Berlin ePrix Review – Sunday: Buemi finally ahead of Rosenqvist, a story of penalties

Everything had to be redone for Buemi

The most frustrated driver on the grid this Sunday morning was certainly the championship leader. Shortly after the finish of race 1 on Saturday, Sébastien Buemi was disqualified by the stewards for incorrect tire pressure, as all four tires were below the legally set limit (below 1.60 bar). Consequently, the Swiss driver lost the benefits of his impressive comeback, which ended with a fifth-place finish. Before the start of the second day’s events, his lead in the overall standings was thus halved against Lucas di Grassi, as he conceded this very challenging 22-0.

Qualifications: Rosenqvist continued his festival

On the Tempelhof airport track, he was the only one we could see! Mahindra’s driver had already made a strong impression by securing his first victory in Formula E the day before. Not yet satisfied, Felix Rosenqvist also claimed the Sunday qualifying session on a track that was ten degrees hotter. Fifth after the passage of the five groups, his lap during the super-pole was two-tenths slower: 1:08.808. Nonetheless, a time sufficient to grab the pole position, as his four other competitors also slowed down.

Second on the grid, Sébastien Buemi positioned himself to resume his forward march. The Swiss driver had improved the tire warm-up, the Achilles’ heel of the Renault e.dams, to complete an impressive lap, just a tenth away from pole. Behind this duo, the two DS Virgin cars lined up, José Maria Lopez ahead of Sam Bird, contrary to the first phase, which was generally dominated by the Englishman.

Jean-Eric Vergne was the last member of this top five, fifth at eight-tenths of Rosenqvist, four from Bird, and a bit in difficulty during his flying lap. Oliver Turvey confirmed the good performance of NextEV against the clock, with a fine sixth place, ahead of Lucas di Grassi. Daniel Abt (ABT Schaeffler), Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing), and Nico Prost (Renault e.dams) closed the march of this top 10. At the end of the grid, we found the other Mahindra, driven by Nick Heidfeld. The German could not defend his chances after a sensor problem, preventing him from running at full capacity.

Race: A Fatal Team Error for Rosenqvist, Buemi Recovers the Position!

On the paved track, Felix Rosenqvist once again managed to cross the finish line first. After di Grassi yesterday, his main rival today was Sébastien Buemi. Starting without a hitch, the 2015 European F3 champion simply led the race from start to finish. 46 laps were scheduled, with the race lasting nearly 60 minutes, for a change. From the first laps, the Swede created a safety margin, pushing the driver sporting number 9 back by two seconds by the first pass over the start/finish line.

But a ten-second penalty applied to the Swede’s time gives the victory to the leader of Renault e.dams.

Everything was actually decided during the car change sequence. On the 23rd lap, Rosenqvist jumped from his first car to get into the seat of the second one. The moment chosen by his team to self-sabotage, as they released him prematurely. He nearly collided with… Nick Heidfeld, his own teammate who was arriving at the same time to make his car change! The latter had moved up to thirteenth position when the incident occurred.

From then on, the fight for victory changed complexion: unintentionally sanctioned with an “unsafe release,” Rosenqvist was penalized ten seconds on his final ranking. Still hot on his heels, Buemi only had to manage the gap to claim the victory. However, he maintained enough time not to lose his second place to Lucas di Grassi, who had climbed back from his modest seventh starting position on the grid.

For this, the Brazilian showed himself in the first part of the race, passing Oliver Turvey, José Maria Lopez, and Jean-Eric Vergne in the second stint, after a brilliant maneuver in the first corner.

The former Audi endurance driver also benefited from the clash between the two DS Virgin Racing cars. On the 17th lap, Sam Bird, still in fourth, got alongside José Maria Lopez approaching the first corner. Being too persistent, Pechito delayed his braking as much as possible to push his teammate towards the outside of the track, even if it meant leaning on him at braking. Forced off the racing line, the Englishman slid back to seventh position. Lopez held onto third before eventually yielding a few laps later to Vergne and di Grassi.

DS Virgin break the golden rule as @sambirdracing and @pechito37 clash #BerlinePrix pic.twitter.com/bOAVoRVIN5

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 11 juin 2017

The pit stop did not change the hierarchy among these competitors. It was indeed on the track that Jean-Eric Vergne was overtaken during the last part of the race, first by Daniel Abt and then by José Maria Lopez on the 41st lap, thus locking in the top five standings for good.

Behind Vergne, Bird had to settle for biding his time to finish in seventh position, ahead of a very discreet Nico Prost. Oliver Turvey and the returning Nick Heidfeld picked up the last three points of the day. And like Rosenqvist, Jérôme d’Ambrosio did not respect the minimum time during the pit stop. The difference, however, is as follows: the Belgian did go through the pit lane again to serve his penalty. Frustrating, as ninth place was promised to him.

Here is the ranking of this second ePrix in Berlin:

This is how the #BerlinePrix finished pic.twitter.com/2sK4gNp2J0

— FIA Formula E (@FIAformulaE) 11 juin 2017

In the overall standings, Buemi leaves Berlin with a 32-point lead over di Grassi. The damage is less severe after the disappointment of the first day. However, it will take a few days to confirm or deny the absence of the Renault e.dams driver in New York (Brooklyn circuit), the venue for the penultimate race of the season, the next one.

Driver Rankings:

Constructor standings:

The meeting is set for the weekend of July 15th and 16th, for a new two-in-one event with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop!