Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein believes that the Bern Street Circuit, venue to this weekend's Bern E-Prix, has the potential to cause a red flag, given its tight nature.
Replacing the Zurich E-Prix that made its calendar debut in Season 4, the Bern Street Circuit features 14 corners and extensive elevation changes, stretching 2.750km throughout the Swiss capital.
Examining the circuit, Wehrlein believes that there a number of sections on the track where only one car will be able to fit through at a time, with a crash in said section most likely resulting in a red flag:
“Living in Switzerland, Bern does feel like a second home race for me even though Berlin was actually my home E-Prix," said Wehrlein.
"I think there are some places on the Bern track that look really tight where only one car can fit through at a time. That has the potential to cause a red flag if there is a crash but overall the design is a combination of being uphill, downhill, fast and bumpy!
"We know the speed of the car is there and I have been learning a lot this season, so I am happy."
For team-mate Jerome d'Ambrosio, racing in Switzerland brings back happy memories, with the Belgian racer enjoying a competitive performance in Zurich last season where he took third place for Dragon Racing – a result that he aims to emulate this weekend.
"We know we are fast, and we have the pace, so for us it is about putting the whole package together because I think qualifying high up the grid will play an important role in Bern," he said.
"The track is still relatively tight but I there are some opportunities for overtaking. If we can get the details right, then we can be in a strong position."
Dilbagh Gill, Mahindra Racing Team Principal, added: "We're looking forward to heading to Bern for the first time and we have a lot of Mahindra Racing guests there so it will be extra special.
"It’s a proper street circuit which means it could be quite a challenging race, but I think it’s a track where we have the potential to be strong if we can get qualifying right.
"The competition has got stronger as the season has gone on and that’s what makes it so exciting for the fans. It's still all to play for."
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