Edo Mortara took an emphatic pole position for the Berlin E-Prix, as the weekend action kicked off.
Group A
As the cars took to the track, Group A put down more rubber where it was missing, with Felipe Drugovich at the top of standings at the start of the first runs. No representative laps were set at the end in the first five minutes, as the drivers chose caution.
When the cars did start to push, Drugovich resumed his place at the top, with Nick Cassidy the surprise propping up the standings with less than two minutes to go. MItch Evans, Taylor Barnard, Jean-Eric Vergne, Oliver Rowland, Sebastian Buemi and Norman Nato were the drivers in trouble as the end of the session rapidly approached.
At the chequered flag, it was Barnard as the high profile casualty, courtesy of Oliver Rowland, joined by Ericsson, Evans, Vergne,, Buemi and Nato. Pascal Wherlien finished the session on top from Felipe Drugovich, Rowland, and Cassidy.
Eliminated: Barnard, Ericsson, Vergne, Buemi and Nato
Group B
At the green light, the cars rushed onto the circuit, employing the same strategy as Group A, laying down rubber and running down their batteries in the opening minutes. The ars followed in tight formation, weaving around to heat their tyres. Lucas Di Grassi had an early end to the session, clipping the wall at Turn 4 and breaking his suspension. His Lola crawled to a halt.,
This added pressure to the remaining drivers, with less than three minutes remaining. Nico Mueller topped the times after the first representative runs, but those behind were queuing to replace him, replaced by Dan Ticktum.
At the bottom of the standings, Pepi Marti needed to improve to match his teammate, with Da Costa, Dennis, Guenther, De Vries and the retired Di Grassi making up the order. When the chequered flag fell, no one in the lower positions improved, sealing their fate. Progressing were Ticktum, Mortara, Mueller, and Maloney, securing their first Duels appearance in Formula E.
Eliminated: Da Costa, Guenther, Dennis, Marti, De Vries, Di Grassi
Duels
Rowland vs Drugovich
Nissan vs Andretti would be the first duel of the day in Berlin, Drugovich finding himself up against the reigning world champion. Rowland started his lap first, but Drugovich’s lap was over after a matter of seconds, running wide in the opening corners and dropping almost half a second back. In the end it was an open goal for Rowland, easily progressing to the semi-finals.
Cassidy vs Wehrlein
Porsche looked to be in the ascendancy in Berlin, both cars in the duel. However, as the lap progressed, Cassidy’s early lead rapidly disappeared, putting Wehrlein through despite losing time in the first sector.
Maloney vs Mortara
A tough duel for Maloney, going up against the driver second in the championship. His first sector saw him drop over three tenths of a second over Mortara, a gap he would never recover from. By the chequered flag, Mortara was 0.760s clear, laying down a gauntlet for the others.
Muller vs Ticktum
Mueller ran wide at the first corner of his duel, compromising his lap. Ticktum moved three tenths clear by the second sector, increasing his advantage every corner. By the time Mueller crossed the line, he was 0.405s clear.
Semi Finals
Wehrlein vs Rowland
Wehrlein carried an issue into the Semi Finals, facing off against Rowland. Wehrlein held an early advantage, which the German eeked out over the next few sectors. Defying the odds, he progressed to the final despite his issue.
Ticktum vs Mortara
Mortara held the early advantage, having a two tenths of a second advantage at the end of the first sector, This increased by another tenth by the chequered flag to progress in dominant style.
Final – Wehrlein vs Mortara
The final, fittingly, became a duel between the championship contenders, with Mortara aiming to win the first race of the weekend. Going hard on the brakes into the final corner, both started their laps.
Mortara held the early advantage, moving two and a half tenths of a second clear when he crossed the line. Wehrlein put in a noble effort to claw back the gap, but was unable to catch the Mahindra, giving Mortara his fourth pole in Berlin.
Discussion about this post