 2021 Berlin E-Prix II
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Tempelhofring was reversed for the final race of 2020/21. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 15 August 2021 | |
| E-Prix No. | 84 (15 of 2020/21) | |
| Official Name | 2021 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II presented by CBMM Niobium | |
| Location |  Tempelhofring RBerlin, Brandenburg, Germany | |
| Format | 45 min + 1 Lap | |
| Lap length | 2.355 km (1.476 mi) | |
| Distance | 36 laps / 84.780 km (52.680 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Stoffel Vandoorne
| |
| Team | Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
| |
| Time | 1:06.794 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver | René Rast
| |
| Team | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:08.486 on lap 27 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
 Norman Nato
|
 Oliver Rowland
|
Stoffel Vandoorne
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| Winner Team |  ROKiT Venturi Racing
| |
| Time | 1:11:57.152 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2021 Berlin E-Prix I
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 2022 Diriyah E-Prix I
| |
The 2021 Berlin E-Prix II, formally known as the 2021 BMW i Berlin E-Prix II presented by CBMM Niobium, was the fifteenth and final race of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged on the reversed Tempelhofring circuit in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany on 15 August 2021.[1][2] The race would serve as the title decider for the 2020/21 season, with fourteen drivers and six teams within mathematical contention for the inaugural FE Drivers' and Teams' World Championships.[3]
Qualifying saw Stoffel Vandoorne secure pole position for the finale, although the Belgian racer, as well as fellow front row starter Oliver Rowland, were not in title contention.[4] Mitch Evans would instead be the best of the title pretenders in third, with Jake Dennis the next major pretender in ninth, while Championship leader Nyck de Vries would start from thirteenth.[4]
There would, however, be an immediate change to the complexion of the title fight right at the start of the race, as Evans suffered a failure right as the lights went out.[5] The #20 Jaguar was subsequently hit hard by another title challenger in the form of Edoardo Mortara, leaving both cars with heavy damage in the middle of the start/finish straight.[5]
A red flag was thrown to clear the incident, although fortunately both Evans and Mortara would walk away from the scene without issue, with both taken to hospital as a precaution.[5] After 30 minutes the race resumed behind the Safety Car, with Vandoorne sweeping into the lead with Rowland in tow, while Dennis was left as the main title protagonist, only to slam into the barriers in turn one after an unspecified issue.[5]
With Dennis now out, with the #27 BMW-Andretti removed under a Full Course Yellow, de Vries was left as the Champion elect in eighth place, with all of his main challengers left in the field behind him on track.[5] With the title fight essentially set for the time being attention focused on the fight for the race lead, with Norman Nato the first of the lead group to arm Attack Mode.[5]
That AM exchanges would ultimately see Nato emerge in the lead, while Vandoorne tumbled from the lead to sixth, even briefly falling to teammate de Vries.[5] Nato, meanwhile, would simply pull clear in the #71 ROKiT Venturi at the head of the field, while Rowland scrapped for second with Alexander Sims.[5]
Nato's lead would then be wiped out by another Safety Car, which was needed to remove António Félix da Costa from the barriers at turn two after he was elbowed into them by Lucas di Grassi.[5] At the restart Nato would be caught out by a late call to restart the race, with Rowland almost able to take advantage before settling back into second.[5]
The SC period allowed Vandoorne to regroup, with the Belgian racer duly charging back up into the podium positions, bypassing teammate de Vries as the Dutchman tried and failed to lunge at Sims.[5] de Vries soon found himself elbowed down to seventh behind both of the Porsches, with Vandoorne also surviving a brush with André Lotterer in that exchange.[5]
Onto the final lap and de Vries had all but secured the title, and hence would risk a lunge at Pascal Wehrlein for sixth into turn four.[5] That lunge failed and instead allowed Sam Bird to sweep past for seventh having started the lap in tenth as, up ahead, Lotterer surged past Sims for fourth and Vandoorne had one last look at passing Rowland.[5]
Out front, meanwhile, Nato would sweep across the line to secure his maiden victory, two seconds clear of Rowland and Vandoorne.[5] Lotterer was next up ahead of Sims, Wehrlein and Bird, while eighth place for de Vries was more than enough for the Dutchman to secure the title as his closest challengers all failed to score.[5] That result, combined with Vandoorne's podium, would also earn Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team the Teams' World Championship, while René Rast claimed the final fastest lap point for Audi at their final race in ninth ahead of Tom Blomqvist.[5]
