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Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix V
Tempelhofer Park 2020
The Tempelhofring was modified for the final two races of 2019/20.
Race Information
Date 12 August 2020
E-Prix No. 68
Official Name 2020 Heineken Berlin E-Prix III Race 1
Location Flag of Berlin Tempelhofer Park
Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany
Format 45 min + 1 Lap
Lap length 2.505 km (1.557 mi)
Distance 36 laps / 90.180 km (56.035 mi)
Support Race Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin eTrophy Race 6
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland
Team Flag of France Nissan e.Dams
Time 1:15.993
Fastest Lap
Driver Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland
Team Flag of France Nissan e.Dams
Fastest Lap 1:17.886 on lap 10
ePrix Result
First Second Third
Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of Germany René Rast
Winner Team Flag of France Nissan e.Dams
Time 47:28.880
ePrix Guide
Previous Next
Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV Flag of Germany 2020 Berlin E-Prix VI
Post-Race Test

The 2020 Berlin E-Prix V, formally known as the 2020 Heineken Berlin E-Prix III Race 1, was the tenth and penultimate round of the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, staged at a modified version of the Tempelhofring in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany, on 12 August 2020.[1] The race was the first of two to be held on the modified version of the Tempelhofring, although it would have no impact on the Championship as António Félix da Costa had already claimed the crown.[1]

Qualifying would see a comedy of errors for the four FE Champions in the field, with da Costa, Jean-Éric Vergne, Sébastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi all failing to set a time at all after fighting out of the pitlane.[2] They would hence start from the back of the grid, as Oliver Rowland aced Super Pole to claim pole position by 0.049s from Robin Frijns.[2]

The initial start of the race was less dramatic that the build up suggested given the number of drivers out of position, with Rowland easing off the grid from pole to claim the lead.[3] Frijns went with him but was unable to force a move, while René Rast attempted to take the outside line through the first corner to take third from Neel Jani, but instead slipped behind both Alex Lynn and André Lotterer.[3]

There was drama at the back of the field further around the opening tour, however, as Sam Bird was tipped into a half-spin after contact with Oliver Turvey and Nyck de Vries.[3] Fortunately all three would keep going, while further around the opening tour di Grassi punted the back of Maximilian Günther, damaging the right-rear of the #28 BMW-Andretti.[3]

After that, however the race would begin to settle down, with Rowland, Frijns and Jani breaking clear, while Lynn held up Lotterer and Rast.[3] Lotterer would, however, manage to elbow his way past to claim fourth, before dragging the latter duo onto the back of the lead trio as Attack Mode came into play.[3]

Elsewhere, da Costa and di Grassi would come to blows over fifteenth, with di Grassi pulling an overly aggressive move on the Portuguese ace into turn one, earning himself a penalty.[3] They were stalking Stoffel Vandoorne up the field as they inched closer to the top ten, although the attention was focused on a well mannered fight out front.[3]

Indeed, the order of the top six would constantly shuffle as drivers took Attack Mode, although Rowland would never surrender the lead to Frijns, while Frijns himself held second.[3] Instead, Lotterer would time his two AM uses well to climb to shuffle up to third, while Rast had to fight his way past both Lynn and Jani to move into fourth, before using AM to close right onto Lotterer's tail.[3]

Onto the final lap and Rowland was cruising to victory ahead of Frijns, while behind Lotterer was having to defend and conserve energy at an alarming rate.[3] Enter Rast, who threw a surprise lunge at the #36 Porsche down the inside of twelve, catching Lotterer off guard.[3] Lotterer did everything he could, including twice weaving into the side of the #66 Audi, before Rast finally secured the position by elbowing Lotterer wide through the penultimate corner.[3]

With that the race was run, with Rowland claiming an impressive victory to move into second in the Championship ahead of the finale, with Frijns a couple of seconds back in second.[3] Rast was next up to claim a maiden podium ahead of a frustrated Lotterer, while Lynn pounced on an energy deficient Jani to claim fifth ahead of the Swiss racer.[3] Mitch Evans was next up after fighting through the field ahead of Edoardo Mortara, with Vandoorne and Buemi completing the scorers in battle scarred cars.[3]

Background[]

