowland having to actively defend from the young Dutchman into turn nine, while what energy advantage Buemi had over the two Techeetahs (~1% battery), would have to be spent catching back up with the two black-gold cars.[12] Indeed, at the start of the field lap Buemi had caught up to da Costa, although the Swiss racer now less energy available that the two Techeetahs.[12]

Indeed, Buemi would hit 1% battery midway through the final tour, forcing him to conserve and let the two Techeetahs escape to claim a title deciding one-two, with da Costa's second place granting him the Championship, while Vergne's victory ensured Techeetah secured the Teams' title.[12] Behind, Buemi held on to claim third, while de Vries made a late lunge down the inside of Rowland into turn six to secure fourth, despite running wide at the apex and almost allowing Rowland to challenge through turn seven.[12] di Grassi was next up ahead of Evans and Lotterer, while Lynn managed to get back ahead of Massa when the Brazilian racer hit energy struggles on the final tour.[12]

Result[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix IV 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 37 46:24.803 1:08.621 29G
2nd 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa FanBoost Flag of China DS Techeetah 37 +0.497s 1:08.577 19
3rd 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 37 +1.392s 1:08.799 15
4th 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 37 +3.791s 1:08.895 12
5th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 37 +5.018s 1:08.895 10
6th 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi FanBoost Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 37 +9.805s 1:09.020 8
7th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 37 +14.814s 1:09.081 6
8th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 37 +15.755s 1:09.033 4
9th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 37 +21.001s 1:08.947 2
10th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 37 +22.809s 1:09.206 1
11th* 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 37 +22.911s 1:08.556
12th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne FanBoost Flag of Germany Mercedes 37 +23.388s 1:08.828
13th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 37 +23.575s 1:09.207
14th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 37 +23.889s 1:08.880
15th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 37 +23.914s 1:08.778
16th 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 37 +24.381s 1:09.080
17th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 37 +26.600s 1:09.152
18th 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 37 +29.121s 1:09.207
19th 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 37 +29.527s 1:09.383
20th 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 37 +34.431s 1:09.291
21st 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 37 +36.315s 1:08.755
22nd 33 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 37 +1:01.473 1:09.916
Ret 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther FanBoost Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 0 Collision
DNS 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing
Source:[10]
  • FanBoost Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.
  • G Indicates a driver was awarded a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the group stage of qualifying.
  • * Bird recorded the fastest lap of the race, but was ineligible to score the bonus point as he finished outside of the top ten.[10]
  • Günther was awarded a three place grid penalty for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix V for causing a collision with Turvey.[13]
  • Frijns was unable to start the race due to a battery failure before the start.[10]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

António Félix da Costa was duly declared as the 2019/20 Drivers' Champion with two races to spare in the fourth Berlin race, having claimed his 156th point of the campaign. That translated into an unassailable lead of 76 points over teammate Jean-Éric Vergne in second, and meant the Portuguese racer set a new record for the earliest Championship victory. Vergne would, therefore lead the fight for runner-up into the final two races of the season, with less than 30 points covering the rest of the top ten, including the Frenchman.

Like their driver, DS Techeetah had secured the Teams' Championship in record time after their fourth win of the season, having moved onto an unreachable tally of 236 points. Behind, Nissan e.Dams led the hunt to be runners up, having moved three ahead of BMW i Andretti Motorsport after the latter's non-score. Mercedes were next up in fourth ahead of Envision Virgin Racing, with the British squad outscoring their suppliers Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler by fourteen points.

2019/20 Drivers Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 156 ◄0
2nd Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 80 ▲7
3rd Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther 69 ▼1
4th Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 69 ▼1
5th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 67 ▲3
6th Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 65 ▼1
7th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 59 ▼1
8th Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 57 ▼3
9th Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 54 ▲2
10th Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 52 ▼3
11th Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims 49 ▼1
12th Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries 42 ▲2
13th Dutch Flag Robin Frijns 40 ▼1
14th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 36 ▼1
15th Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 19 ◄0
16th Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein 14 ◄0
17th Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado 10 ◄0
18th Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 8 ◄0
19th Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa 3 ◄0
20th Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn 2 ▲2
21st Flag of New Zealand Brendon Hartley 2 ▼1
22nd Flag of Germany René Rast 1 ▼1
2019/20 Teams Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of China DS Techeetah 236 ◄0
2nd Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 121 ▲1
3rd Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 118 ▼1
4th Flag of Germany Mercedes 99 ▲1
5th Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 92 ▼1
6th Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 78 ◄0
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 75 ◄0
8th Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 59 ◄0
9th Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 39 ◄0
10th Flag of India Mahindra Racing 35 ◄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 '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. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 'Da Costa crowned ABB FIA Formula E Champion and DS Techeetah seals Teams’ title as Vergne wins Round 9', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-9-race, (Accessed 09/08/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 'Fifth pole in a row for DS Techeetah as Vergne denies da Costa', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-9-qualifying, (Accessed 09/08/2020)
  4. '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)
  5. 'Doc. 44: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 9', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  6. 'Doc. 43: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 8', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 08/08/2020)
  7. '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)
  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 'Doc No. 41: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Qualifying Groups - RACE 2', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 21/08/2020)
  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 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 9.22 9.23 9.24 9.25 9.26 9.27 9.28 9.29 9.30 9.31 9.32 ABB Formula E, 'Qualifying LIVE | Round 9 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQZ0A3IPayQ, (Accessed 21/08/2020)
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 'Round 9 - Berlin II ePrix: ABB FIA Formula E Championship: Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/09_R09%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/Booklet/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship_Round09_BOOKLET.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 21/08/2020)
  11. '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)
  12. 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 12.20 12.21 12.22 12.23 12.24 12.25 12.26 12.27 12.28 12.29 12.30 12.31 12.32 12.33 12.34 12.35 12.36 12.37 12.38 12.39 12.40 12.41 12.42 12.43 12.44 12.45 12.46 12.47 12.48 12.49 12.50 12.51 ABB Formula E, 'FULL RACE! Round 9 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix | ABB FIA Formula E Championship', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 20/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dhw19M6LvQ, (Accessed 21/08/2020)
  13. 'Doc. 54: ROUND 8 & 9 - BERLIN E-PRIX 8 - 9 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 11', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), 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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