Background[]
For the final race of the 2020/21 Formula E World Championship the Series would use the reversed version of the Tempelhofring, setup in the confines of Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, Germany.[1] The decision to reverse the circuit was to keep all twelve teams and their respective drivers on their toes, and would be the only significant change to the circuit.[1] Indeed, the Attack Mode activation zone would remain in the second sector, now at the corner labelled as turn five, while the order of the pit garages in the pitlane would likewise remain unchanged.[1]
Au-xit and BMW-xit[]
The Berlin finale would also prove to be the final races for two of FE's manufacturers, with both Audi and BMW calling time on their factory supported Formula E programmes at the end of the season.[6][7] For Audi, the decision to leave was made due to their decision to return to the World Endurance Championship, alongside an assault on the Dakar Rally.[6] BMW, meanwhile, would proclaim that they had 'exhausted the opportunities' that the series provided to them, and were instead evaluating entries in prototypes instead.[7]
Audi's exit would also result in ABT Sportsline leaving the Championship at the end of the season, the German squad having tried and failed to secure Audi's entry in the series due to a failed commercial deal to fund the programme.[8] However, Audi would still be represented on the grid in 2021/22 by Envision Virgin Racing, who had signed a multi-year deal to use customer Audi powertrains until the end of the Generation 2 era.[9] Likewise, BMW would also still have powertrains in service for the final season of Gen 2, with Andretti Formula E set to continue using the iFE.21, albeit without factory support.[10]
The Famous Fourteen[]
Ahead of the final race of the inaugural FE World Championship no fewer than fourteen drivers would enter the race with a mathematical chance of taking the title.[3] Heading the charge was Nyck de Vries on 95 points, while Maximilian Günther in fourteenth was the last of those who could win the title with 66 points.[3] Furthermore, the top seven in the Championship were split by just nine points, the top ten by seventeen, with a myriad of permutations meaning any of those drivers could feasibly claim the title.[3]
The Teams' Championship was equally tight ahead of the finale, with a maximum 48 points in play for the final race of the season, meaning six teams were still in contention. Jaguar Racing headed the charge on 171 points, five ahead of DS Techeetah, while Envision Virgin were just a point further back in third. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler were next up, just three further back, and just four ahead of Mercedes, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport were fourteen off the lead in sixth to round out the pretenders.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2021 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2021 Berlin E-Prix II would be conducted in FE's standard format, with the field split into four groups of six cars, based on Championship position.[4] 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.[4] 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.[4]
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.[4]
Group 1[]
Group One for the final Super Pole style qualifying session in FE would see those in the top five of the Championship take to the circuit, headlined by Championship leader Nyck de Vries in the #17 Mercedes.[12] The Dutchman would be joined on track by fellow Mercedes powered pilot Edoardo Mortara, driving the #48 ROKiT Venturi, as well as Jake Dennis in the #27 BMW-Andretti.[12] Mitch Evans would also be on track, as would two Audi built cars, one for the factory backed Lucas di Grassi, as well as Envision's Robin Frijns.[12]
de Vries was the first of the sextet to take to the circuit, leaving at the start of the session to begin a preparation lap before his flying lap at full power.[13] Mortara and Frijns would follow, before di Grassi, Dennis and Evans joined them on the circuit, all opting to complete warm-up laps before launching into their full power efforts.[13] As a result it was de Vries who set the first flying lap, battling some rear sliding in the opening sector to set the benchmark at a 1:07.162, an effort that would not be beaten by Mortara as the Swiss pilot suffered a snap of oversteer out of turn six to ruin his effort.[13]
Frijns was likewise unable to best his compatriot's marker, while di Grassi set the fastest first sector only to lose time in the latter half of the lap to claim third ahead of the #4 Envision.[13] Dennis was next up and would survive a slap against the wall at turn three to go second fastest, before a stunning final sector saw Evans claim top spot, a 1:07.080 rounding out the opening group with the New Zealander on top.[13]
