 2023 Berlin E-Prix II
| ||
|---|---|---|
 The Tempelhofring returned for the 2023 season. | ||
| Race Information | ||
| Date | 23 April 2023 | |
| E-Prix No. | 108 (8 of 2022/23) | |
| Official Name | 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix II | |
| Location |  TempelhofringBerlin, Brandenburg, Germany | |
| Format | 95 km / 60 min | |
| Lap length | 2.355 km (1.476 mi) | |
| Distance | 40 laps / 94.200 km (58.533 mi) | |
| Qualifying Result | ||
| Pole Sitter |  Robin Frijns
| |
| Team | ABT Cupra Formula E Team
| |
| Time | 1:18.748 (107.660 km/h) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver | Maximilian Günther
| |
| Team |  Maserati MSG Racing
| |
| Fastest Lap | 1:06.911 on lap 36 | |
| ePrix Result | ||
| First | Second | Third |
 Nick Cassidy
|
 Jake Dennis
|
 Jean-Éric Vergne
|
| Winner Team | Envision Racing
| |
| Time | 46:34.509 (121.352 km/h) | |
| ePrix Guide | ||
| Previous | Next | |
| 2023 Berlin E-Prix I
|
2023 Monaco E-Prix
| |
| Post-Race Test | 2023 Rookie Test
| |
The 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix II, otherwise known as the 2023 Berlin E-Prix II, was the eighth race of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, staged at the Tempelhofring in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany, on 23 April 2023.[1] The race, which marked the end of the first half of the ninth FE campaign, would see Nick Cassidy sweep to his first win of the campaign, having charged into the lead shortly after the midway point of the race.[2]
Heavy rain in the morning would turn into a drizzle ahead of qualifying, and on a soaking wet apron at Tempelhof Airport there would be a shock in store, as Robin Frijns defeated teammate Nico Müller in the Final to secure pole position for ABT Cupra and their first points of their miserable return campaign.[3] Indeed, the pair of grey-blue Mahindra M9Electros would be at the top of the pile throughout the session, with Frijns and Müller both coming close to topping their groups, before the Dutchman swept aside Mitch Evans and then Sébastien Buemi while Müller fended off the attentions of Pascal Wehrlein and Jean-Éric Vergne.[3]
Unfortunately for ABT Cupra their hopes of victory would evapourate ahead of the race, for the rain would clear as would the water on track, with the circuit completely dry by the time the field lined up on the dummy grid.[2] There would be some trouble at the start proper however, as protesters managed to get onto the circuit and attempted to glue themselves to the circuit, although the track security and officials managed to clear them from the track without incident.[2][4]
After that small delay the race got underway, with Frijns opting to bolt off the line and grab the lead instantly at the start, with Müller slotting into second to act as a rear-gunner of sorts as ABT enjoyed their moment in the sun.[2] Behind it was a four-way fight for third between four title pretenders, Buemi, Wehrlein, Vergne and Evans all squabbling for position, with Wehrlein getting his elbows out the hardest in order to slot into third behind the two ABT-Mahindras.[2]
Attack Mode, as it had on Saturday, would come into play very early on, with the majority of the lead group taking it in the first couple of laps in which it was available.[2] The order come the end of the first set of activations would see Frijns retain the lead, Vergne jump up to a net second ahead of Müller, while Evans would opt to go later than the rest, and ran in the wake of Frijns.[2]
Müller hit the front soon after, taking advantage of a distracted Vergne when Evans went for AM for the second time, before easing past teammate Frijns whose pace was about to collapse.[2] Indded, during the second round of AM boosts Frijns would tumble down the order and out of the points entirely, eleventh his ultimate fate, while Müller managed to keep his slim podium hopes alive, finding himself nestled in between the likes of Evans, Vergne, Buemi and the two Porsches of Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa.[2]
Wehrlein soon made his way to the front with da Costa in tow, although once the Portuguese racer took his second AM boost the two Stuttgart cars were split by the two Envision Racing run Jaguars, Cassidy having quietly got himself into the lead group with teammate Buemi now chasing him.[2] However, the order would continue to shuffle with overtakes coming at almost every corner around the Tempelhofring, with an overwhelming desire to harvest energy throughout the field meaning most wanted to be running in the pack rather than on their own.[2]
Step forward Cassidy, who would decide shortly after half-distance to take control of the race, surging up from fifth to first over the space of a lap before settling into a steady rhythm at the head of the hunt.[2] Evans would make his bid for victory a few laps later, rising from fifth to second, while at the back Maximilian Günther was scything his way up the order from the back, the German racer breaking into the top seven despite having started the race down in twenty-first on the grid.[2]
