ePrix Berlin – Race: Home Triumph for Audi Sport ABT with Di Grassi

As a reminder, Jarno Trulli surprised everyone by securing pole position earlier in the day.

But his leading position was quickly taken over by Lucas di Grassi, who started alongside him on the front row. By the second corner of the first lap, the Italian veteran lost control of the rear of his single-seater: he went wide and was overtaken by the Brazilian. In the pack, Daniel Abt, in the other German single-seater, spun out during that same first lap, consequently finding himself last.

The rest of this ePrix almost seemed like a walk in the park for the leader, who quickly managed to build a comfortable lead: more than 10 seconds after the first eight laps.

The regulatory change of the single-seater was not a great difficulty for him either: di Grassi calmly came out with still more than a 10-second gap.

The rest was just a regular control of the gaps: di Grassi thus easily crossed the finish line of this Berlin ePrix as the winner, with a 7.6 seconds lead over the second place, namely Jérôme d’Ambrosio. The Dragon Racing driver made a great move from his 6th position on the starting grid. His second place was really hanging by a thread: he had to stop immediately after crossing the line, as an electrical issue had occurred on his Dragon Racing.

His comeback began from the first laps, overtaking Nico Prost’s e.Dams and Jarno Trulli’s struggling car. He then passed Nick Heidfeld on the twelfth lap, and the pit stop allowed him to overtake Sébastien Buemi for second place. However, it was impossible for him to make up the deficit on Lucas di Grassi during the second part of the race.

On Sébastien Buemi’s side, the winner of the Monaco ePrix, defending his third place was difficult against Nick Heidfeld’s Venturi: but the latter lost pace towards the end, being overtaken by both Loic Duval in the other Dragon Racing and Nelson Piquet in Nextev TCR.

The Brazilian driver can be happy with his 5th place, as he started only 13th on the grid, thus limiting the damage in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Let us also highlight the fine overall performance of the Monegasque team Venturi, with Nick Heidfeld finishing 6th, ahead of his teammate Stéphane Sarrazin.

On the other hand, one of the main disappointments of this German race will remain the modest performance of Nicolas Prost. The French driver of the e.Dams team has been struggling since his victory in Miami: outpaced by Sébastien Buemi by a large margin, he finished only 11th, just outside the points.

The race was also difficult for poleman Jarno Trulli: after his initial mistake that saw him lose the lead to di Grassi, the rest of the ePrix only became increasingly challenging. Second for a few laps, he then slid back relentlessly before having to retire two laps from the finish.

Here is the complete ranking of this Berlin ePrix:

In the World Championship Drivers’ standings, Lucas di Grassi’s victory consolidates his lead more than ever. With now 118 points, he is 17 points ahead of Nelson Piquet Junior, who remains in 2nd place, and Sébastien Buemi is just behind with 98 points.

With two races to go in this first Formula E season, these 3 drivers seem capable of competing for the title. However, the gap with the rest of the field is becoming increasingly large: the zero points drop Nico Prost to more than 40 points behind Di Grassi. Jérôme d’Ambrosio’s strong second place today allows him to enter the Top 5 at the expense of Sam Bird.

At the Constructors, a duel is shaping up between the French team e.Dams and the German team Audi Sport Abt: 35 points now separate the two teams. Nelson Piquet Junior’s team, Nextev TCR, is in third position ahead of Virgin Racing.

See you in two weeks for the Moscow ePrix, the penultimate race of this Formula E season.