Group 2[]
Group 2 would see those in the second half of the title fight join the fray, with António Félix da Costa the best placed of the sextet to make a title bid in the #13 DS Techeetah.[12] The Portuguese ace would be joined on track by teammate Jean-Éric Vergne, as well as Sam Bird in the second of Jaguars.[12] Completing the Group would be the two remaining Audis in the hands of René Rast (ABT) and Nick Cassidy (Envision) as well as the #94 Mahindra of Alex Lynn in what was to be his last FE qualifying session.[12]
da Costa would venture out onto the circuit first with teammate Vergne in tow, with Lynn the only other driver in the sextet to head out in the early moments, those three opting to complete warm-up laps.[13] The rest, led by Cassidy, would go straight onto their flying laps, and it was the New Zealander who was first to deliver his run, although a slide into turn one ended his effort before it began and resigned the #37 Envision to seventh at the end of his run.[13] Bird was better through the first sector and was up with the times from the first group, but a miserable run in the third sector left the Brit out of Super Pole contention as he replaced Cassidy in seventh.[13]
Rast would then grab sixth with his lap, battling back after a wide run through the first corner, before da Costa delivered a very strong middle sector to knock the German pilot out en-route to fifth overall.[13] Vergne trailed his teammate across the line but could only manage sixth, before Lynn rounded out the session with a run good enough for fifth to relegate Vergne, having started his lap just two seconds before the chequered flag was thrown.[13]
Group 3[]
The third sextet featured those who were out of the title hunt, although Pascal Wehrlein in the #99 Porsche and Maximilian Günther in the #28 BMW-Andretti both still had a mathematical chance of taking the crown.[12] They would be joined on track by Wehrlein's teammate André Lotterer, as well as Stoffel Vandoorne in the second Mercedes, the Belgian pilot having already declared his intention to help teammate de Vries to the title.[12] Completing the sextet would be Oliver Rowland in the first of the Nissan e.Dams entries, and Alexander Sims in the #29 Mahindra.[12]
Unlike the earlier two groups everyone in group three would opt to launch straight into their full power runs, with Günther the first to escape the pitlane ahead of Sims and Wehrlein.[13] The #22 Nissan would suffer a small rear lock-up into the first corner but survived, only for further oversteer issues in turns five and the final sector to leave Günther down in ninth come the end of his run.[13] Sims, meanwhile, would use a wider line through the first corner to set a new benchmark in the first sector, with a timesheet topping second sector enough to put the British racer at the top of the pile come the end of his run.[13]
Wehrlein chased the Mahindra across the line, but despite besting Sims' first sector, the German pilot could only muster fourth when he crossed the line.[13] That became fifth a few moments later as Vandoorne flashed across the line to go fastest with the best third sector of the session, only for Rowland to beat that final sector time en-route to third.[13] Lotterer then completed the group with a time good enough for fifth, knocking Wehrlein out of Super Pole.[13]
Group 4[]
The final six drivers to qualify for the Berlin E-Prix would be those in the lowest quarter of the Championship, all of whom had dropped out of the title hunt.[12] Sébastien Buemi was the prominent name in the sextet after his poor season, while Norman Nato had the best equipment of the group in the #71 Venturi.[12] Also in action would be the two NIOs of Oliver Turvey and Tom Blomqvist, as well as the Dragon/Penske duo of Sérgio Sette Câmara and Joel Eriksson, both fighting for seats in 2021/22.[12]
Turvey was the first man out of the pitlane for the fourth group, the Brit opting to complete a preparation lap in the #8 NIO, although he was quickly joined by Eriksson in the #6 Dragon/Penske, who would launch straight into his full power effort.[13] That proved to be a mistake for Eriksson as the Swede made a number of errors on his run, leaving him in eighteenth, with teammate Sette Câmara, who had followed him out of the pits, putting together a far cleaner effort a few moments later to go ninth.[13] Blomqvist, another to go straight into full power mode, then caused a stir by jumping to fourth, before teammate Turvey led those who had done prep laps into their runs.[13]
Turvey's effort saw him set a strong first sector, although he could not match teammate Blomqvist's effort in the final two sectors, falling to eighteenth come the end of his run.[13] Buemi was next and set strong times in the opening two sectors to go seventh fastest, before Nato flashed across the line with the fastest second sector of the session to go third fastest to complete the Group stage.[13]
