ABT CUPRA's front-row lockout is your Moment from Berlin

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ABT CUPRA's front-row lockout is your Moment from Berlin

With just over 40% of the vote, you have chosen the ABT CUPRA front-row lockout as your Moment of the Weekend from the SABIC Berlin E-Prix. Let's revisit the Frijns and Mueller's run through the Duels to that emotional one-two finish in qualifying for Sunday's race.

frijns mueller celebrate berlin pole

The dream qualifying performance from ABT CUPRA's Robin Frijns and Nico Mueller captured everyone's imagination, securing 44% of your vote and beating Jaguar TCS Racing's first-ever one-two finish which took 32%.

The commanding drive to victory by Nick Cassidy put him into championship contention but was your third-best moment with 16% voting for the Envision Racing driver. Finally, 10% of you picked Dan Ticktum's incredible launch from fourth on the grid to lead NIO 333's laps since 2018.

ABT-solutely perfect qualifying from Frijns and Mueller

The group stage of qualifying always brings plenty of drama with the whole 'who's in and who's out'. Then the tricky damp conditions added another exciting variable to the mix.

It was the first wet weather running of the season and the all-new GEN3 era. As we know, these conditions can be a performance leveller, a quick lap comes down to a test of the driver's feel of the car - and two who mastered the damp concrete of the Tempelhof circuit were Frijns and Mueller.

Until that Sunday in Berlin, ABT CUPRA were the only team yet to have featured in the knockout Duels, so for Mueller and Frijns to progress was already a happy moment for the German squad.

Over the lap, both ABT CUPRA drivers had the drop on their rivals in the final two sectors as they were able to get their Mahindra-powered machine hooked up and make huge strides by a tenth up and over everyone else's times.

The first face-off in the quarters was Mueller versus championship leader Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche), over the lap the German pulled a slight lead over the ABT CUPRA. The lap swung to Mueller as the Swiss driver took tenths out of Wehrlein's lap to eliminate him at the line with an advantage of three tenths.

For Frijns' first Duel appearance in Season 9, the Dutchman took on Saturday's race winner and the expectation was that Evans would come out on top as 74% of you predicted the Jaguar driver would win the timed battle in the Formula E Predictor game.

The New Zealander had the initial advantage over Frijns in the first corner, just a smidge over three-tenths. Frijns immediately fired back, clawing within six hundredths and eventually beating Evans by 0.069s. Putting both ABTs now into the semi-finals.

Mueller would face-off against former and two-time champion Jean-Eric Vergne in the first semi. The Frenchman initially pulled the gap on him, but the Swiss driver looked planted in the rain to pip the DS PENSKE and make it through to the Final and a guaranteed front-row start - beating his previous highest qualifying position of sixth.

Frijns was next in the second semi, going up against the previous day's polesitter Sebastien Buemi. Frijns held the advantage over the lap as the Envision Racing driver attempting to chase down the Dutchman's time over the sectors. The swing went to Buemi, but what was par for the course in the wet, Frijns pulled out a gap of over three-tenths in the Final sectors to book his place in the Final.

Never in their previous guises had former championship-winning ABT squad managed to complete a front-row lockout and it was now promised with the all-ABT CUPRA Final.

No matter the result in the Final it would end up with hugs all-around, Frjins defeated Mueller. Railing around the Tempelhof circuit to go a major six tenths quicker than his teammate.

A stunning moment that everyone in the Formula E community enjoyed, the team making it through to the Duels for the first time, scoring their first points of the season and in only Frijns' third race back after breaking his wrist in Mexico City.

Any rain dancing efforts wouldn't come to fruition for the race however, with the sun cruelly coming out and drying the surface. Mueller would bring some more points to the standings with a ninth place finish.

Berlin will be a memorable race for the ABT CUPRA in Season 9, after all the difficulties they left their home race with five points in the Teams' standings and now the Moment of the Weekend.