 2022 Berlin E-Prix I
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Tempelhofring returned for the 2022 season. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 14 May 2022 | |
| E-Prix No. | 91 (7 of 2021/22) | |
| Official Name | 2022 Shell Recharge Berlin E-Prix I | |
| Location |  TempelhofringBerlin, Brandenburg, Germany | |
| Format | 45 min + 1 Lap | |
| Lap length | 2.355 km (1.476 mi) | |
| Distance | 40 laps / 94.200 km (58.533 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Edoardo Mortara
| |
| Team |  ROKiT Venturi Racing
| |
| Time | 1:06.093 | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver | Pascal Wehrlein
| |
| Team | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:07.968 on lap 12 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
| Edoardo Mortara
|
 Jean-Éric Vergne
|
 Stoffel Vandoorne
|
| Winner Team | ROKiT Venturi Racing
| |
| Time | 46:16.175 | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2022 Monaco E-Prix
|
2022 Berlin E-Prix II
| |
The 2022 Berlin E-Prix I, formally known as the 2022 Shell Recharge Berlin E-Prix I, was the seventh race of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Tempelhofring at Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany, on 14 May 2022.[1][2] The race was to be the first of two at the Berlin circuit, after the late withdrawal of the Cape Town E-Prix saw a second race at the Tempelhofring added in its place.[1]
Qualifying would see Edoardo Mortara sweep to his maiden pole position, defeating Alexander Sims with a stunning final sector seeing the Swiss ace gain three tenths to swing the Final in his favour.[3] To get to the final Mortara had beaten André Lotterer and António Félix da Costa, while Sims had defeated Group leader Pascal Wehrlein, before a dead heat in the Semi-Final with Jean-Éric Vergne went in his favour, the Brit having set his time first.[3]
The start of the race saw Mortara convert pole into an early lead, as Sims was busy fending off the attentions of da Costa as the Portuguese racer tried to fire the #13 DS Techeetah past the #29 Mahindra.[4] Behind Lotterer would sweep past Vergne before almost passing da Costa on the exit of turn three, while Stoffel Vandoorne tumbled back from ninth to twelfth as the main loser in the field.[4]
Sims briefly entertained hopes of challenging Mortara, although the Brit was soon shuffled back by da Costa, Lotterer and Vergne in short order.[4] He would eventually settle into fifth ahead of Wehrlein, who was unable to pass the Mahindra, while Mitch Evans stalked the lead group before beginning to slip away as the race passed the ten minute mark.[4]
Wehrlein and Sims subsequently became the first drivers in the lead sextet to arm Attack Mode, Wehrlein first and just managing to stay ahead of Evans, before darting past Sims.[4] Wehrlein then caught and passed teammate Lotterer, who moved out of the way en-route to arming AM for himself, before elbowing his way past both of the Techeetahs to claim second.[4]
More shuffles followed as da Costa and Vergne joined the AM party, while Mortara curiously remained away from the boost, basically waiting until Lotterer and Wehrlein ran out of AM to do so.[4] Lotterer would pass the Swiss racer as the #48 ROKiT Venturi armed AM with 20 minutes to go, with Mortara instantly getting back on terms and reclaiming the lead, while behind Vandoorne continued his recovery drive with a move on Wehrlein to claim sixth.[4]
The second round of AM saw more shuffling, with Vandoorne able to move up past Lotterer and da Costa in the exchanges, before being re-passed by the #36 Porsche.[4] Mortara, meanwhile, would again wait until his challengers had used the most of their boosts before arming it himself, falling to third before passing both Lotterer and Vandoorne.[4]
Into the closing stages and Vergne had joined the fight for the lead, with Mortara keeping the lead just out of reach of Vandoorne, before the #25 Techeetah used FanBoost to pass the #5 Mercedes.[4] Then, with three minutes to go, Vergne lunged for the lead, ran wide, and found himself fighting to hold second against Vandoorne, with Mortara using that exchange to escape with a near two second lead.[4]
Indeed, Vergne's lunge would ultimately settle the race, with Mortara able to cruise through the closing minutes to claim his second win of the campaign.[4] Vandoorne would try various manoeuvres to pass Vergne but all ended in vain, leaving him in third, while Lotterer was unable to take advantage in fourth.[4] Evans enjoyed a late rally to claim fifth ahead of Wehrlein and Sam Bird, da Costa fell to eighth with a late energy worry, while Sims kept Nyck de Vries at bay to claim ninth.[4]
Background[]
Two weeks after the chequered flag fell at the 2022 Monaco E-Prix the ABB Formula E World Championship would find itself at the familiar sights and sounds of the apron at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, Germany.[1] The field would use the version of the circuit first unveiled in 2019, which had been used to host at least one race in every campaign since 2018/19.[1] Furthermore, there was to be a second race in Berlin staged on 15 May 2022, after the cancellation of the Cape Town E-Prix prompted the FIA and FE to make the round a double-header, while oil giant Shell announced they would sponsor the round with their "Recharge" branding, an initiative focused on electric car charging.[1][2]