Super Pole[]
Miraculously it was Evans of all of the title pretenders who had survived to make it to Super Pole, with the New Zealander the first of the sextet to launch into his bid for pole.[13] A couple of minor errors, largely due to the rear tyres overheating and causing some minor slides, saw Evans set the benchmark at a 1:07.010 with Blomqvist the next to run.[13] The Anglo-Swede pilot would go on to best Evans' first sector effort, although a simple lack of pace in the #88 NIO meant that the Brit fell 0.096s shy of Evans' effort come the end of his run.[13]
Next out of the pits would be Sims, who duly delivered another new benchmark in the first sector, only for his lap to fade and see him slot into second, 0.031s down on Evans after a poor second sector compared to the New Zealander.[13] Nato was meant to go next, but an issue on the #71 Venturi meant the Frenchman was stranded in his pitbox and hence could not set a time.[13] That left Rowland as the next driver to run, and a clean run through the opening two sectors, combined with some excellent control to keep several rear-end snaps out of turns nine and ten, saw the #22 Nissan hit the top of the timesheet, beating Evans by 0.085s.[13]
Last to run would be Vandoorne, and a strong opening to the lap, including use of Sims' novel line through the first corner, saw the #5 Mercedes instantly find a tenth on Rowland's first sector time.[13] A poor middle sector then saw Vandoorne lose all of his advantage over Rowland, only to rally back with a brilliant run through turns nine and ten to secure pole position with a 1:06.784, becoming the last driver to win a Super Pole shootout in FE.[13]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2021 Berlin E-Prix II are outlined below:
| 2021 Berlin E-Prix II Qualifying Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.794 | — | 1 | G3 |
| 2nd | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:06.925 | +0.131s | 2 | G3 |
| 3rd | 20 |  Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.010 | +0.216s | 3 | G1 |
| 4th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.041 | +0.247s | 4 | G3 |
| 5th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
 NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:07.106 | +0.312s | 5 | G4 |
| NC | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
— | 6 | G4 | |
| Super Pole | |||||||
| 1st | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.678 | — | SP | G3 |
| 2nd | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:06.711 | +0.033s | SP | G3 |
| 3rd | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:06.806 | +0.128s | SP | G4 |
| 4th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:06.887 | +0.209s | SP | G3 |
| 5th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:06.916 | +0.238s | SP | G4 |
| 6th | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.083 | +0.405s | SP | G1 |
| 7th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:07.088 | +0.410s | 7 | G3 |
| 8th | 23 |  Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:07.100 | +0.422s | 8 | G4 |
| 9th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
 BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:07.106 | +0.428s | 9 | G1 |
| 10th | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:07.114 | +0.436s | 10 | G3 |
| 11th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:07.139 | +0.461s | 11 | G1 |
| 12th | 7 |  Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:07.150 | +0.472s | 12 | G4 |
| 13th | 17 |  Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:07.162 | +0.484s | 13 | G1 |
| 14th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.164 | +0.486s | 14 | G2 |
| 15th | 13 |  António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:07.177 | +0.499s | 15 | G2 |
| 16th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:07.190 | +0.512s | 16 | G2 |
| 17th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:07.209 | +0.531s | 17 | G1 |
| 18th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
1:07.227 | +0.549s | 18 | G3 |
| 19th* | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
1:07.268 | +0.590s | PL* | G2 |
| 20th | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:07.300 | +0.622s | 20 | G4 |
| 21st | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:07.325 | +0.647s | 21 | G1 |
| 22nd | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.365 | +0.687s | 22 | G2 |
| 23rd | 6 |  Joel Eriksson
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:07.461 | +0.783s | 23 | G4 |
| 24th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
1:07.980 | +1.302s | 24 | G2 |
| 110% Time: [14] | |||||||
| Source:[14] | |||||||
- * Rast would start the race from the pitlane.[5]
Race[]