There was a two day break between the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV and the penultimate race of the 2019/20 Formula E season, allowing the track workers to rearrange the Tempelhofring to a new layout.[1] The new layout would see the first and third sectors remain largely unchanged, with the second sector instead heavily revised with a series of sweeping chicane on the back straight, a chicane out of what was formally the turn six hairpin, and a complex left-right-right-left combination before the penultimate hairpin.[1] The new layout was expected to slightly jumble the field, after four races and the standard Tempelhofring, albeit with two staged on the reversed layout.[1]

WEC Wrangles[]

Ahead of the race it was revealed that James Calado had raced for the final time in 2019/20, if not Formula E, as he would miss the final two rounds due to his World Endurance Championship commitments with Ferrari in Spa-Francorchamps.[4] Indeed, while Sébastien Buemi, Alex Lynn and António Félix da Costa all faced the same clash, they would opt to sit out Thursday's running at Spa, after the WEC modified their schedule to avoid a major clash with FE.[4] Instead, Calado, who was leaving the Jaguar Racing squad at the end of the season regardless, decided to attend the practice session at Spa, meaning Jaguar reserve driver Tom Blomqvist would take over the #51 car.[4]

The race would mark the first time that Blomqvist had raced in FE since the 2018 Paris E-Prix, having previously raced for BMW-Andretti.[4]

da Costa's Domain[]

After two victories, a fourth and a second place in the first four Berlin E-Prix, da Costa had been declared as the 2019/20 Drivers' Champion with two races to spare, 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.

Like their driver, DS Techeetah had secured the Teams' Championship in record time after their fourth win of the season in the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV, 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.

Entry List[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix V 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 Tom Blomqvist 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:[5]

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying for the 2020 Berlin E-Prix V 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 sextet in qualifying for the penultimate round would feature those in the top six in the Championship, with five drivers having something to fight for over the rest of the campaign.[6] Indeed, only newly declared Champion António Félix da Costa would enter the session with nothing to lose, and would be joined on track by DS Techeetah teammate Jean-Éric Vergne, aiming to help the Frenchman to finish second overall.[6] They would be joined by Vergne's immediate rivals in the fight to finish runner-up, with Maximilian Günther, Lucas di Grassi, Sébastien Buemi and Mitch Evans also on track.[6]

It would be a tense wait for the drivers to emerge from group one, with none of the sextet wanting to be the first to venture out onto a track that was expected to get quicker as the session went on.[7] Rather predictibly they would all emerge as one with 1:40 left on the clock, although with a flying lap taking c. 1:16.000s, they would all be up against it to start their flying laps.[7] Evans would lead them onto the circuit with Günther on his tail, while behind da Costa, Vergne, di Grassi and Buemi left nose-to-tail.[7]

Throughout the out-lap the latter quartet would fight for position, with Buemi and di Grassi both being warned multiple times that they had to move forward or miss the chequered flag.[7] Indeed, an aggressive di Grassi would lunge past Vergne partway around the lap, before the Frenchman re-passed the #11 Audi, before throwing his car down the inside of teammate da Costa at the penultimate corner.[7] di Grassi would then slap da Costa into the outside wall as he tried to scramble through too, although it was all in vain as all four took the chequered flag before starting their flying laps.[7]

That left just Evans and Günther on track, although neither driver produced particularly impressive laps, exchanging session fastest sector times.[7] Evans' lap was clean as he crossed the line first with a 1:16.395, only for Günther to beat him by 0.001s to go fastest.[7]

Group 2[]

Group two featured those positioned seventh through twelfth in the Championship head onto the circuit, all of whom were also mathematically involved in the fight for second ahead of the finale.[6] Headlining the group would be race winners Sam Bird and Alexander Sims, driving for Envision Virgin and BMW-Andretti respectively, as well as quali-ace Oliver Rowland.[6] Also on track would be Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries in the two factory Mercedes, as well as the #36 Porsche for André Lotterer.[6]

After the chaos of the first group the drivers in the second sextet would allow for more time to set their times, with Sims heading out of the pitlane with 2:30 still left on the clock.[7] He was quickly joined by Bird and de Vries, with the latter passing the former on their outlaps at turn seven.[7] Lotterer would follow those two onto the circuit ahead of Vandoorne, while Rowland was the last to venture out with around ten seconds of margin to get to the line.[7]