ABT Again[]
Ahead of the Berlin E-Prix ABT Sportsline announced that they would return to FE for the 2022/23 season, having previously left the Series ahead of 2021/22.[5] The 2017/18 Champions, the German squad had been the factory Audi team through to the end of 2020/21, before being forced to leave the Championship when Audi pulled out and failing to secure a deal to re-secure the entry.[6] That decision also meant that ABT returned to the series without factory backing, although the German squad did not reveal who they intended to get powertrains from for the 2022/23 season.[5]
Team Edits[]
There would also be news of another new entry to FE for the 2022/23 season, albeit one which would be taking over an existing team.[7] Indeed, McLaren Racing finally announced that they would be joining the FE field for the Generation 3 era, with the British marque in the final stages of securing a deal to purchase the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team at the end of Season Eight.[7] McLaren would not, however, be joining as a manufacturer for their first FE campaign, with the squad instead heavily rumoured to be signing as a customer of Nissan.[7]
Over at Avalanche Andretti, meanwhile, the American squad announced that they would be using Porsche powertrains for the 2022/23 season, reuniting with the German marque for the first time since their days in the American Le Mans Series in 2008.[8]
Moroccan Maintenance[]
Elsewhere, the replacement round for the Vancouver E-Prix was announced in the build-up to the Berlin round, with the Marrakesh E-Prix returning to the calendar for the first time since the 2019/20.[9] It was the second time in three seasons that FE would use the Circuit Moulay El Hassan to replace another round, with the 2020 Marrakesh E-Prix having been staged instead of the Hong Kong E-Prix that year due to the political revolt in the Special Administrative Region.[9] The trip to Marrakesh would be staged on 2 July 2022, the same date that the Vancouver round had been planned, with rumours that FE would make the race a double header if other calendar issues arose.[9]
Monte Movers[]
Arriving in Berlin, Stoffel Vandoorne had moved to the top of the table in Monaco after his first win of the campaign, the Belgian ace having increased his tally to 81 points. Jean-Éric Vergne had made way for Vandoorne, and fallen six behind, while Mitch Evans was up to third on 72 points. Robin Frijns was a further point behind in fourth ahead of Edoardo Mortara, while António Félix da Costa was the only other mover as he climbed into the top ten.
In the Teams' Championship Mercedes had retained the lead in title hunt, the German squad having moved onto 120 points for the campaign. DS Techeetah, meanwhile, had climbed to second, having also moved past the 100 point barrier, while Jaguar Racing were up to third courtesy of Evans' efforts. Envision Racing and ROKiT Venturi Racing completed the top five, Porsche had fallen from second to sixth, while Dragon/Penske remained the sole pointless team in the field.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2022 Berlin E-Prix I is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2022 Berlin E-Prix I would be conducted according to the knockout format, introduced ahead of season eight.[11] The field would be split into two groups of eleven drivers, based on Championship position, with each group then getting ten minutes on track to complete as many laps as they wished at 220 kW.[11] The fastest eight overall would then proceed to the knockout phase, now running at the maximum 250 kW qualifying mode, with the fastest from group A against the fourth fastest from group B and so on, until four drivers were left.[11]
Those four would move on to the Semi-Final, with the winner of A1/B4 taking on the victor of A2/B3, while the triumphant driver of A3/B2 would take on A4/B1's winner.[11] The winners from those duels would then go into the final, with the winner of that duel taking pole, while the runner-up would start from second, before any grid penalties were applied.[11]
Group A[]
Sérgio Sette Câmara would be the first drive to venture out of the pitlane as Group A were cleared to take to the Tempelhofring, with the #7 Dragon/Penske quickly joined on track by Oliver Turvey.[12] The Brazilian racer duly set the ball rolling by launching straight into a push lap, recording a 1:07.652 as the rest of the drivers began to leave the pitlane.[12] Jake Dennis would be the first to unseat the Brazilian with a 1:07.134, followed across the line by Pascal Wehrlein, Stoffel Vandoorne and then Mitch Evans, before Edoardo Mortara hit the front with a 1:07.036.[12]
