12/07/2025 17:05
Pascal Wehrlein took a huge chunk out of Oliver Rowland's lead in
the Formula E drivers' title after a chaotic conclusion to the
opening race of the Berlin E-Prix. Rowland span and struck a
Maserati at Turn 6, causing damage which resulted in a shock
retirement. The Nissan driver was furious, whilst Wehrlein
capitalised and finished second. It has reduced Rowland's
advantage from 69 points to 50, with three rounds remaining – the
second Berlin race takes place on Sunday. Jaguar's Mitch Evans
secured a superb victory from pole position, in what was his first
points since winning the São Paulo season-opener. How the race
unfolded In damp conditions but with no rain falling at the
Tempelhof Airport circuit, Mitch Evans made an excellent launch
from pole position; however, the race was immediately neutralised.
Andretti's Jake Dennis failed to launch from the line, resulting in
a safety car and a retirement for the Briton. The race restarted on
lap three. In what was a Pit Boost race, several drivers opted for
an early attack mode, including, Evans. The Jaguar driver had built
a staggering five-second lead by the end of lap 11. The Porsches
got themselves into second and third, Pascal Wehrlein ahead of
Antonio Felix da Costa, whilst Oliver Rowland was down in sixth.
Wehrlein overtook his team-mate on lap 12, and quickly set about
hunting Evans down, taking two seconds out of his advantage in two
laps, before it stabilised at 3.5s. Lap 15, and Maximilian Günther
was the first to box for Pit Boost from fifth, before others
quickly followed across the following 10 laps. Once the leaders had
all boxed for Pit Boost, Evans remained in the lead, ahead of
Wehrlein, Jean-Eric Vergne, Günther and Robn Frijns who joined
Evans on the front row. As for Rowland, he was down in ninth.
However, on lap 29, Cupra Kiro's David Beckmann struck the wall
after being hit by Nissan's Sergio Sette Camara, triggering a
safety car. Following another three laps behind the safety car,
Evans restarted the race on lap 33. Sadly for Vergne, he entered
the pits to retire as the race got back underway; however, all eyes
were on Rowland, who span at Turn 6 and retired from the race after
being hit by debutant Felipe Drugovich. It ensured the title goes
to at least Sunday in Berlin. At the front, and Evans continued to
dominate proceedings, to win with ease ahead of Wehrlein. Da Costa
crossed the line in third but dropped to 10th, following a
five-second time penalty for hitting Stoffel Vandoorne. It
promoted Edoardo Mortara onto the podium, ahead of Taylor Barnard
and Nick Cassidy. To add to Rowland's woes, Wehrlein secured the
fastest lap, reducing his title lead to 50 points with three laps
remaining.