Conditions were warm and stable ahead of the final race of the 2020/21 season, with no threat of rain as the field assembled on the grid.[15] In terms of the grid there would be one change as René Rast opted to start from the pits, a strategic call by ABT Sportsline so that they could adjust his setup, although the grid spot that should have been occupied by the #33 Audi would remain vacant.[15] In terms of Attack Mode the officials would decided upon two activations, each lasting four minutes as per the format usually used by the series.[16]
Report[]
The start of the race saw Vandoorne jet away off the line cleanly to grab the lead ahead of Rowland, although it was behind that all of the attention was focused as title protagonist Mitch Evans did not move off of his grid slot.[15] An inverter failure had stopped the #20 Jaguar before it had even got going, and left the New Zealander vulnerably stranded in the middle of the track as the rest of the field streaked off of their grid slots.[15] An unsighted Edoardo Mortara would duly slam into the back of the Jaguar and wipe both cars out, triggering a Safety Car that would quickly be escalated to a red flag so that Evans and Mortara's debris could be cleared.[15]
Fortunately both Evans and Mortara would escape from their cockpits unaided and without injury, with the clean-up taking 30 minutes before the circuit was deemed safe for the race to resume.[15] Replays of the incident showed that Mortara had simply been unable to see the #20 Jaguar until the last moment, while Championship leader Nyck de Vries had himself just managed to avoid the accident ahead of him, but had lost ground in doing so.[15]
Restart[]
The race would resume behind the Safety Car, with the order based on how the field had entered the pitlane at the end of the opening lap.[15] Regardless, there would be no stopping Vandoorne at the start as the #5 Mercedes streaked into the lead, while a big gap had opened out between André Lotterer in sixth and Sébastien Buemi in seventh.[15] Buemi would instead be under serious pressure from Jake Dennis as the race resumed, the Brit now the lead driver in the title hunt, who duly launched an attack around the outside of the #23 Nissan into the first corner as the race resumed.[15]
Stunningly, however, Dennis would make a mess of his move and lose control of his car while jinking out from behind Buemi, shooting sideways and slamming into the outside wall to go skating out of the race and the title challenge.[15] The race would be halted by a Full Course Yellow as the #27 BMW-Andretti was dragged clear of the runoff a turn one, with Vandoorne again acing the restart to regain control of the race out of turn one.[15] de Vries would also be on the move as he caught Sérgio Sette Câmara knapping in the first corner to move into ninth, knowing that it was now his Championship to lose with all of his closest challengers who had started ahead of him on the grid having crashed out in the opening five minutes.[15]
Into the Attack Mode phase of the race and Norman Nato, running in fourth behind Alexander Sims was the first of the leaders to go for the boost, the Frenchman dropping to fifth behind Tom Blomqvist, before retaking fourth instantly into turn six.[15] He duly charged off to catch back up to Sims, and duly took third when the #29 Mahindra went for AM a lap later, while Blomqvist found himself unable to resist André Lotterer as the German pilot fired the #36 Porsche down the inside of the Mahindra into turn one.[15] de Vries would also take AM and hold onto ninth as he looked to make ground, while Sam Bird was on the move, scything past Oliver Turvey to claim sixteenth.[15]
Nato would quickly catch Rowland with the aid of AM, and after a half look at turn two would snatch second when Rowland went for AM on lap ten, with the #22 Nissan also losing out to Sims.[15] An audatious Nato then caught up with Vandoorne before the end of the lap, and duly danced around the outside of the #5 Mercedes to secure the lead into turn one, with Vandoorne opting not to defend.[15] With that Nato was away and off to try and build a lead with his remaining AM boost, while a mistake from Vandoorne on the brakes for turn two saw the #5 Mercedes run wide and gift second to Sims, while Rowland got a run on the Belgian pilot and snatched third into turn six.[15]
Vandoorne took AM on the following tour, dropping to fifth ahead of teammate de Vries who had jumped Buemi and Pascal Wehrlein in the first AM exchanges.[15] Vandoorne would then regain fourth when Lotterer armed his AM boost on the following tour, while Sims opted to take his second AM boost in the same moment, dropping to third behind Rowland but remaining ahead of Vandoorne.[15] Two laps later and Sims fired back ahead of Rowland into turn six, while de Vries would initially lose out to Blomqvist, before lunging back past the #88 NIO to reclaim sixth, in a move that also allowed Wehrlein to setup a move and pass the NIO into turn six.[15]