A split would follow over the following moments, with some drivers completing cool down laps before going again, while several others would opt to complete another flying lap straight away.[12] Dennis was among the latter category and would jump back into third place, with Lucas di Grassi remaining between himself and Mortara, while Turvey improved to sixth on his second effort.[12] Then came the drivers who opted to complete cool down laps to shuffle the order, with Wehrlein briefly topping the timesheet with a 1:06.938, before Mortara went fastest once again with a 1:06.900 to end the first half of the session at the head of the pack.[12]
Everyone would pit after that, with the eleven drivers rejoining the circuit with three minutes of the session left to run and with Sette Câmara again leading the rest of the group onto the track.[12] He opted to complete a prep lap along with Wehrlein, Turvey, Cassidy and Dennis, while the rest of the drivers would slot amongst them, having opted to wait and go straight onto their flying laps.[12] As a result it was Sette Câmara who would go first, followed on track by di Grassi, while Dennis ended up at the back of the runners as they started their final runs to get the knockout stage.[12]
An impressive lap from Sette Câmara saw the Brazilian racer leap into second, while di Grassi was punished for a poor first sector and hence remained in fourth and vulnerable to those behind him on track.[12] Mortara was next up and failed to improve upon his benchmark time, while Evans duly supplanted di Grassi by securing fourth in the #9 Jaguar, only to be knocked out by Vandoorne as the Belgian ace hit the front with a 1:06.803.[12] That, however, would not be enough for Vandoorne to top the group, as a stunning effort from Wehrlein saw the #94 Porsche end the session fastest with a 1:06.532, with the German pilot joined in the knockouts by Vandoorne, Mortara and Sette Câmara.[12]
Group B[]
As with Group A it was as Dragon/Penske that ventured out of the pitlane first at the start of the session, with Antonio Giovinazzi leading Oliver Askew out onto the circuit as soon as the pit exit light went green.[12] Within the first couple of minutes everyone in the group bar Nyck de Vries, António Félix da Costa and Robin Frijns would head out, with that trio waiting until Giovinazzi began his first flying lap before they headed out to complete their first runs.[12] Giovinazzi, meanwhile, would set the intial benchmark at a 1:07.477, which would withstand the challenge of Sam Bird as the Brit lost time after catching a slow Askew towards the end of his run.[12]
Instead it was Oliver Rowland who inevitably toppled Giovinazzi, before his effort was bested by former teammate Sébastien Buemi as the Swiss pilot recorded a 1:07.134.[12] That time would remain the best until André Lotterer swept across the line, surviving a brush with the barrier exiting turn nine to claim a 1:06.767 as the last of the prepers to set their times.[12] Next across the line would be the trio who had opted against completing a prep lap, with da Costa going second fastest while Frijns ended up last behind de Vries, having had his lap ruined by catching a slow Buemi at the entry to turn four.[12]
With that the entire Group would pit, before Lotterer led the entourage back out onto the circuit with three minutes to go, the #36 Porsche having opted to complete a prep lap once again.[12] As they warmed up Rowland would lead de Vries, Jean-Éric Vergne and Buemi onto the circuit, the latter duo and Rowland having swapped strategies in forgoing a build-up lap, and hence would be the first drivers in the Group to complete their second and final flying laps.[12] Rowland was first to go but was punished for a mistake a turn six, resulting in the Brit failing to improve and hence remaining in fifth as the rest of the Group completed their runs.[12]
de Vries too would struggle with a miserable first sector proving to be too much for him to overcome, ending up sixth at the end of his run, while Vergne improved to claim second with Buemi in fourth.[12] Then came Lotterer who held onto first, only to be dethroned by da Costa as the Portuguese pilot swept across the line to record a 1:06.739.[12] Bird and Frijns then completed their runs but remained at the back of the Group, meaning it would be da Costa, Lotterer, Vergne and Buemi who progressed to the Knockouts from Group B.[12]
Knockouts[]
Immediately after the conclusion of Group B, Buemi would see his fastest time deleted for impeding Frijns in the early part of the session, dumping him out of the Knockout places.[12] Alexander Sims was hence promoted into the Knockout stage, with Mahindra Racing facing a rush to get the Brit's #29 car ready in time to compete in the session, as he would take on Wehrlein in the first Quarter Final.[12] Quarter Final 2 would then see Vergne face off against Vandoorne before Mortara and Lotterer did battle, while the final quarter-final duel would see da Costa take on Sette Câmara to conclude the first part of the knockout stage.[12]
Quarter Finals[]
Sims was the first driver onto the circuit after his late call up to the quarter finals, and a strong first sector saw the Brit take control early on against Wehrlein, taking a one tenth advantage after the #94 Porsche got out of shape in turn one.[12] That advantage only grew in the second sector, with Sims ultimately winning the duel with a 1:05.939 to Wehrlein's 1:06.157, the German having briefly rallied back at the start of the final sector.[12] Likewise, the second Quarter Final would effectively be decided in the first sector, with Vergne instantly gaining a two and a half tenth advantage that he would hold to the chequered flag, as Vandoorne was punished for running wide at turn one/two.[12]
