Mitch Evans took the win in a Jaguar 1-2 from Sam Bird in Race 1 of Formula E weekend in Berlin EPrix with Maximilian Guenther in third.
Throughout the entire race distance, some 43 laps, the field, never mind the top 10, proved to be completely inseparable. A record number of different drivers hit the front as strategies split – with the early front-runners electing to jump for ATTACK MODE early on and those further back running longer. Dan Ticktum (NIO 333) had launched into the lead in style with a stunning move around the outside of Turn 1, right by Julius Baer Polesitter Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing), Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE).
After the lead group jumped for their second 50kW boosts, things settled for three laps before Edoardo Mortara (Maserati MSG Racing) and Vandoorne pushed to the front. Glancing at the timing screens yielded a different race leader at almost every stage as positions changed left and right, with the first of two spells under the Safety Car compounding things further and seeing the field split by just over five seconds at a little over the halfway stage.
Quick-starting Ticktum had been shuffled into the top 10 and both he and Vandoorne were removed from the occasion in contact, throwing Safety Car number two. The Jaguar pair and Buemi then clambered to fill out the top three spots after Guenther had briefly taken P1 as the race headed into its closing stages. The Jaguar-powered cars went on to stretch their legs, with Guenther looking to pick up the pieces as the front three squabbled for the race lead.
Evans managed to squeeze by second-placed Bird on the exit of the hairpin and got a good run down the start/finish straight – good enough to make a lunge into Turn 1 stick for the lead on Buemi as the race headed into three added laps. The Kiwi was able to get the jump and run away – pulling out a 0.750s lead with two full tours remaining as Bird hassled Buemi for second just behind in the sprint to the finish.
Bird’s incessant efforts paid off as he gave it a huge send on Buemi into the Airplane turn for second spot on the final tour – enough to do the job and seal the team’s first one-two in Formula E. Guenther broke the Jaguar stranglehold as he fired it up the inside of Buemi at the final turn to prevent a second consecutive 1-2-3 for the I-TYPE 6, not that the factory Jaguar TCS Racing squad will grumble.
Standings leader Pascal Wehrlein started all the way down 15th, and made up huge ground before slipping to ninth late on. Out of sight, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver made up good ground on that final lap to wind up sixth – nine places and strong points gained, nullifying Nick Cassidy’s comparitively quiet and collected run to fifth position for Envision Racing. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS PENSKE) recovered from contact early-race to seventh spot, again, another important if unsung drive in the battle for points.
All that meant Wehrlein heads into Round 8 tomorrow in Berlin with the standings lead and 94 points. Cassidy now sits second with Vergne doing enough to retain third position. TAG Heuer Porsche’s early season dominance is coming under severe pressure from the Jaguar-powered cars. Just eight points total means 152 points and the top of the table, though Envision Racing’s 25-point haul and Jaguar TCS Racing’s huge 43-point score seeing them close in, in second and third respectively.
#ABBFormulaE #BerlinEPrix #Round7 Provisional EPrix results for Round 7. A session of bumpercars. 😉 #MsportXtra @FormulaEZone pic.twitter.com/mfL0fS2EXF
— #MsportXtra © (@MsportXtra) April 22, 2023
Here’s Formula E rookie test line-up for Berlin
[Note: The story is as per press release]