After a quiet couple of laps Nato and Rowland would arm AM, the Frenchman managing to retain the lead ahead of Sims while Rowland slipped back behind Vandoorne, although with the AM boost the Brit would manage to force his way back past into turn one on lap nineteen.[15] de Vries and Wehrlein, meanwhile, were fighting hard for sixth, the Dutchman getting ahead with a move into turn six, just as the #36 Porsche of Lotterer moved up to challenge Vandoorne in the #5 Mercedes for fourth.[15] A lunge down the inside of turn one would get the job done for Lotterer, prompting Vandoorne to let de Vries pass into turn six without resistance as the #17 Mercedes appeared to have more speed.[15]
A lap later and Rowland was attacking Sims for second, initially trying an over-under move out of turn one only to be blocked by the #29 Mahindra as they headed for turn two.[15] Another lunge came into turn two, which Sims fended off successfully, although it also meant that Lotterer and de Vries closed right back up to them, with Vandoorne and Wehrlein also in close attendance.[15] Regardless, Rowland would take second from Sims with a lunge into turn six, while de Vries took the initiative and successfully fired down the inside of Lotterer to grab fourth, before the fight was paused by another appearance for the Safety Car.[15]
This time it was António Félix da Costa who was the source, the Portuguese pilot having been fed into the outside wall at turn two by Lucas di Grassi in their squabble for twelfth.[15] The restart would then see Nato mistime his launch and almost catch the SC, meaning Rowland was able to get a run on the #71 Venturi down the start/finish straight, although Nato recovered well to hold the lead.[15] A lap later and de Vries used FanBoost to attack Sims into the first corner in a bid to grab third, succesfully getting down the inside of the Mahindra only to run wide on the exit.[15]
Sims would try to get his revenge into turn two, firing back inside of the #17 Mercedes to reclaim third, while Lotterer tried to pass the pair of them on the outside, having cut inside them through turn one with the aid of AM.[15] Again, de Vries would run wide of the apex and force Lotterer wide with him, allowing Vandoorne to get inside of both of them and set-up a three abreast sprint into the kink of turn three, the two Mercedes either side of Lotterer's Porsche.[15] Vandoorne duly tried to seize the initiative on the inside of the kink, brushing the front left of Lotterer's car to grab fourth, while de Vries on the outside had to back off on the marbles and would lose out to Wehrlein into turn four.[15]
That quintet would sort themselves out over the rest of the lap, with Sims holding onto third while Vandoorne held fourth, before slipping back behind Lotterer when he armed his second and final AM boost on lap 26.[15] The added power then setup a charge for the podium for the Belgian pilot, with Vandoorne first slithering down the inside of Lotterer for fourth on lap 27, before getting an excellent run on Sims into turn six/seven to grab third.[15] With that the #5 Mercedes was off to hunt down Rowland and Nato, who by that stage had built a healthy two second lead, while Sims fell back into the sights of Lotterer.[15]
Elsewhere, Bird had drawn himself onto the back of the top ten, the #10 Jaguar having slipped into eleventh with a move on Buemi after Rast had fired past the #23 Nissan into turn one.[15] That left him at the back of the scrap for sixth, as de Vries tried a lunge on Wehrlein into turn five, only for the #99 Porsche to feed him towards the inside wall, barely leaving enough space for the #17 Mercedes.[15] Indeed, de Vries would clip the inside wall of the hairpin and damage his steering in the failed move, before they moved back up to the fight for fourth as Lotterer forced his way down the inside of Sims into turn one, before the pair ran literally side-to-side through to turn two before the #36 Porsche finally got the move done.[15]
A lap later and it was Wehrlein's turn to attack the #29 Mahindra as the field started the final lap, with Sims taking a very defensive line into turns one and then two.[15] That was enough to block Wehrlein, while behind de Vries was given a tap by Jean-Éric Vergne which was enough to shove the #17 Mercedes wide on the exit.[15] That duly opened the door for Bird to streak into seventh, the Brit having taken advantage of the scraps ahead of him to shoot from tenth to seventh, first pouncing on Rast into turn one, before powering past Vergne and de Vries as they sorted themselves out exiting turn two.[15] Vergne then came under attack from Rast into turn five as the #33 Audi tried to lunge past the #25 DS Techeetah, with the resulting contact shoving Vergne wide and allowing Blomqvist to follow the #33 Audi past the Frenchman on the exit.[15]
