DTM organiser ADAC confirms: Berlin E-Prix will not be a double event featuring DTM & Formula E

The planned comeback of the DTM in the German capital at the request of the political party CDU in Berlin and Germany’s biggest automobile club ADAC will not be realised as part of a joint weekend with Formula E. Instead, the two racing series are to race on separate race weekends on the apron of the former Tempelhof Airport. However, there are still a few hurdles to overcome - both organisationally and legally.

30 years after the last DTM race on Berlin's AVUS, politicians and DTM organiser ADAC are planning the return of the racing series to Berlin. However, there will not be a race in the city centre - instead, those responsible are planning for the racing series to race on the apron of the former airport in Tempelhof, just like Formula E. However, fans will not be able to watch a DTM race after the qualifying duels of the electric series before it holds its race.

"We would drive one after the other," said ADAC Head of Motorsport Thomas Voss to the colleagues at Motorsport-Magazin. A joint race weekend with the DTM is not an option for the electric series and is completely out of the question, he continues: "The principle of Formula E is that only electric cars will race on the weekend. But that has also always been the principle."

Voss is alluding to the idea that Formula E could have raced at the Norisring in Nuremberg a few years ago as part of the DTM weekend. Even though the DTM cars are now also (in theory) CO2-neutral thanks to the use of synthetic fuels, Formula E is sticking to its guns. But there are also still legal hurdles: there are strict guidelines for the use of Tempelhof Field, which are set out in the "Tempelhofgesetz" passed in 2014 and would probably rule out a DTM race at present due to the noise level.

DTM could "reach six-figure spectator numbers straight away"

Although the DTM would certainly benefit from synergy effects at Tempelhof on a separate race weekend, the racing series cannot reuse the Formula E infrastructure completely unchanged. The spectator capacity alone would be far from sufficient for a DTM race weekend, as Voss says. However, this has already been discussed with Formula E. "We will have to build something in addition. When I look at what used to happen on the AVUS, I would be confident of six-figure spectator numbers straight away."

However, it is unclear whether this will happen at all: those responsible for Formula E are naturally unlikely to have much interest in images that document a direct comparison of the two presumably consecutive race weekends with a multiple of the number of spectators at the DTM. "Formula E just needs to step on the gas a little more. We shouldn't shy away from the competition, but be happy that we might be able to add a good European series to the mix", says ABT team boss Thomas Biermaier. ABT is the only team that is currently active in both racing series.

But that would not be the only change that would be necessary: the track would also have to be adapted, as the GT3 racing cars used in the DTM are more than two metres wide. Overtaking manoeuvres on the existing Formula E track layout would therefore be much more difficult than with the Gen3 Evo cars, which are a good 30 cm narrower.

We will see whether the plans can be realised in 2027 at the earliest. A DTM race in Berlin is off the table for next year. The race calendar has already been presented, with the same eight race tracks as in 2025. Berlin is not included.