Evans' race would become a battle as the race entered its closing stages, second soon becoming fifth again, before regaining some ground, only to find that with five laps to go, the entire top six had enough energy to finish the race with only minimal saving required.[2] That saw the pace quickly ramp up and the fighting intensify, with Cassidy still heading the field as the fourtieth and final tour of the Tempelhofring began.[2]
After the first corner the four-way fight for the lead became a duel, for Vergne and Evans would both lock-up and run wide while trying to lunge at Dennis, leaving the Brit as the only man would could thwart Cassidy.[2] However, the New Zealander was not to be troubled, and having placed his car beautifully into turns six and nine to deny Dennis a lunge, it was Cassidy who swept across the line first to secure his first win of the campaign, half a second ahead of Dennis.[2] Vergne was a second away in third with Evans in tow, da Costa secured fifth ahead of a battle scarred Günther and Wehrlein, Stoffel Vandoorne had a realtively quiet run to eighth with fastest lap, while Müller managed to keep his wits about him to claim his first points score of the season in ninth ahead of Dan Ticktum.[2]
Background[]
There were no changes made to the Tempelhofring overnight after the 2023 Berlin E-Prix I, with the FIA and Formula E opting against reversing the layout for the second race, as had been the case in previous double-headers at Tempelhof Airport.[1] The race itself had been a late addition to the calendar, effectively replacing one of the planned races in Seoul due to issues with finding a venue for that E-Prix, and would be followed the following day by the 2023 Rookie Test, which meant that the circuit would have had to have been reversed once again in any event.[1][5] In terms of the entry list there were no changes overnight, all drivers and cars having survived the first battle of Berlin without major issues, although there was a change in the weather with rain expected in the first half of the day, up to an including during qualifying.[1]
Minor Pushes[]
Pascal Wehrlein had again ended a Formula E E-Prix with the Championship lead after recovering from a poor qualifying session to claim minor points, with his lead tood at 23 points after the first battle of Berlin. Instead it was the pack behind him that had been shaken up, with Nick Cassidy heading into the second Berlin E-Prix as the German pilot's closest challenger, five ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne in third. Mitch Evans was next up having leapt from ninth to fourth with his second win in a row, while another painful non-score saw Jake Dennis tumble from second to fifth, level Sam Bird on 62 points.
In the Teams' Championship Porsche had, like their lead driver, managed to maintain their lead in the title hunt after their first home race, although the Stuttgart squad's advantage had been reduced to 24 points. Indeed, Envision Racing had almost halved the deficit they faced to the German manufacturer after the first battle of Berlin, although they were only two ahead of their suppliers Jaguar Racing, whose one-two finish from Evans and Bird had seen them smash through the 100 point mark. DS Penske were next up in fourth, Avalanche Andretti had halted their recent tumble down the order an remained in fifth, while ABT Cupra had once again come away from an E-Prix empty handed.
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2023 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below:
Practice[]
FP1[]
FP2[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying for the 2023 Berlin E-Prix II would be conducted according to the knockout format, introduced ahead of season eight.[7] 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 300 kW.[7] The fastest eight overall would then proceed to the knockout phase, now running at the maximum 350 kW qualifying mode, with the fastest from group A against the fourth fastest from group A and so on, until four drivers were left.[7]
Those four would move on to the Semi-Final, with the winner of A1/A4 taking on the victor of A2/A3, while the triumphant driver of B3/B2 would take on B4/B1's winner.[7] 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.[7]
Group A[]
Group B[]
Knockouts[]
Quarter Finals[]
Semi Finals[]
Final[]
Post Qualifying[]
The final qualifying result for the 2023 Berlin E-Prix II are outlined below:
| 2023 Berlin E-Prix II Qualifying Results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| I | Win | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:18.748 | — | 1 |
| Lose | 51 |  Nico Müller
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:19.380 | +0.632s | 2 | |
| Semi-Finals | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| I | Win | 51 | Nico Müller
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:19.177 | — | F |
| Lose | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Penske
|
1:19.237 | +0.060s | 4 | |
| II | Win | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:18.743 | — | F |
| Lose | 16 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Envision Racing
|
1:19.071 | +0.328s | 3 | |
| Quarter Finals | |||||||
| Heat | Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid |
| QF 1 | Win | 51 | Nico Müller
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:18.493 | — | SF |
| Lose | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche
|
1:18.805 | +0.312s | 6 | |
| QF 2 | Win | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Penske
|
1:19.298 | — | SF |
| Lose | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
 Avalanche Andretti
|
1:19.727 | +0.429s | 7 | |
| QF 3 | Win | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:18.423 | — | SF |
| Lose | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:18.492 | +0.069s | 5 | |
| QF 4 | Win | 16 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Envision Racing
|
1:18.813 | — | SF |
| Lose | 37* | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
8 | |||
| Group Stage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time | Gap | Grid | Group |
| 1st | 16 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Envision Racing
|
1:18.282 | — | QF 4 | GB |
| 2nd | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:18.447 | +0.165s | QF 3 | GB |
| 3rd | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:18.528 | +0.246s | QF 3 | GB |
| 4th | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
1:18.650 | +0.368s | QF 4 | GB |
| 5th | 1 |  Stoffel Vandoorne
|
DS Penske
|
1:18.974 | +0.692s | 9 | GB |
| 6th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
1:19.010 | +0.728s | 11 | GB |
| 7th | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Penske
|
1:19.047 | +0.765s | QF 2 | GA |
| 8th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche
|
1:19.073 | +0.791s | QF 1 | GA |
| 9th | 51 | Nico Müller
|
ABT Cupra
|
1:19.092 | +0.810s | QF 1 | GA |
| 10th† | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
 NIO 333 Racing
|
1:19.232 | +0.950s | 18† | GB |
| 11th | 5 | Jake Hughes
|
McLaren
|
1:19.257 | +0.975s | 14 | GB |
| 12th | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
1:19.264 | +0.982s | QF 2 | GA |
| 13th | 13 |  António Félix da Costa
|
Porsche
|
1:19.297 | +1.015s | 10 | GA |
| 14th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
Maserati
|
1:19.422 | +1.140s | 16 | GB |
| 15th | 3 |  Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
NIO 333 Racing
|
1:19.441 | +1.159s | 19 | GB |
| 16th | 8 | Oliver Rowland
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
1:19.459 | +1.177s | 12 | GA |
| 17th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Mahindra Racing
|
1:19.600 | +1.318s | 13 | GA |
| 18th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
1:19.741 | +1.459s | 15 | GA |
| 19th | 7 | Maximilian Günther
|
Maserati
|
1:19.961 | +1.679s | 21 | GB |
| 20th | 58 | René Rast
|
McLaren
|
1:20.848 | +2.566s | 17 | GA |
| 21st | 23 | Sacha Fenestraz
|
 Nissan
|
1:21.059 | +2.777s | 20 | GA |
| 22nd | 17 | Norman Nato
|
Nissan
|
1:21.272 | +2.990s | 22 | GA |
| Group A 110% Time: 1:26.951[8] | |||||||
| Group B 110% Time: 1:26.110[8] | |||||||
| Source:[8] | |||||||
- * Cassidy had his time from the Quarter Final for entering the maximum power output too early.[9]
- † Ticktum served a five place grid penalty for causing a collision in the 2023 Berlin E-Prix I.[10]
Race[]
Report[]
Result[]
The final classification of the 2023 Berlin E-Prix II is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.
| 2023 Berlin E-Prix II Race Result | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Race Time | Fastest lap | Pts. |
| 1st | 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Envision Racing
|
40 | 46:34.509 | 1:06.978 | 25 |
| 2nd | 27 | Jake Dennis
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
40 | +0.442s | 1:06.944 | 18 |
| 3rd | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne
|
DS Penske
|
40 | +1.292s | 1:07.081 | 15 |
| 4th | 9 | Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +1.769s | 1:06.920 | 12 |
| 5th | 13 | António Félix da Costa
|
Porsche
|
40 | +2.460s | 1:07.030 | 10 |
| 6th | 7 | Maximilian Günther
|
Maserati
|
40 | +2.981s | 1:06.911 | 9 |
| 7th | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein
|
Porsche
|
40 | +3.545s | 1:07.117 | 6 |
| 8th | 1 | Stoffel Vandoorne
|
DS Penske
|
40 | +4.851s | 1:07.173 | 4 |
| 9th | 51 | Nico Müller
|
ABT Cupra
|
40 | +6.612s | 1:07.426 | 2 |
| 10th | 33 | Dan Ticktum
|
NIO 333 Racing
|
40 | +7.822s | 1:07.482 | 1 |
| 11th | 23 | Sacha Fenestraz
|
Nissan
|
40 | +9.461s | 1:07.538 | |
| 12th | 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | +9.462s | 1:07.484 | |
| 13th | 58 | René Rast
|
McLaren
|
40 | +9.678s | 1:07.244 | |
| 14th | 8 | Oliver Rowland
|
Mahindra Racing
|
40 | +11.780s | 1:07.420 | |
| 15th | 3 | Sérgio Sette Câmara
|
NIO 333 Racing
|
40 | +13.687s | 1:07.189 | |
| 16th | 17 | Norman Nato
|
Nissan
|
40 | +13.749s | 1:07.436 | |
| 17th | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
ABT Cupra
|
40 | +22.937s | 1:07.722 | 3 |
| 18th | 5 | Jake Hughes
|
McLaren
|
40 | +29.580s | 1:08.731 | |
| 19th | 10 | Sam Bird
|
Jaguar Racing
|
40 | +34.381s | 1:07.649 | |
| 20th* | 16 | Sébastien Buemi
|
Envision Racing
|
40 | +1:03.532 | 1:06.903 | |
| 21st | 36 | André Lotterer
|
Avalanche Andretti
|
40 | +1:04.102 | 1:06.915 | |
| 22nd | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
Maserati
|
37 | +3 Laps | 1:07.041 | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||
- * Buemi set the fastest lap of the race (1:06.903) but was ineligible to claim the bonus point as he failed to finish in the top ten.[8]
Milestones[]
- Second victory for Nick Cassidy.
