Formula E

Paddock Whispers: News ticker on all the important paddock topics of Formula E in Berlin

Tobias Wirtz

Tobias Wirtz

Cupra Kiro

Formula E enters its penultimate race weekend of the 2024/25 season this weekend in Berlin. As always, you can find out what else is keeping the paddock on the apron of the former Tempelhof Airport busy in addition to the track action in the latest edition of our popular "Paddock Whispers" series. We will update this news ticker regularly throughout the weekend.

>>> Race control wants to suspend blue flags because of Pit Boost

[12.07. 09:21] As the colleagues of The Race report, the race director wants to temporarily suspend blue flags for lapped drivers during the Pit Boost window in Saturday's race. The reason for this is the fact that drivers lose so much time during their mandatory 34-second pit stop, including the drive through the pit lane, that they could even be lapped by competitors on the extremely short lap at Tempelhof.

>>> Football mascot Blue supports Andretti

[12.07. 08:01] The US team Andretti has prominent support at the weekend: Blue, the mascot of the NFL team Indianapolis Colts from the team's home town. The Indianapolis Colts will play a regular season NFL game in Berlin against the Atlanta Falcons in November.

Blue also worked as a temporary mechanic and helped change the team's tires, among other things.

 
 
 
 
 
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>>> Porsche-Halo: Antonio Felix da Costa commemorates Diogo Jota and Andre Silva

[12.07. 07:32] Pascal Wehrlein will compete in Berlin with the word “Homecoming” on the Halo system of his Porsche 99X Electric. Antonio Felix da Costa, on the other hand, is commemorating his two compatriots Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.

The two brothers were killed in a car accident in Spain last week. Both were professional footballers, Jota was a Portuguese international and played for Liverpool FC, while his brother was active in the Portuguese second division.

>>> Dan Ticktum becomes a chauffeur

[12.07. 06:47] Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum acted as chauffeur on Friday morning: Wearing a matching outfit, the Brit drove Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds to the race track in an old Cadillac limousine. His team posted a video of the event on social media.

However, Ticktum will probably have to practise the whole thing again: he opened the passenger door for Dodds - but passengers normally sit in the back seat in such limousines.

>>> FIA publishes drivers' guidelines

[12.07. 06:11] The FIA has published guidelines for Formula E drivers on its Instagram channel ahead of the Berlin E-Prix. This shows interested fans how the drivers of the electric series should behave when merging after driving through the attack zone, during Pit Boost pit stops and when rejoining the track after cutting a chicane.

 
 
 
 
 
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>>> After Porsche collision: Felix da Costa's family insults Wehrlein on Instagram

[12.07. 05:33] The Porsche-internal collision between Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa has brought the Portuguese driver's family onto the scene: his half-brother Duarte Felix da Costa, who is also active in his management, posted a video of the incident on Instagram with the comment "No words. This guy is dangerous for the sport. #PascalGoHome", although he removed the hashtag shortly afterwards. Vasco Felix da Costa, on the other hand, commented with “PASCLOWN”, followed by seven clown emojis.

 
 
 
 
 
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The race stewards found Wehrlein at fault and gave him a grid penalty of three positions and one penalty point.

>>> MiWuLa boss Gerrit Braun visits Berlin E-Prix

[11.07. 17:12] Gerrit Braun, founder of Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, was also present at a round table with the two Porsche drivers Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein. When askes by e-Formula.news afterwards, Braun explained that he was invited to the Monaco Grand Prix by Formula 1 and to the Berlin E-Prix by Formula E as a thank-you for recreating the Monaco race track in Miniatur Wunderland with his team.

>>> Maloney and Wehrlein not in top shape

[11.07. 14:44] Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein goes into the weekend of his home race ill: the Porsche driver is plagued by a cold. "It's not ideal, but it won't affect me," said the German when asked.

Zane Maloney was also ailing on Friday: the Lola Yamaha ABT driver twisted his ankle while filming in his Superman costume for the announcement of the partnership with Warner Bros Discovery.

