As the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship reaches its midway point, the competition returns to Berlin for the third double-header of the season, intensifying the battle for the Season 10 World Championship title.
With a decade of racing history in Berlin, all eyes are on the 22 drivers to recreate the excitement of the past 18 races in the German capital, highlighted by a remarkable 362 overtakes in last season's event.
TICKETS: Come and join us for the SUN MINIMEAL 2024 Berlin E-Prix
The net zero carbon race series returns to the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, located on the outskirts of the German capital city. Berlin is the only city to have hosted a race in every season of Formula E. In all but one of those seasons – Season 2, when the German round took place near Alexanderplatz – Tempelhofer Feld has been the host venue.
This season the track layout has had some significant changes. The new 2.343km layout features 15 turns and will run anti-clockwise on both occasions. It’s a new challenge for the drivers to learn, on top of the unique track surface they experience here.
CIRCUIT: Berlin track layout gets fresh look for Season 10
Made up of repeating concrete slabs, Tempelhof Airport was designed for planes rather than a field of all-electric single-seaters! The bumpy concrete track means higher than usual degradation for the Hankook tyres and high grip takes a toll on energy management, making race strategies a headache but the action is always among the best on the calendar.
After the racing is done, we will also be welcoming back the popular Berlin Rookie Test. The mandatory day of running sees all 11 teams calling up the biggest and brightest stars motorsport has to offer for their chance to experience these rapid GEN3 cars. Drivers from the world of FIA Formula 2, DTM, endurance racing and even the reigning F1 Academy Champion are all making their debuts, as well as some familiar faces returning.
If past form is anything to go by, we're in for another exciting set of races in Berlin. With seven different winners from the first eight rounds in Season 10, competition is as fierce as ever and almost impossible to predict. Can anyone knock TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein of the top spot of the standings after this weekend?
HANKOOK DEBRIEF: Five things we learned in Monaco
As it stands...
After seven rounds, the milestone 10th season of Formula E is becoming one for the ages. Mexico maestro, Pascal Wehrlein opened up Season 10 with more success in Mexico City, as the TAG Heuer Porsche driver converted a pole start to his fifth victory in Formula E, at the locale of Porsche's first win in the series - secured by the German back in Season 8.
Heading to Round 2 in Diriyah, reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti) scored a masterful victory under the lights after perfectly timing an ATTACK MODE overcut to romp away to his sixth win in Formula E by over 13 seconds - registering the second-largest win margin in Formula E history.
Round 3 wouldn't see a repeat of the Diriyah double as Dennis was unable to carry over the previous day's pace, but this opened up the door for Jaguar TCS Racing's Nick Cassidy to swoop in and score a victory at only the third time of asking since moving to the factory team.
A return to Brazil for Round 4 and a country steeped in motorsport history, and the second São Paulo E-Prix did not disappoint. After an exciting debut in Season 9, the streets of the Anhembi Sambadrome were awash with even more wheel-to-wheel action with racing right down to the wire.
It was Sam Bird who came out on top following a daring last lap dive for the lead, coming round the outside of Jaguar's Mitch Evans to score NEOM McLaren's first win in Formula E and ending his 37-race winless streak that stretched back to New York City in 2021.
A DNF for then-Drivers' World Championship leader Cassidy saw the gap close up at the top of the standings after São Paulo, and with four different winners in four races - the title fight was still wide open heading into Tokyo.
Another new team and driver took to the top step of the podium on a landmark first visit to Japan for Formula E. With home heroes Nissan giving plenty for the sell-out crowd to cheer, as Oliver Rowland steered to pole then the podium come the race.
Heading to the Japanese capital, Rowland was on a roll after a third-place finish in Sao Paulo and started to pick up the pace after Free Practice 2 in Japan. After finishing the final practice session second fastest, Rowland went on to pinch Julius Baer Pole Position from Maserati MSG Racing's Maximilian Guenther in qualifying, around the 18-turn, 2.582km street circuit.
It was Maserati MSG Racing's Guenther who'd have the last laugh, though - more than encouraging after a strong showing in Brazil to fight back from a penalty, and all with a trip to Italy and home soil next up. Guenther had been on a points streak stretching back to Round 1 - the only driver to score in every race in Season 10 - and he managed to stretch that tally yet further in Misano.
The drama, though, lay right at the sharp end with Porsche's Antonio Felix da Costa striding to a win in Round 6 in Italy, timing his tactical jump to the front perfectly, only to see a technicality - a non-compliant throttle pedal spring - remove the win from his, and Porsche's grasp. Rowland was the major benefactor as he inherited the win but it wouldn't take long for roles to reverse.
READ MORE: The full Season 10 calendar
Right at the end of Round 7 a day later, Rowland looked to have the win in the bag as he entered the final laps at the head of the pack. However, a technical fault at the start saw his energy targets skewed and the race, effectively, running a lap longer than his car and his engineers accounted for.
Pascal Wehrlein looked set to settle for second for Porsche with temperatures in the Adriatic heat causing concern for his powertrain but half way around the final tour, he passed the slowing Nissan - Rowland out of usable energy - and took the chequered flag for the win to top the standings heading to the season's halfway point in Monaco.
Last time out, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans got his first race win in Monaco, and in Season 10. The Kiwi thanked his teammate Nick Cassidy for being such a strong team player, with the two friends finishing in first and second - the first time for Jaguar this year and the only time a Formula E team have got two cars on the podium around the principality. DS PENSKE's Stoffel Vandoorne managed his first podium since winning the World Championship in Season 8, with him and Jean-Eric Vergne managing the best haul of point for the team since the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix last year.
Another brilliant race in Monaco witnessed 198 overtakes, proving Formula E is one of the most competitive motorsports out there. In addition, Evans' victory saw him become the seventh different winner in the first eight races this season.
Return of the rookies
Following the double-header main event, Formula E will host its first official Rookie Test of the season on Monday 13th May, providing each team with the opportunity to showcase new talent vying to make a name for themselves in the competitive world of motorsport.
BERLIN ROOKIE TEST: Here is every team's line-up so far
After a successful rookie Free Practice session in Misano in the lead-up to Rounds 6 and 7 last month, this full day of testing promises to add an extra layer of excitement to cap off the race weekend. Each of the 11 teams will field two drivers for the six hours of track time, gathering valuable data that will aid them in strategic decision-making down the line.
Almost all teams have announced their line-ups with some huge talent taking to the Berlin circuit in the GEN3 machines. Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford will be in at Andretti, with five-time W Series race winner Alice Powell back at Envision. 2023 FIA Formula 2 Vice Champion Frederik Vesti will be getting his debut at Mahindra, and F1 Academy’s first champion Marta García will be getting an opportunity at ERT.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2024 SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix
The 2024 SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix gets underway on Friday 10 May with Free Practice 1 at 17:00 local time.
Track action for the first day of the double-header starts on Saturday 11 May with Free Practice 2 at 08:00 local. Qualifying follows at 10:40 local time with lights out for Round 9 scheduled at 15:00 local/13:00 UTC.
Following this, Sunday’s action starts with Free Practice 3 at 08:00, followed by Round 10 qualifying and race at 10:20 and 15:00 local time respectively.
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