Rosenqvist takes maiden win in Berlin ePrix Race 1
Heidfeld makes it a double podium for Mahindra. Di Grassi finishes second while Buemi goes from 14th to 5th before a trip to the stewards!
Today’s Berlin ePrix was the longest we have seen at 44 laps in total. The abrasive concrete surface at the Templehof airport and the high temperatures meant that management of the new Michelin tyre compounds joined energy preservation as particularly crucial here this weekend.
Felix Rosenqvist took his maiden victory in Formula E in his debut season. He stormed past the slow starting Lopez off the line and a bold move around the outside of Di Grassi in turn 1 before the pit stops saw him take the lead. From there, he drove a strategic race in the second car, pulling out and maintaining a gap big enough to negate Di Grassi’s fan boost advantage before settling in to energy saving toward the end.
Rosenqvist celebrates his maiden win in Formula E as well as Mahindra first in the series [Image: Formula E Official]
“It feels incredible,” he said. “From the start of the day the car felt good, quick and consistent. I made a small error in Super Pole qualifying, otherwise we could have been on pole. We came here much more prepared [than when I was on pole in Marrakesh] and it’s a great compliment to the team. We have some fantastic people - I was waiting for this and finally it came.”
This topped off a great race for Mahindra who took a double podium with Heidfeld finishing 3rd for the 3rd consecutive time this season.
Di Grassi cited battery temperature issues as his reason for being off the pace, unable to fend off or catch Rosenqvist. Overheating makes breaking and regen more difficult, meaning energy was pretty critical. He is hopeful that the team can manage this through the setup so that it doesn’t impact him too heavily in tomorrow’s race.
Lucas Di Grassi in the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport takes 2nd at the teams home ePrix [Image: Motorsport]
We saw 1 thousandth of a second separating the top 2 in qualifying, neither of whom was Seb Buemi who could manage no higher than 14th on the grid. Left hunting for answers as to where his speed had got to, he was hoping to make his way through the pack to get some good points and try to maintain the massive gap he has at the top of the championship.
Today’s drive didn’t disappoint as he made his way from 14th on the grid to 5th at the flag. An impressive race that saw him master the turn 9 hairpin in a way that allowed him dispatch those ahead with relative ease. A brilliant drive, no doubt, but the chequered flag was not the end of the story.
Buemi came into this weekend with a 43 point lead over Di Grassi in the championship. He is keen to extend it as much as he can as he is set to miss the next double header on the calendar in New York which clashes with the 6 hours of Nurburgring.
With a total of 58 points on the table, Buemi was keen to gain as much of an advantage as possible to minimise the impact of the missed weekend in July. Qualifying 14 places behind his opposition did him no favours but finishing only 3 placed behind him was a marked comeback.
The stewards had the final say today though.
Excusez-moi?! [Image: Motorsport Italia]
In post-race scrutineering, Buemi’s tyre pressures were found to be below the minimum requirement of 1.60 bar. The stewards penalised him by excluding him from the final race result!
This means that, with Di Grassi taking 2nd and SuperPole, the gap in the standings is reduced to 22 points meaning it is mathematically possible that he could take the lead in the championship before they head to New York!
This is a slim possibility as tomorrow is another day (as any PR prepped racing driver will tell you with irritating frequency) but even if tomorrow goes off without drama, it increases the likelihood that the lead of the championship will change hands in the coming weeks.
But will it?
Here are highlights of Race 1:
Same again tomorrow!
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