The third quarter final opened with Mortara running ahead of Lotterer, although it would be first blood to the German pilot who gain a tenth and a half fthrough the first sector.[12] Mortara would rally back in the second, reducing the arrears to a tenth, before a stunning run through the final two corners carried the #48 ROKiT Venturi into the Semi Finals, albeit by just 0.008s from Lotterer.[12] Sette Câmara then took to the circuit for his duel with da Costa, although the two tenths that the Dragon/Penske surrendered to the DS Techeetah would be too much for Sette Câmara and his exuberant style to recover, da Costa winning the battle by that margin come the end of their runs.[12]
Semi Finals[]
Into the first Semi Final and it was Sims who ran first ahead of Vergne, with the #29 Mahindra delivering the first blow with a strong first sector, two tenths after than Vergne's effort after the #25 DS Techeetah ran wide at the first corner.[12] Vergne was not out of it, however, and duly delivered one the fastest second sectors of the day to reduce the gap to 0.06s, and with momentum on his side.[12] Vergne would then go on to beat Sims in the third sector, but the end result would be a dead heat between the two as Sims and Vergne both recorded a 1:06.050, with victory ultimately awarded to Sims as he had technically set his time before Vergne.[12]
After the first Semi had been settled by a technicality the second would prove to be as equally well matched, with da Costa running ahead of Mortara and establishing a 0.050s advantage come the end of the first sector.[12] In the second sector the pair were fairly well matched, although Mortara would chip away at his deficit, before another aced run through the final sector swung the duel in the #48 Venturi's favour, a 1:05.914 for Mortara enough to beat da Costa's 1:05.999 and claim a place in the final.[12]
Final[]
Having set the slower time it was Sims, making his first Final appearance in his first Knockout appearance, who ran first, and it was the #29 Mahindra that was on top after the first sector, gaining a tenth on Mortara with a tight and controlled run through turns one and two.[12] The second sector would see the gap remain at a tenth as Mortara battled with his Venturi, only for another excellent final sector to turn the duel in his favour.[12] Indeed, Mortara would ace the run through the two hairpins that made up the final sector to gain three tenths on Sims and grab pole with a 1:06.093 to Sims' 1:06.230, an effort that saw Mortara set a new record for most races before his first FE pole position at 54.[12]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2022 Berlin E-Prix I are outlined below:
| 2022 Berlin E-Prix I Qualifying Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| I | Win | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:06.093 | — | 1 |
| Lose | 29 |  Alexander Sims
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:06.230 | +0.137s | 2 | |
| Semi-Finals | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| I | Win | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:06.050 | — | F |
| Lose | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.050 | +0.000s | 4 | |
| II | Win | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:05.914 | — | F |
| Lose | 13 |  António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:05.999 | +0.085s | 3 | |
| Quarter Finals | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| QF 1 | Win | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:05.939 | — | SF |
| Lose | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:06.157 | +0.218s | 6 | |
| QF 2 | Win | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:05.893 | — | SF |
| Lose | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.302 | +0.409s | 8 | |
| QF 3 | Win | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:05.954 | — | SF |
| Lose | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:05.962 | +0.008s | 5 | |
| QF 4 | Win | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.064 | — | SF |
| Lose | 7 |  Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
 Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:06.299 | +0.235s | 7 | |
| Group Stage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:06.532 | — | QF 1 | GA |
| 2nd | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.739 | +0.207s | QF 4 | GB |
| 3rd | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
1:06.767 | +0.235s | QF 3 | GB |
| 4th | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
1:06.803 | +0.271s | QF 2 | GA |
| 5th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:06.900 | +0.368s | QF 3 | GA |
| 6th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Techeetah
|
1:06.908 | +0.376s | QF 2 | GB |
| 7th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:06.913 | +0.381s | QF 4 | GA |
