Formula E

Formula E in Berlin: Evans wins on Saturday ahead of Wehrlein, Rowland retires after accident!

Timo Pape

Timo Pape

Craig Evans / Spacesuit Media

Mitch Evans (Jaguar) won Saturday's Formula E race in Berlin. World champion Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) came second, taking an important step in the title fight, which is still wide open. World championship leader Oliver Rowland (Nissan) collided dramatically with Stoffel Vandoorne and came away empty-handed! Mahindra driver Edo Mortara completed the podium after a time penalty against Antonio Felix da Costa.

At the start, everything went smoothly - at least at the front of the field. Mitch Evans defended his lead against Robin Frijns. Max Günther got away very well and immediately made up two positions. Antonio Felix da Costa and Oliver Rowland followed behind. Further back in the field, Jake Dennis was unable to get away. Sebastien Buemi just managed to get out of the way. Race control immediately ordered the safety car onto the track to push the Andretti away.

After the restart, Evans went straight into his first Attack Mode and dropped behind Frijns, but immediately took the lead again thanks to the extra power. The wet track caused the drivers to slip enormously under acceleration. Evans and Felix da Costa were able to pull away in the first few laps. Behind them, Pascal Wehrlein fought his way past Günther - a strong opening phase for Porsche with interim positions 2 and 3.

Günther temporarily reclaimed third place from Wehrlein, but the reigning world champion countered a little later and followed his team-mate around 2.5 seconds behind after the first quarter of the race. By lap 11, he had caught up with Felix da Costa and passed him. Frijns attacked from behind in Attack Mode, but lost his four-wheel drive right at the start of the back straight, swerved and remained behind the two Porsches.

Accident causes 2nd safety car

While Felix da Costa held off Frijns and the rest of the field, Wehrlein was able to get away and open up the chase on Evans. However, the Jaguar driver drove at a similar pace and maintained his lead of around three seconds over several laps. On lap 18 of 39, the first drivers entered the pit boost window. One lap later, Günther was the first driver to pit for recharging. Felipe Drugovich received a penalty for being too fast in the pit lane on his Formula E debut. Evans and Wehrlein alternated at the front with the fastest laps.

On lap 24, the leading duo also drove to the pit boost. Evans came back onto the track directly behind the two Kiro drivers in fourth place. The New Zealander was able to extend his lead over Wehrlein to a good 4.5 seconds during the pit stop. Rowland and Edo Mortara clashed in turn 10, with the latter launching a late attack and taking over 7th place from the championship leader.

Then there was a major incident - involving a German at his home race: David Beckmann and Sergio Sette Camara collided in turn 3. While the Brazilian only spun and was able to continue, Beckmann's Kiro sustained damage and eventually rolled out on the track. Race control sent the safety car onto the track for the second time to recover the car. This neutralised the gaps in the field. Sette Camara received a 10-second time penalty for the accident during the stoppage.

Rowland collides!

Before the green flag, Jean-Eric Vergne - third at the time! - dropped back with a technical problem. The race then continued at race pace. Things got dramatic on lap 33: Rowland collided with Stoffel Vandoorne and spun in turn 6! The championship leader had to retire with damage to his Nissan! Just a few moments later, Felix da Costa spun the Maserati of Jake Hughes, and Mortara and Barnard also touched each other.

Evans was three seconds in front again, and then Wehrlein also picked up his second Attack Mode. He was able to catch Evans again, but not overtake him. Felix da Costa was now third ahead of Mortara and Barnard. The race was extended by two laps, which now began. Wehrlein tried everything again, but made a small mistake and lost some time on Evans again.

Evans holds his ground & takes record victory

Wehrlein came close again on the final lap, but it wasn't enough for the home win. Evans therefore won his first race since the season opener in Sao Paulo - and his first points ever this year! With his 14th E-Prix victory, he drew level with Sebastien Buemi - a Formula E record! Felix da Costa received a 5-second time penalty for the collision with Hughes at the finish line and dropped back to 10th place. Mortara thus moved up onto the podium! Barnard finished fourth ahead of Nick Cassidy and Günther.

In the overall standings, Wehrlein has reduced his deficit on Rowland from 69 to 50 points - also thanks to the fastest lap. The title fight is open again three races before the end of the season. Barnard is now third ahead of Felix da Costa. In the teams' standings, Porsche extended its lead to 30 points, while Mahindra moved up to fourth place! Porsche has also taken the lead in the manufacturers' standings and is now five points ahead of Nissan.

The second race at Berlin-Tempelhof begins in less than 24 hours. The race starts again on Sunday at 4 pm.

Results & lap times

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)

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