Formula E

"He finished my race without any need" - Fenestraz frustrated after 2 accidents on Berlin Sunday

Timo Pape

Timo Pape

Paddy McGrath / Spacesuit Media

In Sunday's Formula E race in Berlin-Tempelhof, one scene caused a particular stir among the fans: Norman Nato sent Sacha Fenestraz into the TecPro barrier, who then applauded derisively in the cockpit - thunderous cheers in the grandstands. However, Fenestraz was anything but thrilled, as he revealed to us after the race. Nato was penalised for the accident and accepted the blame.

It was the 25th lap of the second Berlin race: Norman Nato put his Andretti on the inside lane next to Sacha Fenestraz on the way into turn 3. Fenestraz gave him some space, but when they both tried to turn in, Nato slid straight into the Nissan car. Both ended up in the barriers and had to retire.

"Whatever Norman was trying to do there was far from anything you can do in that corner," Fenestraz said at the microphone of e-Formula.news. "I saw him. He was on the inside lane, so I gave him a bit of space. But I think he just braked far too late and drove straight ahead."

"He finished my race without any need, after all there were still many laps to go. It was absolutely obvious that it wasn't a big enough gap (for an attack)," Fenestraz continued. "I'm extremely disappointed about what happened. We had a really good race and could have finished in the top 5, but I've been quite unlucky recently."

Nato: "I take the blame for this"

Nato received a 10-second time penalty for the manoeuvre, which was applied at the finish. As a result, the Frenchman dropped from 14th to 19th place. He also received two penalty points on his racing licence. Nato accepted the penalty after the race, although the situation was not quite so clear-cut for him.

"I take the blame for that because it was a relatively late manoeuvre. But I've already told Sacha that he didn't give me any room at all. I've already watched the videos," Nato told e-Formula.news.

The former Nissan driver said: "For an overtake, both sides always have to play their part, so to speak. I can't disappear into thin air. So I had to drive over the kerb, took off slightly and then we both drove straight ahead."

Vandoorne catapults Fenestraz - "more of a racing accident"

This was not the only incident for Fenestraz. A few laps earlier, he had already been caught up in the DS sandwich between Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne. While Vandoorne destroyed his front wing, Fenestraz took off remarkably and landed roughly on the Tempelhof concrete again.

"I had major contact with both DS, who squeezed me," explained Fenestraz. "That was more in the category of a racing accident, but also relatively optimistic from Stoffel. He must have clearly seen that his team-mate was trying to overtake me on the outside. And you actually know that you can't fit three of you through this corner."

Vandoorne explained to e-Formula.news: "I basically had two options: drive alongside him, which I did, or crash straight into the back of him. Unfortunately, we made contact and my front wing was damaged." The race was then over for the Belgian, while the Nissan driver was initially able to continue.

"Somehow I was able to continue, albeit with slightly bent steering. But that wasn't even the biggest problem we had in the race - it was Norman's very optimistic attack." Fenestraz had to settle for two points on Saturday and will be hoping for a better finish to the season.

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