Ultimately all six made it across the line in time, with Sims the first to set a time, although a slide exiting turn four, as well as turn sixteen, ruined his effort.[7] de Vries was next but lock-ups at turns one and sixteen put him at the back, while Bird brushed the wall at turn five en-route to fourth.[7] Lotterer was next and stealthily went fastest overall with the fastest second sector, Vandoorne claimed sixth after a poor effort, before Rowland swept across the line with an impressive final sector to go fastest.[7]

Group 3[]

Group three would see the first six drivers in the bottom half of the Championship take to the track, although with Pascal Wehrlein and James Calado absent two drivers would be bumped up from what would otherwise have been group four.[6] Those places were taken by Felipe Massa of ROKiT Venturi Racing and Alex Lynn of Mahindra Racing, who would join their respective teammates Edoardo Mortara and Jérôme d'Ambrosio in the group.[6] They would be joined by Robin Frijns in the #4 Virgin-Audi, as well as Daniel Abt in the ever struggling NIO.[6]

Once again the runners in group three would leave the pitlane with a safe margin to start their laps, with d'Ambrosio the first to venture out along with the two Venturis.[7] The Belgian racer hence became the first driver of the sextet to set a time, although his clean, mistake free, run ended with him in seventh.[7] Massa was next up and set a new marker in the second sector to go third overall, dropping a lot of time in sector three, with Mortara slotting into fourth with a similar fade across the lap.[7]

Next up was Abt in the #33 NIO, although the car's inherent lack of pace meant he would slot in behind the two Mercedes in twelfth.[7] Lynn, meanwhile, was on a strong lap, and having aced the exit out of the final corner would set a new benchmark in the final sector to go fastest overall.[7] Frijns was next across the line to go second overall, with both himself and Lynn having made minor mistakes in the second sector.[7]

Group 4[]

Group four saw the final six drivers in the Championship that were attending the Berlin E-Prix join the qualifying fray, with track evolution expected to dictate how far up the grid they could start.[6] Of the sextet, René Rast was thought to have the best chance of making it into Super Pole, while Neel Jani certainly had the equipment to challenge in the #18 Porsche.[6] They were joined by Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nico Müller in the two volatile GEOX DRAGONs, Oliver Turvey in the #3 NIO, and the returning Tom Blomqvist in the #51 Jaguar.[6]

Jani was the first driver to leave the pits in group four, with all six drivers surprisingly opting against completing a warm-up lap, the first time that this had happened in FE history.[7] Jani went on to deliver a deceptively quick lap to go fourth overall, sliding wide in turn one on the brakes and missing the apex.[7] Blomqvist was next across the line and set a new benchmark in the final sector to go fourth fastest himself, while Müller set a new fastest first sector, only to fade badly over the rest of the lap and drop to ninth.[7]

Following Müller across the line would be the ever wild Sette Câmara, who would have a similar to his teammate and fade to eighth after a quick first sector.[7] Turvey went next and was left ruing a lack of agility, with the Brit ending up in eleventh, just two tenths shy of Super Pole in the unfancied NIO.[7] However, everyone would be caught out by Rast, who stormed to the top of the standings with a very measured lap, earning his maiden Super Pole appearance with a 1:15.993

Super Pole[]

Having been shuffled to sixth it was Jani who would start the ball rolling in Super Pole, with the scrutineers just getting him turned around and out for his lap in time.[7] This time the Swiss racer would appear to have a better run through turn one, although a huge whack against a kerb through turn eight cost him time, leaving him on a 1:16.052.[7] Blomqvist went next although his effort was ruined before it began after a lock-up on the brakes for turn one, with the Brit ending up three tenths off.[7]

Next out into the shootout would be Rowland, who was arguably the favourite as he was the only driver among the sextet with a pole position in FE.[7] The Brit duly delivered, setting new benchmarks in the first and second sectors, despite running wide at turn seven, to go fastest with a 1:15.955.[7] Frijns went next and appeared to have a more nervous car under him, with slides at turns one and six costing him a half a tenth to Rowland over the lap.[7]