| 8th | 9 |  Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.027 | +0.495s | 9 | GA |
| 9th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
1:07.034 | +0.502s | 11 | GA |
| 10th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
1:07.132 | +0.600s | 13 | GA |
| 11th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
 NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:07.229 | +0.697s | 14 | GA |
| 12th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.243 | +0.711s | QF 1 | GB |
| 13th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:07.268 | +0.736s | 16 | GA |
| 14th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
1:07.305 | +0.773s | 19 | GA |
| 15th* | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
1:07.320* | +0.788s | 10 | GB |
| 16th | 17 |  Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
1:07.333 | +0.801s | 12 | GB |
| 17th† | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:07.358 | +0.826s | 17† | GB |
| 18th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:07.415 | +0.883s | 15 | GB |
| 19th | 99 |  Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
1:07.477 | +0.945s | 18 | GB |
| 20th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Racing
|
1:07.650 | +1.118s | 20 | GB |
| 21st | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
1:07.672 | +1.140s | 21 | GA |
| 22nd | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
1:07.714 | +1.182s | 22 | GB |
| Group A 110% Time: 1:13.185[13] | |||||||
| Group B 110% Time: 1:13.412[13] | |||||||
| Source:[13] | |||||||
- * Buemi had his fastest time deleted for impeding Frijns during Group B.[3]
- † Rowland served a three place grid penalty for causing a collision with Lotterer at the 2022 Monaco E-Prix.[14]
Race[]
Conditions were dry and warm in Berlin ahead of the seventh race of the season, with no changes to the grid after Oliver Rowland served his grid penalty for colliding with André Lotterer in Monte Carlo.[15] The Attack Mode rules were revealed in the build-up to the race, with the familiar two activations lasting four minutes apiece being selected for the opening bout at Tempelhofring, with the activation zone found on the outside of turn six.[15] With that the field were released from the dummy grid for the start, pulling forward a few metres to take their starting slots to await the starting lights.[15]
Report[]
From pole position there was no stopping Edoardo Mortara, with the Swiss ace immediately able to convert pole into the lead through the sweeping first corner by hugging the inside line through the left hander.[15] That left Alexander Sims to try and fend off that attentions of António Félix da Costa to hold second, which the Brit successfully did by forcing da Costa to try around the outside of the left-hander.[15] Lotterer duly took advantage and would lunge inside da Costa into turn two to grab third, only for the Portuguese ace to slither back ahead on the brakes for turn four a few moments later and reclaim third.[15]
The rest of the opening tour would see Mortara establish his lead ahead of Sims, while behind Rowland would try to force a move on Stoffel Vandoorne into turn nine, although the #5 Mercedes kept the #30 Mahindra behind.[15] Elsewhere, Mitch Evans had held on to seventh behind Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Éric Vergne, while Sam Bird had climbed up to eleventh almost unnoticed from fifteenth on the grid.[15] With that the race would soon settle, with the order remaining stable barring a small charge from Oliver Askew as the American rookie fired past Dan Ticktum and then Antonio Giovinazzi to move into twentieth.[15]
Indeed, it was only a mistake from Vergne on the third lap that finally saw a change to the order out front, a lock-up for the Frenchman in the #25 DS Techeetah seeing him run wide at turn six and allow Wehrlein to bruise his way past for fifth.[15] A lap later and da Costa was firing the sister #13 Techeetah down the inside of the Sims' #29 Mahindra for second, a move which also let Lotterer sweep right onto the tail of the Brit into turn nine.[15] Lotterer would then have to wait until the run to turn six before he too would fire inside the #29 Mahindra to relieve Sims of third, while behind Vergne made up for his earlier mistake by reclaiming fifth from Wehrlein.[15]
Vergne would go on to also pass Sims without resistance into turn six on lap six, while behind Vandoorne eyed up a move on Bird for eleventh, which he would complete on lap seven with a lunge into turn one.[15] Lucas di Grassi would also find his way past the Brit as a relative calm spread over the top ten, until Wehrlein set the AM ball rolling on lap ten when he took his first boost of the day and held on to sixth.[15] Nyck de Vries would also arm AM from tenth place and dropped back behind Bird, a decision which also released teammate Vandoorne to attack and pass Sérgio Sette Câmara, while Vergne continued his march to the front by completing an over-under manouevre on Lotterer through turn six/seven.[15]