>>> Max Günther: "Will drive for DS Penske next year"

[11.07. 14:12] There is currently a lot of movement on the Formula E driver market: in addition to Nick Cassidy, who is rumoured to have left Jaguar and reportedly signed with Stellantis, Taylor Barnard, who is said to have signed a contract with Penske after McLaren announced to leave Formula E, is also one of the key figures. However, Stoffel Vandoorne, who currently drives for Maserati MSG Racing, is also reported by Racingnews365 to have signed a contract for next season.

Max Günther, who currently occupies another of the four Stellantis cockpits at DS Penske, is absolutely certain that he will continue to drive there in the coming season: "For me it's very simple: I'm going to be with DS Penske next year," said the German driver before the Berlin race weekend.

>>> Rookie test: what the teams look for in Formula E newcomers

[11.07. 13:57] At the press conference ahead of the Berlin E-Prix, the team bosses in the electric series revealed what they are looking out for in the rookies in their two test sessions on Monday.

"Performance," described Nissan team boss Tomasso Volpe. "Not just the lap time on the track but also the quality of feedback they give in the moment we test new features or different ways of car setup. So, performance 360 degrees. It is not just the lap time."

"It's always a good change to evaluate the complete package of a driver who was not present in this car," said Florian Modlinger from TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. His colleague at ABT, Thomas Biermaier added: "Important is the performance, the character of the person, the feedback and how he integrates into the team and things like that."

>>> Lola Yamaha ABT boss Biermaier hopes for rain

[11.07. 13:23] Lola Yamaha ABT, who will be competing in the Berlin E-Prix with a special Superman livery, are confident about the race weekend, for which changeable weather is forecast.

"Wet conditions is for the whole grid quite challenging," described Team Principal Thomas Biermaier before the race weekend. "Many things can happen. Maybe this fits us a little bit more currently, because we need some luck on track. Because with pure performance it's difficult to get good points. But maybe we have an interesting and crazy race, that could help us."

>>> Gen4 car will not be seen before September

[11.07. 11:40] As Alberto Longo, Chief Championship Officer of Formula E, confirmed in an interview with e-Formel.de, fans will have to wait a few more months before they get to see the new Formula E car.

"In September we will do the first releases. Our marketing team works on a release schedule. The car is already being testet, it is absolutely an animal. I love it and was at some tests. This has been really impressive."

>>> Lola Yamaha ABT in Superman livery

[11.07. | 09:28] The two Lola T001 cars in Berlin are no longer blue and yellow, instead the striking yellow is replaced by a bright red. The red upper part of the car is reminiscent of Superman's cape and extends to the rear. At the front, directly below the car, is an image of Superman from the newly released film. The blue and purple side panels read "Berlin look up".

Even more surprising, however, was the outfit worn by Lucas di Grassi and Zane Maloney. Their racing suits mimic the famous superhero suit. From the golden belt to the large "Superman" logo on the chest, everything is there. The only thing they will have to drop later on are the capes they wore at the presentation, as these do not comply with the Formula E regulations.

Read more about the new livery!

>>> Gen4 should be up to 320 km/h fast on current tracks

[10.07. | 20:37] Drivers and Formula E officials expect the introduction of the Gen4 car to provide a performance boost that should catapult lap times in Monaco to Formula 2 level. Now David Beckmann and Dan Ticktum have provided concrete figures that they have learnt from the simulations at an event organised by Cupra in Berlin together with Sports Illustrated, which was also attended by e-Formula.news.

"Currently, the cars manage to do around 160 mph/270 km/h at the end of the straight", explains Dan Ticktum. His team colleague Beckmann adds: "With the Gen4, it will even be 320 km/h or 200 mph."