Lynn went next and delivered a clean effort that was on par with Rowland and Frijns, only for a lock-up into turn fifteen costing him two tenths and dumping him back behind Jani.[7] Rast then had his turn on track, and despite producing the neatest performance in the first sector, would lack the pace compared to Rowland.[7] Indeed, that lost tenth and a half in sector one would dictate Rast's lap, with the German racer ultimately ending up in fourth behind Jani to leave Rowland on pole position.[7]

Post Qualifying[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix V Qualifying Result
Pos. No. Name Team Time Gap Grid Group
1st 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:15.955 1 G2
2nd 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:16.004 +0.049s 2 G3
3rd 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:16.052 +0.097s 3 G4
4th 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:16.127 +0.172s 4 G4
5th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:16.192 +0.237s 5 G3
6th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:16.529 +0.574s 6 G4
Super Pole
1st 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 1:15.993 SP G4
2nd 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:16.158 +0.165s SP G3
3rd 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:16.187 +0.194s SP G3
4th 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 1:16.191 +0.198s SP G2
5th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:16.226 +0.233s SP G4
6th 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:16.234 +0.241s SP G4
7th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 1:16.241 +0.248s 7 G2
8th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:16.251 +0.258s 8 G3
9th 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:16.292 +0.299s 9 G4
10th 48 Flag of Italy Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 1:16.296 +0.303s 10 G3
11th 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 1:16.327 +0.334s 11 G4
12th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:16.328 +0.335s 12 G4
13th* 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:16.394 +0.401s 16 G1
14th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 1:16.395 +0.402s 13 G1
15th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1:16.449 +0.456s 14 G2
16th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 1:16.524 +0.531s 15 G2
17th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 1:16.539 +0.546s 17 G3
18th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:16.646 +0.653s 18 G2
19th 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 1:16.755 +0.762s 19 G2
20th 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 1:16.868 +0.875s 20 G3
110% Time: 1:13.592[8]
NC 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa Flag of China DS Techeetah 21 G1
NC 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 22 G1
NC 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 23 G1
NC 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 24 G1
Source:[8]
  • * Günther served a three place grid penalty for causing a collision with Turvey in the 2020 Berlin E-Prix IV.[9]
  • da Costa, Buemi, di Grassi and Vergne failed to set at time in qualifying, and were instead ordered on the grid by times set in FP1 and FP2.[8]

Race[]

It was yet another warm afternoon in Berlin for the fifth E-Prix of the nine day finale, with the air temperature sat at 30°C, while the track temp hovered at the 32°C mark.[10] Elsewhere, non-qualifiers António Félix da Costa, Sébastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and Jean-Éric Vergne were allowed to join the grid, with their order set by their fastest times in the two free practice sessions earlier in the day.[10] Otherwise, the only other revision to the grid would be a three place grid penalty for Maximilian Günther for causing a collision in the Berlin E-Prix IV, leaving Oliver Rowland on pole position as expected.[10]

Report[]

After a long hold on the starting lights the race got under way, with Rowland making a strong start to claim the lead, only for Robin Frijns to challenge around the outside of turn one.[10] Rowland would, however, manage to muscle the Dutchman wide to maintain the lead, as behind René Rast was elbowed back to fifth as Alex Lynn lunged down the inside of the #66 Audi through the sweeping left-hander.[10] At the back, meanwhile, Jean-Éric Vergne made a miserable start from the back row, while Daniel Abt appeared to deliberately run slowly into the first corner, meaning he wound up just ahead of the Frenchman.[10]

Further around the opening tour there would be a half-seen collision into turn four, with Sam Bird the big victim as he was punted into a half-spin as the field braked for the hairpin left.[10] Fortunately there would be no major damage from the collision, with Bird only losing a couple of places as he scrambled back into the pack, although there was some minor debris left just off the racing line.[10] Elsewhere, André Lotterer fired past Rast into turn eight to claim fifth, while da Costa elbowed his way up to sixteenth from the back of the grid.[10]