Sims would take AM as Vergne and Lotterer battled, dropping behind Wehrlein, with the #94 Porsche being told to pass the sister car of Lotterer on lap twelve, although Lotterer made that decision immaterial as he armed AM in the same moment.[15] Now released from his teammate Wehrlein would charge onto the back of Vergne into turn one at the start of the next lap, sweeping inside the #25 Techeetah to claim third before darting clear.[15] Vergne was hence left to fend off a now AM boosted Sims as the Brit closed right onto the Frenchman's tail, and would duly snatch fourth without resistance as Vergne armed his first AM boost and dropped back to sixth, just ahead of Vandoorne who had scythed down the inside of Evans to claim seventh in the same moment.[15]
Lap fourteen and Wehrlein had tracked down da Costa, and would just manage to throw the #94 Porsche down the inside of the #13 Techeetah to claim second into the first corner, just as his AM boost ended.[15] da Costa would soon fall to both Sims and then Lotterer through turn six a few moments later as he armed AM, with Vergne also sweeping past his teammate on the exit to relegate the Portuguese ace to sixth.[15] A fair gap then followed before Vandoorne appeared with Evans on his tail, those two desparately trying to catch back up with the lead group, while Mortara was cleared of a penalty after being investigated for a pre-race pitlane infringement.[15]
With Wehrlein's AM over he became vulnerable to those behind, with Sims eyeing a move into turn one before having to back off in order to deal with a challenge from Lotterer around the outside of the sweeping left hander.[15] Lotterer would force the issue later around the lap, firing down the inside of the #29 Mahindra into turn six in a move that pushed Sims wide enough that Vergne was also able to sneak through.[15] Sims was further compromised on the exit by Vergne barging through and duly fell to da Costa on the run to turn six, while up ahead Porsche told Wehrlein to surrender second to Lotterer, who duly slipped past his teammate into the first corner at the start of the next tour.[15]
Vergne tried to follow Lotterer through past Wehrlein into turn one, although the German pilot successfully managed to slot the #94 Porsche back across the nose of the #25 Techeetah to hold third.[15] It was a brief respite, however, for Vergne would scythe down the inside of Wehrlein into turn six, with da Costa also getting alongside through the corner, before completing the move with a brief glancing blow into turn seven.[15] Techeetah then played the team game as Vergne ran out of AM and let da Costa through into turn six on the following tour, while behind Sims would arm his second AM boost and just managed to hold on ahead of Vandoorne.[15]
Sims took three laps to recover the loss of time from taking AM, and duly managed to force his way past Wehrlein into turn one to claim fifth with some of his AM boost still remaining.[15] As his second AM came to an end Mortara was taking his first, briefly losing the lead to Lotterer before he too completed an impressive move down the inside of the first corner to reclaim the lead.[15] Behind, Sims would use the last of his AM to reclaim fourth from Vergne and then third from da Costa, with Vergne responding by leading Wehrlein into the AM activation zone for the second time, although both were passed on the inside by Vandoorne.[15]
With AM Vergne was the man to watch once again, firing back past Vandoorne into turn one at the start of lap 23, before da Costa let his teammate back past into turn six without resistance.[15] Vergne then caught Sims but was unable to immediately force a move into turn one, Sims hugging the inside line, while behind da Costa was unable to resist the attentions of Vandoorne as the Beligan racer fired inside the #13 Techeetah to claim fifth.[15] The exchanges continued with Vergne firing inside Sims to claim third into turn six, while Wehrlein took sixth from da Costa as the Portugese pilot opted to take his second AM boost.[15]
It was da Costa's turn for revenge over the following laps, elbowing past Wehrlein inside of turn one, while Vandoorne relieved Sims of fourth with a novel move down the inside of turn three having run around the outside of the #29 Mahindra through turn one/two.[15] da Costa then desposed Sims to claim fifth a lap later, scything inside at trurn one, while Vandoorne had to wait until turn six to fire ahead of Vergne for third.[15] da Costa then lunged at his teammate into turn nine, although without team orders the Portugese racer found himself having to outmuscle the sister Techeetah through the hairpin right in order to secure fourth.[15]
Vandoorne would use FanBoost a few moments later to prevent da Costa making a lunge into the first corner, before inheriting second as Lotterer took his second AM boost and fell to both the #5 Mercedes and the #13 Techeetah.[15] da Costa would not resist Lotterer for long, however, the #36 Porsche firing back past into turn nine, before he reclaimed second as Vandoorne took his second AM boost but crucially remained ahead of da Costa on the exit of turn six.[15] Behind, meanwhile, Bird had quietly battled his way up to ninth behind teammate Evans, with the two Jaguars now on the tail of the lead group as the race entered its final phase due to the fighting amongst those in second through seventh.[15]
