Formula E | Berlin E-Prix | Race 2 | Rowland claims FIA Formula E world championship as Cassidy wins - Motorsport

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Oliver Rowland claimed the FIA Formula E world championship after Nick Cassidy secured victory in the second race in Berlin.

Pre race information

Rowland took to the track for the second race in Berlin knowing he needed a 58 point lead over Pascal Wehrlein and Taylor Barnard to claim the world championship. The Nissan driver started eighth on the grid after qualifying with Wehrlein on pole and Barnard seventh.

The Porsche powertrain locked out the top three with Dan Ticktum starting second ahead of Wehrlein’s teammate Antonio Felix Da Costa in third.

With dry track running limited the drivers were stepping into the unknown. Energy management would be paramount throughout with drivers expected to significantly manage their energy across the 38 laps.

Race Start and opening laps

As the lights blinked out Wehrlein got the best start, leading Ticktum into the first corner. The top two remained unchanged for the opening lap.

Barnard though began the race aggreisvely, charging his way up the grid to be sitting comfortably in third by the end of lap 1. The Brit challenged Ticktum but could find no way through.

By lap 3 the first driver had taken attack mode. David Beckman deployed 4 minutes of his boost and found himself into second place, behind teammate Ticktum just two laps later.

Ticktum’s lead didnt last long though as Wehrlein took to the front of the field by lap 9. Meanwhile, championship leader Rowland found himself sitting in fifth. The British driver charged up the inside of Nico Muller and David Beckman into turn 9.

Vergne looking strong as energy usage revealed

By lap 11 the energy consumption had been revealed with Jean Eric Vergne, sitting in 11th, holding over 2% more energy than the top five.

Out of the top five, Rowland appeared to be in the strongest position on 75% while the rest of the top 4 were left with 74%.

With drivers beginning to manage energy more the field began to bunch up. 1st to 14th remained tightly packed throughout the laps as drivers swapped positions.

Despite being lower on energy, Wehrlein was told to increase the pace. The German charged back to the front of the field, passing Ticktum. Barnard followed, promoting himself to second after an aggressive move on Mitch Evans into turn 6.

The McLaren driver found himself in the lead by lap 18 having passed Wehrlein into turn 9, the Porsche driver further demoted by his teammate Da Costa.

Two safety cars interrupts running

Shortly after Barnard found himself in the lead the safety car took to the track to recover the stricken Envision of Sebastian Buemi.

The Swiss driver found himself stuck just off the exit of turn 2 following a technical issue.

At the restart, Barnard led from Wehrlein but opted for four minutes of attack mode. Having been briefly demoted to third, the British driver was back in the lead and extending his advantage.

But the two second gap that had been built got slashed as Sam Bird and Nico Muller collided. Muller managed to continue back to the pits but Bird sat stricken on the exit of turn 9. The British driver had struck the rear of Muller after the German made a late move to the inside of the braking zone.

That meant Barnard was vulnerable to attack from drivers behind still with two attack modes left to use.

Final third of the race with added laps

As the safety car peeled in at the end of lap 25 many drivers took attack mode. Frijns, Rowland, Vergne and Vandoorne all opted for four minutes while race-leader Wehrlein took two.

With many drivers in attack mode the lead alternated until Rowland commandingly claimed the lead, passing Evans and Frijns.

Meanwhile after a huge crash in FP3 requiring a full car rebuild, Lucas Di Grassi found himself in seventh, behind teammate Zane Maloney.

Having lost attack mode, Wehrlein found himself dropping out of the points and, with Rowland leading, subsequently dropping out of championship contention.

The German wouldnt be able to recover the lost ground and, despite Rowland dropping to fourth, would be unable to prevent Rowland from claiming his first world championship.

Cassidy secured the win having been sat 18th following the last safety car. Jake Dennis claimed an impressive second ahead of Vergne in third. The top three benefited from the tightly packed field and optimal timing of attack mode.

Rowland claimed fourth while championship rival Wehrlein found himself in a lonely 16th. The German unable to maintain pace with a rapidly diminishing energy supply in the closing stages of the race.

Provisional race results