The first race of the Formula E Berlin E-Prix weekend was set as the drivers lined up on the grid. Qualifying 1 ended with Eduardo Mortara taking pole as he edged out Pascal Wehrlein in the final. The Swiss driver secured his fourth pole at the Berlin circuit. Behind them were Oliver Rowland and Dan Ticktum. The third row consisted of Nick Cassidy and Nico Müller. Zane Maloney and Felipe Drugovich filled the next row. António Da Costa and Taylor Barnard rounded out the top ten.
Green lights at the Berlin E-Prix
After the grid had been set in the first qualifying, the drivers were ready to get out and fight for the victory. The unexpected Qualifying session led to a chaotic race.
Mortara had a good launch off the grid and managed to keep the lead at the race start. Rowland and Wehrlein went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 1, but both kept enough space to avoid collision. Rowland overtook Wehrlein, while Maloney had a strong start and moved from seventh to fifth, ahead of Ticktum and Müller. Maloney built on his great start as he stormed ahead of Wehrlein to take fourth.
On Lap 4, Ticktum tumbled further down the order and found himself tenth. Further in front, the Lola drivers climbed up the field. Maloney once again gained more positions and even took the lead. By Lap 7, Maloney was leading a Formula E race for the first time. Teammate Di Grassi fought his way to the second row despite starting in P19. The first ten laps saw the top three change every few laps.
The top spot changes
Di Grassi got his elbows out to take the lead on Lap 11 and quickly managed to build a gap of 0.5 seconds. The frantic race saw the drivers balancing aggression with energy conservation.
Barnard and Müller went wheel-to-wheel, having small contact.The halfway point had the field bunched up. The drama intensified when Wehrlein fell down the order after a puncture.
With the pit boost implemented, the drivers attempted to extract the most from it. Additionally, Nato was the first driver to take attack mode at the Berlin track. Meanwhile, Ticktum encountered issues causing him to tumble further down the order to the back of the pack.
10 laps to go of race 1 at the Berlin E-Prix
With 29 out of 39 laps completed, the chaotic race kept the drivers on their toes. The wheel-to-wheel action continued with battles between Martí and Maloney before it heated up between Dennis and Di Grassi.
As most drivers were using their attack mode around this time, timing it wisely was crucial.
The final lap had Nico Müller storming across the finish line first. The Porsche driver became a winner for the first time in the championship. With Müller taking the victory, the Porsche team won on home soil.
Almost 5 seconds behind him were Nick Cassidy, followed by Oliver Rowland.
