Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Antonio Felix Da Costa took his first victory of the season with a starring drive around the Berlin Tempelhof circuit, redeeming himself from the heartbreak of a lost victory at Misano, as he stood on the top step of the podium for the first time since Cape Town in season nine.
A late attack from championship leader Nick Cassidy saw him finish second, his fourth podium in succession, as he extended his lead atop the standings with yet another excellent drive, while Oliver Rowland claimed another podium finish for Nissan with another special comeback drive, having started 16th on the grid.
Wehrlein and Dennis squabbled throughout the 41-lap race, eventually finishing fourth and fifth, ahead of Cassidy's teammate Mitch Evans, while Jehan Daruvala nabbed seventh position in the dying moments of the race from Taylor Barnard, who drove yet another excellent race to finish eighth.
Joel Eriksson ensured his super sub appearance wouldn't go in vain, as he snatched two valuable points for reigning constructors championship Envision Racing, while Jean-Eric Vergne took the final point, on a tough day for DS Penske — a tough fall from the highs of the previous day's showing.
A less chaotic race compared to round nine the previous day, and here's what unfolded in the second race of the Berlin double-header.
AS IT UNFOLDED
A stunning turnaround saw Andretti's Jake Dennis start the race from pole position, having been at the rear of the grid for Saturday's outing. With ground to make up in the standings, the Briton was eyeing a big score on Sunday.
However, Dennis wouldn't get the start he envisioned, as he was jumped by yesterday's race winner Cassidy off the five red lights, leaving the reigning champion to fend from his teammate Nato, and battle with Pascal Wehrlein. The German made his way up into second, despite being nudged into the advertising hoardings at turn seven.
Race leader Cassidy was the first to activate attack mode, with only four minutes available to drivers today. He would rejoin third, and was followed by most drivers on the rear of the grid, with those down from 11th to 21st all activating attack mode at the same time.
Wehrlein, though, was able to take his attack mode on lap four, and rejoin half a second ahead of Cassidy, jumping the Kiwi on the track. The German would use up his full quota of attack mode, falling to third.
While one driver's home race was going according to plan, another driver would look back at this double header as one to forget. Max Gunther would find himself in the wall for the second time this weekend, this time at turn two on lap 12. The Maserati racer went deep into turn two, clattering into the rear of the Andretti car ahead.
The safety car was called out to neutralise proceedings, while the stricken Maserati continued, albeit without a front wing.
The safety car retreated to the pits on lap 14, with Antonio Felix Da Costa in the lead, and he would jostle with Wehrlein on the restart, for the entirety of the lap, eventually ceding position.
Stoffel Vandoorne would drop to the rear of the field on lap 20, braking late into turn nine and clattering into the Nissan of Sacha Fenestraz ahead, briefly sending the French-Argentine airborne on two wheels. The Belgian would pull into the pits shortly after, dropping to the rear of the field.
Fenestraz would make his way past former teammate Nato into turn 11 on lap 24, barging ahead of Nato ahead to move into seventh. In his attempt to battle back past Fenestraz, the Andretti racer attempted a bold move into turn three on the next lap, taking a chunk of the inside kerb, sending him into the Nissan racer, both drivers into the outside wall at the corner.
This triggered a safety car period. While Fenestraz was out on the spot, Nato was able to continue, albeit down the order.
After four laps of safety car running, the green flag was flown once again, and Da Costa led away from Rowland and Cassidy, as the race headed into its final stages. Championship contenders Dennis and Wehrlein would make contact at turn nine, however, with no consequences for either driver.
With the race heading into its final laps, Dennis and Wehrlein continued to battle, even damaging front wings at one point. The Andretti racer found himself behind, and not long after, overtaken by two McLaren racers either side, with Taylor Barnard moving up to sixth with a double overtake.
Evans took his first attack mode on lap 36, with race control announcing three added laps due to the safety car periods during the race. His goal would be to return to the same position, before taking his second attack mode.
However, Da Costa ahead was trying to pull away from the rest, attempting to use Cassidy's strategy from the previous race. Yet, his gap wasn't as sufficient, with Rowland trailing by just under a second.
A lock-up from Evans into turn six cost him two positions to Wehrlein and Dennis, while his teammate Cassidy made his way up into second, chasing Da Costa for victory. While the Kiwi could close down the gap, it wouldn't be enough to stop the Portuguese racer ahead from claiming his first victory of 2024, becoming the eighth different winner this season.
Cassidy, however, could take solace from an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race, setting a 1:03.728, when no other driver could dip into the 1:03's in the entire race. This allowed him to extend his championship lead, and help Jaguar maintain their lead in the teams' standings too.
Here's the final classification from round 10 at Berlin:
Antonio Felix Da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche)
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) - +0.691s
Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) - +2.820s
Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) - +4.147s
Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E Team) - +4.548s
Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) - +4.953ss
Jehan Daruvala (Maserati MSG Racing) - +6.032s
Taylor Barnard (NEOM McLaren) - +6.698s
Joel Eriksson (Envision Racing) - +7.119s
Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) - +7.357s
The championship standings after the Berlin double header are as follows:
Drivers' standings:
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) - 140 points
Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) - 124 points
Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) - 118 points
Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E Team) - 102 points
Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) - 97 points
Constructors' standings:
Jaguar TCS Racing - 237 points
TAG Heuer Porsche - 183 points
Nissan Formula E Team - 144 points
DS Penske - 127 points
Andretti Formula E Team - 126 points
That's it from the Berlin double-header, then. An action-packed weekend of racing has finally come to an end. Do make sure to tune in to the next weekend of Formula E action in two weeks time, when the paddock flies to Shanghai for the double header at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Comments