>>> Formula E partners with Feastables

[10.07. | 16:22] Formula E is continuing its cooperation with YouTuber MrBeast: The racing series has announced a new partnership with Feastables, the snack brand of the internet star, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. Feastables will thus become the exclusive "Official Snacking Provider" of Formula E. The partnership is to span several seasons and officially start with the Berlin E-Prix.

MrBeast first worked with Formula E in March, when he was allowed to drive a Gen3 Evo car from Cupra Kiro in Miami and crashed into the concrete wall after a spin.

 
 
 
 
 
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>>> Thunderstorms: Paddock in Tempelhof evacuated on Thursday

[10.07. | 15:04] A thunderstorm paralysed operations in the Berlin E-Prix paddock for an hour on Thursday afternoon. The paddock had to be evacuated and the people present had to stay in the hangars of the airport building, which also houses the media centre, for this time. However, work was able to continue as normal afterwards, so this did not cause any delays to the further schedule.

>>> Race summaries for the visually impaired on Spotify

[10.07. | 14:52] As part of a collaboration with Google Cloud and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), a charitable organisation in the UK, Formula E wants to make its sport more accessible for visually impaired fans. With the help of artificial intelligence, the live race commentary is first transcribed and analysed together with data from the live timing and other sources, from which a fact-based, appealing race summary is to be created.

This is then converted into natural language to create an audio race report. The race report will be available in more than 15 languages on Spotify and other popular audio platforms, including German.

>>> Sustainability: Renewable energy for the Berlin E-Prix

[10.07. | 13:49] The Berlin E-Prix will be powered by a sustainable energy mix: In addition to solar power, the required energy is generated using electricity from the local power grid and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Energy is temporarily stored in batteries. In this way, the racing series aims to balance out any energy peaks that occur so as not to overload the power grid in Tempelhof.</p

There will also be water dispensers in the Fan Village to reduce the consumption of disposable plastics. Formula E has also announced that it will use the German bottle and can deposit system.

>>> Formula 2 championship leader Richard Verschoor has Formula E in his sights

[10.07. | 13:13] Dutchman Richard Verschoor, who is currently active in Formula 2 and leads the overall standings after eight of 14 race weekends, also has Formula E in his sights for the future. The 24-year-old recently announced that he is currently contesting his last Formula 2 season.

"It's definitely an interesting championship when you look at the level of the drivers", Verschoor told Formula Scout about Formula E. "I've also seen what they're planning for the future with the new cars and the new Gen4, and I think that's very cool." However, unlike several of his Formula 2 colleagues, Verschoor will not be taking part in the rookie test, which takes place on Monday after the Berlin E-Prix.

>>> DTM soon at Tempelhof Airport too?

[10.07. | 12:21] The Berlin CDU parliamentary group is in favour of bringing the DTM to Tempelhof Airport. However, the GT3 championship is not intended to replace the annual Berlin E-Prix. "The German Touring Championship [sic] could come back to Berlin, with a CO2-free drive and in addition to Formula E", Dirk Stettner, parliamentary group leader of the CDU in the Berlin House of Representatives, is quoted in the B.Z..

"The logistics such as temporary grandstands, racing elements and media stages can be shared between the two events and even competitions can be organised jointly. A strong signal in favour of alternative drives and sustainable electric mobility", Stettner continues. "At the racing event in Berlin as part of the DTM, electric vehicles and climate-neutral combustion engines could compete against each other for the first time. This could also demonstrate how powerful the electric drive already is today.

While the GT3 cars in the DTM have been refuelled with synthetic fuels since this season, a race with combustion engines against electric vehicles, as brought into play by the CDU, currently seems out of the question.

>>> Shell extends partnership with Nissan

[10.07. | 11:40] Shell and Nissan have announced the extension of their technical partnership in Formula E. Shell has developed special lubricants for the Nissan drive, which are used in the power transmission and cooling systems. Back in 2019, e-Formula.news had the opportunity to speak to Christopher Dobrowolski, E-Fluids Coordinator at Shell Global Solutions Germany, about the details.

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