- Envision Racing earned their thirteenth win as an entrant.
- Jaguar secured their eleventh victory as a powertrain supplier.
Standings[]
After five races of only scoring minor points Pascal Wehrlein had finally seen his Championship lead take a massive hit, with the German pilot leaving his home race weekend with just four points in hand at the head of the field. Nick Cassidy had done the majority of the damage, the New Zealander's first win of the campaign having left him on 96 points, while Jean-Éric Vergne in third had also closed to within twenty of Wehrlein. Jake Dennis was also within twenty points of the lead once again, having ended his four-race pointless run, while Mitch Evans completed the top five on 76 points, 24 off the lead.
Porsche had retained the lead in the Teams' Championship as the Berlin weekend came to a close, although their lead had been eroded to fifteen points over the course of their two home races. Envision Racing were their closest challengers, and had their suppliers Jaguar Racing a further fifteen behind, with the fate of the Championship seemingly turning in Jaguar's favour as the season wore on. Fourth place, meanwhile, was occupied by DS Penske on 107 points, Avalanche Andretti had closed to within four of the French squad as they retained their top-five status, while ABT Cupra's first points of the season meant that all eleven teams had now scored in 2022/23.
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References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'UPDATE: 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship calendar', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/10/2022), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2022/october/wmsc, (Accessed 19/10/2022)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 'Cassidy measures Round 8 victory to perfection in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2023), https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/419226/cassidy-measures-round-8-victory-to-perfection-in-berlin, (Accessed 07/05/2023)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Frijns flies to pole, heads ABT CUPRA front-row lockout in rainy Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2023), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/419165/qualifying, (Accessed 07/05/2023)
- ↑ Conor Andrews, 'Climate change protesters storm Formula E race in Berlin despite cars being fully electric, talksport.com, (TalkSport, 23/04/2023), https://talksport.com/sport/motorsport/1403432/climate-change-protesters-storm-formula-e-race-berlin/, (Accessed 08/05/2023)
- ↑ Sam Smith, 'Formula E finds solution for controversial new 2023 rule', the-race.com, (The Race, 16/02/2023), https://the-race.com/formula-e/formula-e-finds-solution-for-controversial-new-2023-rule/, (Accessed 11/03/2023)
- ↑ 'Mexico City E-Prix - Official Entry List', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/01/2023), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/08_2022-23/01_R01%20Mexico%20City/Event%20Information/01_R01_MEX_ENTRY%20%20LIST.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 04/02/2023)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 '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)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 'Round 08 - 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix - ABB FIA Formula E World Championship: Results Booklet', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2023), https://fe-results.s3.amazonaws.com/08_2022-23/08_R08%20Berlin/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship/Event%20Booklet/ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20World%20Championship_Germany_BOOKLET.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 08/05/2023)
- ↑ '2022 - 2023 FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 7 & 8 - BERLIN E-PRIX 21 - 23 APRIL 2023: Decision No. 18', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 23/04/2023), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/08_2022-23/08_R08%20Berlin/076_Doc%2076%20-%20Decision%20No.%2018.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 07/05/2023)
- ↑ '2022 - 2023 FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 7 & 8 - BERLIN E-PRIX 21 - 23 APRIL 2023: Decision No. 10', results.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 22/04/2023), https://fe-noticeboard.s3.amazonaws.com/08_2022-23/07_R07%20Berlin/051_Doc%2051%20-%20Decision%20No.%2010.pdf#pdfjs.action=download, (Accessed 07/05/2023)