The second lap was no less frantic, with Rast scrambling ahead of Lynn, Vergne recovering from his poor start with a well timed lunge past Buemi into turn one, while di Grassi and Günther squabbled in the middle of the pack.[10] Indeed, their fight was so fraught that di Grassi wound up punting the #28 BMW-Andretti as they braked for turn four, resulting in damage to the nose of the #11 Audi, and the German youth with a right rear puncture.[10] Elsewhere, Sérgio Sette Câmara locked-up badly while lunging at Edoardo Mortara into turn seven, allowing Alexander Sims to challenge him into turn eight at the back of the top ten.[10]

After that, however, the race would quickly settle down, with Rowland and Frijns escaping at the head of the field, with Frijns only making half-hearted looks at passing the #22 Nissan e.Dams in the opening moments.[10] Elsewhere, da Costa streaked past Oliver Turvey unopposed for fifteenth, only to be met by firm resistance from Stoffel Vandoorne a few moments later when trying to claim fourteenth.[10] André Lotterer, meanwhile, would pull a very late and very aggressive move on Alex Lynn to claim fourth into turn seven, chucking the #36 Porsche down the inside of the #94 Mahindra on the brakes.[10]

As the race wore on Neel Jani managed to catch the lead fight, with teammate Lotterer, Lynn and Rast also slowly drawing in the lead duo.[10] Indeed, Jani had enough in hand over the sister Porsche that he was able to arm Attack Mode on lap seven without losing a position to Lotterer, although he fell far enough away that Frijns was able to remain ahead when he armed AM on the following tour.[10] However, Frijns would likewise fail to make the undercut work, with Rowland able to just hold onto the lead when he armed AM on lap nine, powering ahead of the #4 Virgin on the short sprint to turn eight.[10]

Elsewhere, da Costa would fight his way past di Grassi, only to slip behind both the Brazilian and Turvey when he armed AM, although the ever pugilistic Portuguese Champion would elbow back past Turvey into turn turn.[10] Mitch Evans, Vandoorne and di Grassi were the next trio to take the boost, with di Grassi subsequently falling back behind da Costa, who narrowly missed out on also taking Vandoorne.[10] On the following lap Evans would dive down the inside of Nico Müller into turn seven to claim twelfth, which subsequently became eleventh as Sette Câmara armed AM at the same moment.[10] Indeed, Sette Câmara would rejoin alongside GEOX Dragon teammate Müller, resulting in a tense duel between the two before Müller finally relented on the brakes for turn fifteen.[10]

Müller's fall continued over the following laps, with Vandoorne, da Costa and di Grassi all scrambling past the #7 Dragon over the following laps, while Vergne was handed drive-through penalty for over-cooling his battery on the grid.[10] di Grassi, meanwhile, would try to drive around the outside of da Costa into turn one on lap thirteen, only to try and squeeze the #13 DS Techeetah to the inside wall as they entered turn one and force da Costa to back off.[10] Predictably da Costa refused to relent and hence spun the #11 Audi around, with di Grassi subsequently earning himself a drive through penalty and a puncture for his aggressive driving.[10]

di Grassi's compatriot Felipe Massa would also have a rough patch mid-race, with the #19 Venturi first getting elbowed out of the way by Sims for eleventh, before Vandoorne sold Massa a dummy into turn one a lap later.[10] Buemi, meanwhile, would become the latest driver to move past Müller, before the Swiss racer followed the da Costa past Massa at turn fifteen, da Costa having earlier elbowed his way past the Venturi at turn seven.[10] Sims then dropped back into the battle pack by arming Attack Mode to drop to twelfth behind Vandoorne, while Massa and Nyck de Vries armed the boost just as half-distance/time ticked past.[10]

Over the second half of the race it was surprise star of qualifying Tom Blomqvist who would struggle, with the #51 Jaguar fighting hard with Sette Câmara, only to drop to eleventh behind Vandoorne and Sims when he took AM.[10] The Brit duly rallied back to pass Sette Câmara and Sims over the following two laps, although Vandoorne managed to keep ahead of the #51 Jaguar and escape from the fight.[10] Out front, meanwhile, the top six were running within four seconds of one-another, with third placed Jani the first to take his second and final AM boost from third on lap twenty.[10]

