Oliver Rowland secured victory in the final event of the Formula E Race at Home Challenge as Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne sealed the championship in a dramatic event at the Berlin Tempelhof Circuit.
As part of a double-header race in the esports series, Pascal Wehrlein held the lead in the Drivers’ Standings in the run-up to the season finale, however, with double points on offer, everything was still to play for.
Come qualifying, 14 points separated Wehrlein from Vandoorne and while Rowland took pole position, the leading Mahindra driver secured second with the trailing Mercedes third.
A strong start for Rowland from the front row saw the Briton maintain the lead into but contact behind cast Wehrlein’s seeming slam-dunk title into jeopardy as an accident with Sebastien Buemi tipped the driver into a spin, dropping to 21st.
The immediate benefactor of this accident was Vandoorne and by moving into second place, the Belgian was in position to take the title, with 36 points available for the runner-up spot.
Emulating his Berlin form, Rowland was untouchable and despite Vandoorne’s best efforts, couldn’t be beaten, taking a lights-to-flag victory to record his third win in the series and a haul of 52 points.
While Vandoorne took second, all eyes were on Wehrlein, with the driver needing to finish fourth or higher but despite the German’s best efforts, a top 10 finish was elusive, ending the series with a 12th place finish.
This handed Vandoorne the Drivers’ Championship by 24 points. Maximilian Guenther, meanwhile, completed the podium, but was beaten to third in the standings by Rowland as four points separated the pair in the final table.
Edoardo Mortara equalled his best finish of the Race at Home Challenge by taking fourth for ROKiT Venturi Racing, overtaking Buemi at the end of lap 11 as the Swiss racer completed the top five.
Jaguar Racing’s James Calado showcased one of his best drives of the series by taking sixth while Nyck de Vries was seventh, the Dutchman finishing ahead of the second Venturi entry of Felipe Massa and helping Mercedes EQ to take the Teams’ Championship.
Daniel Abt virtual replacement Kelvin van der Linde took ninth for Audi while Andre Lotterer completed the top 10 for Porsche.
In the Challenge Grid, a field of 17 drivers battled it out to secure a real-life test in a Formula E car and in a winner takes all competition, Kevin Siggy took a masterful victory ahead of Lucas Mueller as Petar Brljak completed the podium.
| # | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oliver Rowland | 17:29.206s |
| 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | +1.796s |
| 3 | Maximilian Guenther | +4.239s |
| 4 | Edoardo Mortara | +10.240s |
| 5 | Sebastien Buemi | +13.085s |
| 6 | James Calado | +13.120s |
| 7 | Nyck de Vries | +15.427s |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | +22.342s |
| 9 | Pascal Wehrlein | +29.428s |
| 10 | Kelvin van der Linde | +29.629s |
| 11 | Antonio Felix da Costa | +31.019s |
| 12 | Andre Lotterer | +31.507s |
| 13 | Alexander Sims | 13 Laps |
| 14 | Jean-Eric Vergne | 12 Laps |
| 15 | Brendon Hartley | 11 Laps |
| 16 | Sam Bird | 10 Laps |
| 17 | Sam Dejonghe | 9 Laps |
| 18 | Ma Qing Hua | 8 Laps |
| 19 | Lucas di Grassi | 7 Laps |
| 20 | Alice Powell | 6 Laps |
| 21 | Oliver Turvey | 5 Laps |
| 22 | Joel Eriksson | 4 Laps |
| 23 | Neel Jani | 3 Laps |
| 24 | Mitch Evans | 3 Laps |