That would, ultimately, be the last change of position in the race amongst the point scorers, with Sims managing to resist a lunge from Wehrlein into turn six on the final tour, while Rowland kept Vandoorne at arm's length.[15] Nato, meanwhile, would hold his healthy lead to the chequered flag to claim his maiden FE victory ahead of Rowland and Vergne, while Lotterer finished in fourth ahead of Sims, Wehrlein and Bird.[15] Eighth, meanwhile, would be enough for de Vries to secure the inaugural Formula E World Championship title, and when combined with Vandoorne's haul for third earn Mercedes the Teams' Championship, with Rast and Blomqvist rounding out the scorers.[15]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2021 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold:
| 2021 Berlin E-Prix II Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 71 | Norman Nato
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
36 | 1:11:57.152 | 1:08.639 | 25 |
| 2nd | 22 | Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
36 | +2.270s | 1:09.138 | 18 |
| 3rd | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne 
|
Mercedes
|
36 | +2.837s | 1:08.831 | 19G |
| 4th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
36 | +7.105s | 1:09.487 | 12 |
| 5th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
36 | +8.453s | 1:09.223 | 10 |
| 6th | 99 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
36 | +8.847s | 1:08.982 | 8 |
| 7th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
36 | +10.473s | 1:08.603 | 6 |
| 8th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
36 | +11.108s | 1:08.812 | 4 |
| 9th | 33 | René Rast
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
36 | +12.189s | 1:08.486 | 3 |
| 10th | 88 | Tom Blomqvist
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
36 | +12.679s | 1:09.219 | 1 |
| 11th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
36 | +13.437s | 1:08.800 | |
| 12th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
36 | +13.748s | 1:09.069 | |
| 13th | 94 | Alex Lynn
|
Mahindra Racing
|
36 | +14.366s | 1:09.170 | |
| 14th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
36 | +14.692s | 1:09.439 | |
| 15th | 28 | Maximilian Günther
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
36 | +15.528s | 1:09.175 | |
| 16th | 6 | Joel Eriksson
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
36 | +15.940s | 1:08.912 | |
| 17th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
36 | +16.306s | 1:08.967 | |
| 18th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
36 | +16.961s | 1:09.260 | |
| 19th | 8 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
36 | +21.076s | 1:09.181 | |
| 20th* | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
36 | +35.155s | 1:08.305 | |
| Ret | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
21 | Collision | 1:09.263 | |
| Ret | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
2 | Accident | — | |
| Ret | 20 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
0 | Collision | — | |
| Ret | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
0 | Collision | — | |
| Source:[14] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.[17]- G Indicates a driver claimed a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the group stage of qualifying.
- * di Grassi set the fastest lap of the race but was ineligible to claim the bonus point as he did not finish in the top ten.[14]
Milestones[]
- Nyck de Vries declared as the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship for Drivers Champion.
- Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team declared as the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship for Teams' Champions.
- Mercedes secured their first title as a manufacturer.
- Final race for ABT Sportsline as an entrant until the 2023 Mexico City E-Prix.
- Norman Nato secured his maiden victory.
- Also Nato's first podium finish.
- Venturi Formula E Team claimed their third win as an entrant.
- Sixth win for Mercedes as a powertrain supplier.
- Oliver Rowland claimed his fifth podium finish.
Standings[]
Nyck de Vries was declared as the inaugural Formula E World Champion after the chaotic finale to the season, the Dutchman having scored 99 points for the campaign. Edoardo Mortara would end the campaign in second after his start-line shunt, while Jake Dennis completed the top three, eight off the victor. Mitch Evans and Robin Frijns rounded out the top five, as all 25 drivers to have entered the 2020/21 season having scored during the campaign.
In the Teams' Championship the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team secured the honours on the final day, having claimed 183 points and two wins. Jaguar Racing would end the season in second, just six off the Champions, while DS Techeetah claimed third on 170. Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler bowed out of FE in fourth, level with customers Envision Virgin Racing in fifth, while BMW i Andretti Motorsport completed the top half of the table.