That decision dropped Jani to the back of the sextet, and allowed Frijns to take the boost a lap later without losing second, meaning he could attempt to undercut Rowland for the lead.[10] Lynn, meanwhile, would also take the boost but drop back behind Jani, with Lotterer and Rast hence moving up to third and fourth, albeit yet to arm their final boosts.[10] Lotterer duly used FanBoost on the following lap to try and build a gap to the trio behind when he went for the boost, with the #36 Porsche duly emerging from the activation zone just ahead of Jani and Lynn, although Rast had slipped ahead.[10]

Rowland had likewise managed to hold onto the lead while taking AM a few moments earlier than Lotterer, although Frijns would sit right on his tail as the entered the turn eight-twelve complex.[10] Frijns would not, however, manage to force a move and hence settled back into second, while behind Lotterer used AM to power down the inside of Rast into turn one on lap 24 to reclaim third.[10] Behind them, Jani was having to defend heavily from Lynn into the same corner, with the Swiss racer suddenly finding himself with a c.1% available energy disadvantage compared to those around him.[10]

As the AM boosts ticked themselves away amongst the leaders Evans would claim seventh from Mortara, although he faced a fairly hefty seven second gap to the lead group, and only had the same energy reserve as race leader Rowland.[10] Indeed, he would instead have to rely on fighting amongst the sextet to slow the group down, and with Lynn taking his second and final AM boost, his hopes would be high with ten minutes to go.[10] AM was also causing some turbulence to the order at the back of the top ten, with Sims dropping from tenth to fourteenth by taking his second and final boost, with Blomqvist, Vandoorne, da Costa and Buemi all slotting ahead of the #27 BMW-Andretti.[10]

Indeed, with the fight for the lead dying back down that particular pack proved very volatile, with da Costa having defend heavily from Buemi into turn one, allowing Sims to have a half look at the #23 Nissan on the outside.[10] Buemi unsurprisingly swatted that look aside, and would still have enough in hand over Sims to force da Costa to take a very defensive line into turn seven, compromising his run through the second sector.[10] Another defensive line into turn fifteen sealed da Costa's fate, with Buemi getting right onto the #13 Techeetah's tail out of the final corner, before dancing right around the outside of da Costa on the brakes for turn one.[10] Sims would subsequently pass da Costa around the outside of turn seven with the aid of AM down the back straight.[10]

Back with the leaders and Lotterer was the latest driver to take his second AM boost, briefly dropping behind Rast before the #66 Audi armed AM for a second and final time a lap later.[10] Those two hence caught right back onto the tail of Frijns and Rowland, while behind Lynn had run out of AM before he caught back up to Jani, who was slipping away from the lead fight.[10] Yet, their loss of pace was not enough for Evans, who was running out of time to catch the lead group and now had a rejuvenated Mortara crawling all over the back of his car.[10]

With five minutes to go Lotterer's AM would end without the German racer making a move on Frijns for second, allowing Rast to close right onto his tail with a minute left of his AM in the #66 Audi.[10] With five minutes to go Rast made his bid for third, throwing the #66 Audi around the outside of the #36 Porsche into turn one, although Lotterer was able to lift slightly off the brakes and elbow Rast wide.[10] Not to be deterred, Rast tried again on the outside of turn seven, and would almost make it past the #36 Porsche before Lotterer squeezed him to the inside wall for turn eight and prompted Rast to back down.[10]

Their fight entered a tense stalemate after that with Rast's AM running out, and had essentially ended their hopes of challenging for victory as they slipped two seconds behind Rowland and Frijns.[10] Behind the fight for fifth was finally resolved with three minutes to go as Lynn fired down the inside of Jani into turn one, although they had likewise slipped two seconds off the fight for third due to their private squabble.[10] Elsewhere, a now battle scarred Buemi had dragged his car into the top ten with moves on Blomqvist and Vandoorne, although he was subsequently re-passed by Vandoorne when the Belgian racer used AM to muscle down the inside of the #23 Nissan into turn one for ninth.[10]

There was some minor confusion at the start of the final tour, with the chequered flag displayed on the timing screens, although crucially not to the drivers on track.[10] That meant that they all knew that there was still a lap to go, and with less than 3% battery left across the board, they would all face a tricky final tour.[10] Indeed, Frijns had a marginal 0.1% advantage over Rowland as they flashed into the first corner for the final time, and would only need half a chance to pass the #22 Nissan to claim victory.[10]