Mortara, meanwhile, had worked hard to rebuild his small lead, although it was not enough for him to avoid losing the lead to Lotterer when he took his second and final AM boost on lap 31, with Vandoorne following through.[15] Lotterer had just fended off a look from Vandoorne into turns six and then nine, while behind Wehrlein would fire past Sims for sixth, a move which would allow Evans to catch and then pass the #29 Mahindra into turn six a few moments later.[15] Vandoorne then sized up and completed a move on Lotterer for the lead into run six a lap later, a move which also allowed Mortara to fire back past the #36 Porsche, before the Swiss racer darted past Vandoorne for the lead into turn six on lap 33.[15]
With that Lotterer's race was effectively over, the German racer falling to Vergne on the same tour, before having to put up a furious defence from da Costa to hold onto fourth.[15] Vergne then managed to use FanBoost to fire past Vandoorne for second into turn six, before catching up to the back of Mortara, using his c.1% energy advantage over the #48 ROKiT Venturi in order to do so.[15] Yet, the Frenchman would spurn his best chance to claim the lead, for having managed to fire the #25 Techeetah down the inside of the #48 Venturi-Mercedes, Vergne would run too wide with understeer and allow Mortara to dart back inside and hold the initiative.[15]
With that Mortara was away, while Vergne found himself fighting a rearguard action from Vandoorne to hold second, taking very defensive lines into the final pair of hairpins in order to keep the #5 Mercedes at bay.[15] On the final tour Vergne was still having to watch his mirrors for the sight of Vandoorne behind, causing him to run wide at turn one, although Vandoorne could not profit.[15] Behind, meanwhile, Evans would complete a late lunge on da Costa into turn four to claim fifth, while Lotterer would find a late second wind and throw a challenge at Vandoorne into turn nine, forcing the #5 Mercedes to take a defensive line into the hairpin.[15]
Ahead of that, meanwhile, Mortara would complete an impressive victory having only failed to lead five of the 39 laps completed during the race.[15] Vergne was next up ahead of Vandoorne, who resisted Lotterer to the chequered flag, while Evans kept his title aspirations alive with fifth ahead of Wehrlein.[15] Bird was next up after he followed Wehrlein past da Costa on the final tour, aided by the #13 Techeetah running out of energy exiting the final corner, while Sims and Rowland claimed the final points in ninth and tenth.[15]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2022 Berlin E-Prix I is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold:
| 2022 Berlin E-Prix I Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
40 | 46:16.175 | 1:08.648 | 28 |
| 2nd | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne 
|
DS Techeetah
|
40 | +1.782s | 1:08.394 | 18 |
| 3rd | 5 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
Mercedes
|
40 | +1.987s | 1:08.394 | 15 |
| 4th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
40 | +2.579s | 1:08.468 | 12 |
| 5th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +3.189s | 1:08.150 | 10 |
| 6th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche Formula E Team
|
40 | +5.405s | 1:07.968 | 9 |
| 7th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +5.683s | 1:08.049 | 6 |
| 8th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
DS Techeetah
|
40 | +6.400s | 1:08.244 | 4 |
| 9th | 29 | Alexander Sims
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | +6.569s | 1:08.256 | 2 |
| 10th | 17 | Nyck de Vries
|
Mercedes
|
40 | +6.602s | 1:08.414 | 1 |
| 11th | 30 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | +8.141s | 1:08.361 | |
| 12th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
Envision Racing
|
40 | +9.879s | 1:07.927 | |
| 13th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
40 | +13.314s | 1:08.349 | |
| 14th | 23 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
40 | +15.275s | 1:08.385 | |
| 15th | 28 | Oliver Askew
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
40 | +22.071s | 1:08.184 | |
| 16th | 3 | Oliver Turvey
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
40 | +22.662s | 1:08.420 | |
| 17th | 7 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
40 | +24.120s | 1:08.343 | |
| 18th | 22 | Maximilian Günther
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
40 | +28.716s | 1:08.042 | |
| 19th | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 FE Team
|
40 | +30.393s | 1:08.283 | |
| 20th | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi
|
Dragon/Penske Autosport
|
40 | +52.025s | 1:08.488 | |
| Ret* | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
ROKiT Venturi Racing
|
38 | Retired | 1:07.880* | |
| Ret | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
31 | Retired | 1:08.426 | |
| Source:[13] | |||||||
Indicates a driver was awarded FanBoost during the race.[16]- * di Grassi set the fastest lap of the race (1:07.880) but was ineligible to claim the bonus point as he failed to finish in the top ten.[13]
Milestones[]
- Fifteenth Berlin E-Prix to be staged.