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'Formula E and FIA reveal full calendar for 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/04/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/april/full-2020-2021-calendar-update?utm_source=FormulaETwitter&utm_medium=SocialPost&utm_campaign=News&utm_term=Championship&utm_content=Racing, (Accessed 22/04/2021)
- ↑ 'BMW i announced as title partner for Formula E season finale in Berlin', fiaformuale.com, (FIA Formula E, 29/07/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/july/bmw-i-berlin-race-title-partnership, (Accessed 31/07/2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Di Grassi tees up intense season finale and a title tilt with victory for Audi in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/08/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/august/berlin-e-prix-round-14-report-results, (Accessed 14/08/2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 'Vandoorne takes Julius Baer Pole Position for Berlin finale as Evans outqualifies title rivals', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/08/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/august/berlin-e-prix-qualifying-round-15, (Accessed 15/08/2021)
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 'Nyck de Vries and Mercedes-EQ seal World Championship titles as Nato wins in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E 15/08/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/august/berlin-e-prix-round-15-report-results-world-champion, (Accessed 15/08/2021)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sam Smith, 'AUDI TO LEAVE FORMULA E AFTER 2021 FOR LE MANS AND DAKAR', the-race.com, (The Race, 30/11/2020), https://the-race.com/formula-e/audi-to-leave-formula-e-at-end-of-2021-season/, (Accessed 17/01/2021)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Haydn Cobb, 'BMW follows Audi in announcing Formula E exit after 2020-21 season', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 02/12/2020), https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/153908/bmw-to-follow-audi-in-exiting-formula-e-in-2021, (Accessed 17/01/2021)
- ↑ Sam Smith, 'ABT’S BID TO TAKE OVER AUDI FORMULA E ENTRY STALLS', the-race.com, (The Race, 25/02/2021), https://the-race.com/formula-e/abts-bid-to-take-over-audi-formula-e-entry-stalls/, (Accessed 14/08/2021)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedVirgin - ↑ Matt Kew, 'Andretti to retain BMW FE powertrain, despite works pull out', motorsport.com, (Motorsport Network, 26/02/2021), https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/andretti-bmw-powertrain-works-pullout/5497549/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-22, (Accessed 28/02/2021)
- ↑ 'Entry list confirmed for 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/12/2020), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2020/december/2020-21-formula-e-confirmed-entry-list-fia, (Accessed 11/02/2021)
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 'ROUND 15 - BERLIN E-PRIX 15 AUGUST 2021: Qualifying Groups - Round 15', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/08/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/15_R15%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/009_Doc%209%20-%20Qualifying%20Groups.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 02/08/2022)
- ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 13.21 13.22 13.23 13.24 13.25 13.26 13.27 13.28 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQH - ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedResults - ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 15.16 15.17 15.18 15.19 15.20 15.21 15.22 15.23 15.24 15.25 15.26 15.27 15.28 15.29 15.30 15.31 15.32 15.33 15.34 15.35 15.36 15.37 15.38 15.39 15.40 15.41 15.42 15.43 15.44 15.45 15.46 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ 'ROUND 15 - BERLIN E-PRIX 15 AUGUST 2021: Attack Mode', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/08/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/15_R15%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/026_Doc%2026%20-%20Bulletin%20No.%202.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 02/08/2022)
- ↑ 'FanBoost - Round 15', fiaformuale.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/08/2021), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/06_2020-21/15_R15%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/027_Doc%2027%20-%20Bulletin%20No.%203.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 15/08/2021)
| 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship |
|---|
| Entrants |
| Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler • BMW i Andretti Motorsport • Dragon/Penske Autosport • DS Techeetah • Envision Virgin Racing • Jaguar Racing • Mahindra Racing • Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team • NIO 333 FE Team • Nissan e.Dams • ROKiT Venturi Racing • TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team |
| Manufacturers |
| Audi • BMW • DS • Jaguar • Mahindra & Mahindra • Mercedes-Benz • NIO • Nissan • Penske • Porsche |
| Cars |
| Spark SRT05e |
| Audi e-tron FE07 • BMW iFE.21 • DS E-Tense FE20 • DS E-Tense FE 21 • Jaguar I-Type V • Mahindra M7Electro • Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 • NIO 333 FE 001 • Nissan IM02 • Nissan IM03 • Penske EV-4 • Penske EV-5 • Porsche 99X Electric |
| Drivers |
| 4 Robin Frijns • 5 Stoffel Vandoorne • 6 Nico Müller/Joel Eriksson • 7 Sérgio Sette Câmara • 8 Oliver Turvey • 10 Sam Bird • 11 Lucas di Grassi • 13 António Félix da Costa • 17 Nyck de Vries • 20 Mitch Evans • 22 Oliver Rowland • 23 Sébastien Buemi • 25 Jean-Éric Vergne • 27 Jake Dennis • 28 Maximilian Günther • 29 Alexander Sims • 33 René Rast • 36 André Lotterer • 48 Edoardo Mortara • 71 Norman Nato • 88 Tom Blomqvist • 94 Alex Lynn • 99 Pascal Wehrlein |
| E-Prix |
| Diriyah I • Diriyah II • Rome I • Rome II • Valencia I • Valencia II • Monaco • Puebla I • Puebla II • New York City I • New York City II • London I • London II • Berlin I • Berlin II |
| Cancelled E-Prix |
| Marrakesh E-Prix • Mexico City E-Prix • Paris E-Prix • Santiago E-Prix • Sanya E-Prix • Seoul E-Prix |
| Tests |
| Valencia |
| Related Content |
| 2019/20 • 2021/22 |