Jaguar’s Mitch Evans delivered a masterful performance to win a chaotic, rain-soaked Berlin E-Prix, but the day’s biggest drama belonged to championship leader Oliver Rowland, whose retirement lowers the gap in the drivers’ championship to fifty points with three races to go.
Mitch Evans was in a class of his own at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit, converting his pole position into a commanding victory. The Jaguar driver expertly navigated the treacherous wet conditions, leading for significant periods and managing his race to finish just under half a second clear of his nearest challenger. It was a deserved second victory of the season for the New Zealander, solidifying a fantastic day for the Jaguar TCS Racing team.
However, all eyes were on Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, who entered the weekend with a chance to clinch his first Formula E championship. That dream will have to wait, as his race came to an abrupt and costly end in the frantic final laps.
Shortly after a late-race safety car restart, Rowland, running in the mid-pack, made an aggressive lunge down the inside of Stoffel Vandoorne’s Maserati at the Turn 6-7 complex. The resulting contact proved fatal for Rowland’s car, shattering his front-left suspension and forcing him into retirement.
Over the team radio, a frustrated Rowland was heard lamenting, “What is this Drugovich doing, man?”, initially suspecting that Aston Martin F1 reserve Felipe Drugovich, standing in at Mahindra, was involved. However, replays confirmed the collision was solely with Vandoorne, leaving Rowland to reflect on what might have been. The DNF means the Brit has scored only a single point in the last three races, though his championship lead still stands at a significant 50 points with three races remaining.
Capitalising on Rowland’s misfortune was his chief title rival, Pascal Wehrlein. The home favourite for Porsche skillfully worked his way to the front, but his charge for victory was blunted by a slide on the penultimate lap and an earlier moment where he was held up by Nissan stand-in Sergio Sette Camara on the restart, allowing Evans a crucial window to take his second attack mode without losing the lead.
The drama continued long after the chequered flag fell. Porsche looked set to celebrate a 2-3 finish with Antonio Felix da Costa crossing the line in third. However, stewards handed the Portuguese driver a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Maserati’s Jake Hughes, dropping him to a disappointing 10th.
In a twist of post-race fate, this promoted Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara to a surprise and celebrated third place. Mortara held off a hard-charging Taylor Barnard, who secured an impressive fourth for McLaren.
Perhaps the drive of the day belonged to Evans’ Jaguar teammate, Nick Cassidy, who mounted a phenomenal recovery from 21st on the grid to finish fifth. Maximilian Guenther finished sixth for DS Penske, while his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, who had been in a strong position, slowed and retired as the final safety car period ended.
Envision’s Sebastien Buemi overcame a 10-second stop-and-go penalty to fight back to seventh, ahead of Nico Mueller (Andretti) and Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro), who rounded out the points-paying positions just ahead of the penalised da Costa.
With the championship fight now guaranteed to continue, all attention turns to tomorrow’s second race in the Berlin double-header, where Rowland will be desperate to bounce back and his rivals will sense a renewed opportunity.
Image courtesy of Formula E