- Maiden pole position for Edoardo Mortara.
- Mortara set a new record for most races before claiming a first pole position - 54.
- Mortara claimed his fourth career victory.
- Fourth win for the Venturi Formula E Team as an entrant.
- Mercedes claimed their tenth win as a powertrain supplier.
- Nyck de Vries secured his 25th FanBoost victory.
Standings[]
Stoffel Vandoorne had retained the lead in the Championship after the first bout in Berlin, the Belgian pilot having moved onto 96 points for the campaign. Jean-Éric Vergne had likewise held second, and closed to within three of the lead, while Mitch Evans had lost ground in third, fourteen behind. Edoardo Mortara, meanwhile, was up to fourth after his second win of the campaign, with Robin Frijns completing the top five.
In the Teams' Championship Mercedes had maintained their advantage at the head of the field, holding 136 points midway through their home round. DS Techeetah had cut the gap however, closing to within nine of the defending Champions, while ROKiT Venturi had also made ground in third. Jaguar Racing were next up ahead of the Porsche Formula E Team, Envision Racing were down to sixth, while Dragon/Penske were still pointless after Sérgio Sette Câmara had tumbled down the field during the race.
|
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References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 'SEASON 8 CALENDAR: Cape Town, Vancouver and Seoul feature on most expansive Formula E schedule yet', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 08/07/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/july/season-8-calendar-announcement, (Accessed 08/07/2021)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'SHELL RECHARGE HIGHLIGHTS E-MOBILITY AMBITION VIA TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF BERLIN E-PRIX', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 10/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/shell-recharge-berlin-e-prix, (Accessed 11/05/2022)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 'MORTARA FIRES TO MAIDEN FORMULA E JULIUS BAER POLE POSITION IN BERLIN', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/berlin-e-prix-qualifying-report, (Accessed 14/05/2022)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 'MORTARA FENDS OFF ALL COMERS TO WIN SHELL RECHARGE BERLIN E-PRIX ROUND 7', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/berlin-e-prix-round-7-report, (Accessed 14/05/2022)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAuxit - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 'MCLAREN RACING TO ENTER FORMULA E', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/mclaren-joins-formula-e, (Accessed 14/05/2022)
- ↑ 'AVALANCHE ANDRETTI FORMULA E TO BE POWERED BY PORSCHE FROM 2023', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/andretti-porsche-powertrain, (Accessed 13/05/2022)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 'MARRAKESH TO HOST ROUND 10 OF 2021/22 ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ON 2 JULY', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 11/05/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/may/season-8-calendar-update-marrakesh, (Accessed 11/05/2022)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEL - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 'Updated calendar, faster racing and knockout qualifying for Season 8', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 15/10/2021), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2021/october/season-8-sporting-update, (Accessed 16/10/2021)
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 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 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedQH - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 'Round 7 - 2022 Shell Recharge Berlin E-Prix I ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/05/2022), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/07_R07%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/Event%20Booklet/R07-BERLIN_BOOKLET.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 14/05/2022)
- ↑ 'ROUND 6 - MONACO E-PRIX - 30 APRIL 2022: Decision No. 10', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 30/04/2022), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/06_R06%20Monaco/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/048_Doc%2048%20-%20Decision%20No.%2010.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 30/04/2022)
- ↑ 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 15.47 15.48 15.49 15.50 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRH - ↑ 'ROUND 7 - BERLIN E-PRIX I - 13 - 14 MAY 2022: FanBoost - Round 7', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 14/05/2022), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/07_2021-22/07_R07%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/033_Doc%2033%20-%20Bulletin%20No.%204.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 14/05/2022)