Formula E | Berlin E-Prix | Race 1 | Evans holds off Wehrlein to win as Rowland retires - Motorsport

Spread the love

It’s the first race day of the Berlin E-Prix, and following qualifying for Round 13 of the 2025 Formula E calendar, we got an exciting race. The pit boost was also involved, which suspended blue flags for the expected four to five laps-long pit window.

How qualifying went in Berlin

It rained a lot in the morning, which led to the second practice being cancelled. The first Qualifying of the Berlin E-Prix was therefore quite slippery with some standing water. Due to that, the session was green flagged with a delay, with drivers approaching the group stages carefully at the beginning.

There were no finals due to timing issues, so the results of both groups formed the starting grid. In Group A Mitch Evans was flying to take first place, while Robin Frijns was fastest in Group B. Because Evans set the quicker lap time, he started on pole!

Pre-race information

All drivers had limited time of on track running so far. The rain has finally stopped, and the track was still a bit damp.

Some grid penalties needed to be applied after qualifying. After the collision with teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, Pascal Wehrlein was demoted by three places to P9. Felipe Drugovich, Nick Cassidy and Sébastien Buemi will all have to serve 10 second stop-and-go penalties next to their grid drops.

Wehrlein himself was under investigation by the stewards for a burnout in the pit lane during the installation laps. However, no further action was taken.

Race start: Safety car in lap 1 and early attack modes

The five red lights out, away we go! Evans had a good start, as well as Frijns but the Jaguar stayed ahead despite a slight moment into Turn 2. Rowland lost some positions. Safety Car has been deployed then, as Dennis couldn’t get off the line and was nearly collected by Buemi. He then got off the line but retired the car, so the safety car peeled off.

Lap 3 and Evans, Da Costa and Wehrlein took the Attack Mode. More drivers followed, everyone with four minutes. Günther with a slight moment behind Frijns, who struggled. Wehrlein right behind as well and both Germans overtake the Envision. And Günther under pressure couldn’t do much to hold up Wehrlein and loses third place to the Porsche.

Drugovich was given a 5-second time penalty for overspeeding in the pit lane, while an incident between Müller and Barnard, as well as Wehrlein and Bird, have been noted. The energy reveal on lap 8 showed that some drivers were at just under 80%, while others had a few percentages more.

With attack mode, Rowland and Frijns made up some positions up. The Nissan driver tried to get a move done on Vergne then, but the advantage of the attack mode was gone then. Frijns tried to attack both Porsche’s but also his attack mode ended right when he tried to get past Wehrlein in a corner.

A third into the race

Evans has opened up the gap to Wehrlein nicely, with a four advantage over the home hero with consistent lap times. Frijns was right behind Da Costa, who can’t go the same pace as Wehrlein. Finally, he made a move into Turn 3, which ended in a successful overtake.

Barnard with attack mode got some pace to overtake Hughes and Vandoorne. Meanwhile, first drivers started to be in within the 60% to 40% margin to come in for pit boost. Günther was the first driver to pit for the quick boost. He emerged in just ahead of Frijns in clean air.

More attack modes were taken, while other drivers started to pit for the extra energy. In the meantime, stewards noted an incident between Rowland and Mortara, but no further action taken. Drivers in the Top 10 came in for their pit boost, while Günther stayed ahead of Da Costa, who just came out of the pits.

Evans finally pitted, as well as Wehrlein. Rowland took the lead, while there was contact between Müller and Bird, which is noted and then under investigation. Rowland and Jakarta E-Prix winner Ticktum came in, as Beckmann took the brief lead before pitting as the final driver.

Final third of the race

Both Cupra Kiro’s didn’t use their attack modes, hoping for a safety car, but it seems to not work out yet. Evans is looking comfortable, being in a good position, while Frijns was making some moves with attack mode. However, his fighting up to the Top 3 ended due to yellow flags…

… as Beckmann stopped with suspension damage after contact with Sette Camara. 10-second time penalty given to him. That’s a safety car, and the incident is under investigation. Very good for Ticktum, as he can use attack mode and charge through. With rain now starting, he has to be quick though!

The safety car ended, but Vergne was slowing, as the green flag was waved. Evans goes into attack mode and keeps the lead, as chaos erupts! Rowland has damage and needs to retire after contact with Vandoorne, while there was more contact in the midfield, with a spin included!

More drivers with attack mode, Wehrlein too! He is closing on Evans, as two laps are added. His attack mode ended, as he arrived behind the Jaguar. It’s a fight to the finish line, as the German makes a mistake into Turn 9! No chance any more, as Evans wins the Berlin E-Prix race from start to finish, as Da Costa gets a penalty, losing third place.