Yet it was not to be, with Rowland taking to the middle of the circuit into turn seven cover any potential lunges from Frijns, before the Dutchman suddenly dropped back due to energy concerns.[10] Behind, however, there would be a late change, with Rast pulling out a stunning touring car-esque manoeuvre on Lotterer through turns twelve and thirteen, literally muscling the #66 Audi inside the #36 Porsche as they danced across the bumps.[10] Lotterer tried to respond with a late lunge to the outside of turn fifteen, although Rast would elbow his irritated compatriot out wide at the hairpin to hold onto the final podium spot.[10]

With that the race was run, with Rowland sweeping across the line two seconds clear of Frijns to claim his maiden FE victory, as well as claim his first FE fastest lap.[10] Frijns duly claimed second having hit 0% just before the finish line, while Rast kept a furious Lotterer at bay in a sprint to the line to claim his maiden FE podium.[10] Lynn was next ahead of Jani, who claimed his maiden FE points finish, Evans ran out of time to catch them and had to settle for seventh ahead of Mortara, while the battle scarred Mercedes and Nissan of Vandoorne and Buemi rounded out the scorers in ninth and tenth.[10]

Result[]

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

2020 Berlin E-Prix V Race Result
Pos. No. Name Team Laps Race Time Fastest lap Pts.
1st 22 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 36 47:28.880 1:17.886 29
2nd 4 Dutch Flag Robin Frijns Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 36 +1.903s 1:18.244 18
3rd 66 Flag of Germany René Rast Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 36 +7.490s 1:17.929 16G
4th 36 Flag of Germany André Lotterer FanBoost Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 36 +7.863s 1:18.261 12
5th 94 Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn Flag of India Mahindra Racing 36 +11.441s 1:18.511 10
6th 18 Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 36 +12.922s 1:18.518 8
7th 20 Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans FanBoost Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 36 +14.106s 1:17.896 6
8th 48 Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 36 +17.134s 1:18.598 4
9th 5 Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne FanBoost Flag of Germany Mercedes 36 +18.949s 1:18.331 2
10th 23 Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 36 +19.731s 1:18.044 1
11th 27 Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 36 +23.331s 1:18.376
12th 51 Flag of the United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 36 +24.807s 1:18.679
13th 19 Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 36 +27.775s 1:18.251
14th 17 Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries Flag of Germany Mercedes 36 +28.723s 1:17.710
15th 6 Flag of Brazil Sérgio Sette Câmara Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 36 +31.132s 1:18.382
16th 64 Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio Flag of India Mahindra Racing 36 +31.524s 1:18.090
17th 7 Flag of Switzerland Nico Müller Flag of the United States GEOX DRAGON 36 +34.140s 1:17.948
18th 25 Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne Flag of China DS Techeetah 36 +34.986s 1:18.142
19th 3 Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Turvey Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 36 +44.377s 1:18.847
20th 2 Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 36 +46.591s 1:18.103
21st* 11 Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 36 +1:15.119 1:17.232
NC 13 Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa FanBoost Flag of China DS Techeetah 35 Out of Energy 1:17.925
NC 33 Flag of Germany Daniel Abt FanBoost Flag of China NIO 333 FE Team 33 Retired 1:19.020
NC 28 Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 4 +32 Laps 1:17.650
Source:[8]
  • 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.
  • * di Grassi recorded the fastest lap of the race (1:17.232) but was ineligible to score points as he finished outside of the top ten.[8] di Grassi was awarded a five second time penalty for causing a collision with da Costa.[11]
  • da Costa and Abt were unable to be classified despite completing 90% of the race distance as they failed to complete the final lap.[8]
  • Günther was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.[8]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

António Félix da Costa had failed to add to his title winning tally in the penultimate race of the season, and hence remained on 156 points for the campaign. Behind, however, there had been some drastic changes in the fight to finish as runner-up, with Oliver Rowland now heading the charge having leap from ninth to second with victory. He hence headed Jean-Éric Vergne by three points, with everyone down to Sam Bird in eleventh still mathematically in the hunt.

In the Teams' Championship Champions DS Techeetah had failed to score for only the second time in 2019/20, meaning they remained on their unassailable tally of 236 points. Nissan e.Dams, meanwhile, had all but secured second, having moved 33 points clear of BMW-Andretti in third, with 48 points in play on the final day. That meant that Envision Virgin were still mathematically in the hunt for the runner-up spot too, but would need to claim a one-two, with e.Dams failing to score.

2019/20 Drivers Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of Portugal António Félix da Costa 156 ◄0
2nd Flag of the United Kingdom Oliver Rowland 83 ▲7
3rd Flag of France Jean-Éric Vergne 80 ▼1
4th Flag of New Zealand Mitch Evans 71 ▲2
5th Flag of Germany André Lotterer 71 ▲2
6th Flag of Germany Maximilian Günther 69 ▼3
7th Flag of Brazil Lucas di Grassi 69 ▼3
8th Flag of Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 68 ▼3
9th Flag of Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 59 ▼1
10th Dutch Flag Robin Frijns 58 ▲3
11th Flag of the United Kingdom Sam Bird 52 ▼1
12th Flag of the United Kingdom Alexander Sims 49 ▼1
13th Dutch Flag Nyck de Vries 42 ▼1
14th Flag of Switzerland Edoardo Mortara 40 ◄0
15th Flag of Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 19 ◄0
16th Flag of Germany René Rast 17 ▲6
17th Flag of Germany Pascal Wehrlein 14 ▼1
18th Flag of the United Kingdom Alex Lynn 12 ▲2
19th Flag of the United Kingdom James Calado 10 ▼2
20th Flag of Switzerland Neel Jani 8 ▲5
21st Flag of Germany Daniel Abt 8 ▼3
22nd Flag of Brazil Felipe Massa 3 ▼3
23rd Flag of New Zealand Brendon Hartley 2 ▼2
2019/20 Teams Championship
Pos. Name Pts. +/-
1st Flag of China DS Techeetah 236 ◄0
2nd Flag of France Nissan e.Dams 151 ◄0
3rd Flag of the United States BMW i Andretti Motorsport 118 ◄0
4th Flag of the United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing 110 ▲1
5th Flag of Germany Mercedes 101 ▼1
6th Flag of Germany Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 94 ◄0
7th Flag of the United Kingdom Jaguar Racing 81 ◄0
8th Flag of Germany Porsche Formula E Team 79 ◄0
9th Flag of India Mahindra Racing 45 ▲1
10th Flag of Monaco ROKiT Venturi Racing 43 ▼1
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 'Rowland secures pole amid qualifying drama ahead of the Berlin E-Prix Round 10', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-10-qualifying, (Accessed 12/08/2020)
  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 'Oliver Rowland seals maiden Formula E victory in the Berlin E-Prix Round 10 to soar into second in the standings', fiaformuale.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/08/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/august/berlin-round-10-race, (Accessed 12/08/2020)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Matt Kew, 'Blomqvist steps in to replace Calado at Jaguar for Berlin FE finale', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 10/08/2020), https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/151258/blomqvist-steps-in-at-jaguar-for-berlin-finale, (Accessed 10/08/2020)
  5. '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. 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. 15: ROUND 10 & 11 - BERLIN E-PRIX 12 - 13 AUGUST 2020: Qualifying Groups, results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 12/08/2020)
  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 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 7.33 ABB Formula E, 'Qualifying LIVE | Round 10 | 2020 Berlin E-Prix', youtube.com, (YouTube: FIA Formula E, 12/08/2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZiJhGYGKB4, (Accessed 12/08/2020)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 'Round 10 - Berlin III ePrix ABB FIA Formula E Championship Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 09/08/2020), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/05_2019-20/10_R10%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/Booklet/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship_Round10_BOOKLET.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 09/08/2020)
  9. '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)
  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 10.58 10.59 10.60 10.61 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named RH
  11. 'Doc. 40: ROUND 10 & 11 - BERLIN E-PRIX 12 - 13 AUGUST 2020: Decision No. 9', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 12/08/2020), https://results.fiaformulae.com/en/noticeboard, (Accessed 12/08/2020)
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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