How Buemi won the 2016 Berlin ePrix and kept the title race open

Sebastien Buemi won the 2016 Berlin ePrix from second on the grid, taking his third win of the season for e.dams-Renault. Daniel Abt finished second for Audi Sport ABT and his teammate Lucas di Grassi third, which left the championship close going into the London finale.

Why was Berlin hosting a Formula E race?

Berlin's street race was the eighth of ten single-seater electric races in the 2015-16 season and the second Berlin round. The FIA World Motor Sport Council had confirmed it the previous October. With only ten races in the season, the title race was tight at this point.

The first plan was not the one that ran. In November 2015 it was reported that Tempelhof Airport was highly unlikely to host the race, because the site was sheltering refugees. Alejandro Agag, the series' chief operating officer, then tried for the Norisring in Nuremberg, with Munich and Berlin as alternatives.

Talks with the Norisring ended after the 15 January deadline passed without a decision. A month later it was announced that the race would be held in downtown Berlin, subject to approval from the city and the FIA. Mayors of two central districts objected, but the Senate of Berlin granted the dispensation needed for a street race in March.

Construction began on 9 May, twelve days before the race. The eleven-turn track was 2.030 km (1.261 mi) long, with the pit lane on Karl-Marx-Allee and a route around Strausberger Platz and Alexanderplatz.

Buemi started second, took the lead at the first corner and kept it through the pit stops to win in Berlin.

How did the title race look before Berlin?

Lucas di Grassi led the Drivers' Championship with 126 points, eleven ahead of Buemi in second. Buemi was a further 33 points in front of third-placed Sam Bird. Jerome d'Ambrosio was fourth on 64 points and Stephane Sarrazin fifth on 58.

In the Teams' Championship e.dams-Renault led with 165 points, seven ahead of Audi Sport ABT. Dragon, on 112 points, and Virgin, on 106, were third and fourth, while Mahindra were fifth with 65.

Buemi had finished third at the Paris ePrix, and he said the car had been super quick there, but he had started too far behind to do better. Abt, who wanted to finish the race on the podium, said his main aim was to help his teammate in the championship battle.

Who was missing from the Berlin entry?

Nine teams with two drivers each entered, making 18 participants. Antonio Felix da Costa, who had raced for Aguri since the season opener in Beijing, missed the event because of a DTM commitment at the Red Bull Ring. The entry had just one confirmed driver change.

Rene Rast took his place. It was his first race in single-seater machinery since Formula BMW ADAC in 2004, and he practised on the team's simulator to get used to the car. An earlier plan to bring in Adam Carroll had fallen through.

Oliver Turvey was supposed to be replaced by Ben Hanley, because of a Super GT commitment at Autopolis. That race was postponed after the Kumamoto earthquakes, so Turvey's seat was reinstated.

How did practice go in Berlin?

There were two practice sessions on the Saturday morning, the first 45 minutes and the second 30 minutes, both in dry weather. Buemi used 200 kW (270 hp) to set the first session's fastest lap of 57.648 seconds just before the end.

In the second session Piquet was fastest at 57.909 seconds, just 0.013 seconds ahead of Bird. Piquet had a battery failure on his second car, which limited him to a single timed lap, and he still set the quickest time.

Robin Frijns swerved to avoid Bruno Senna at the turn five and six hairpin in the first session, and di Grassi briefly stopped on track after pressing the neutral button on his steering wheel.

Several drivers struggled with traffic, and Buemi struck a barrier at turn five, damaging his front wing. He was able to return to the pit lane for a new nose cone. Sarrazin later hit the turn 11 barrier hard, which stopped the session briefly, and Rast stopped at turn six.

How did qualifying set the front row?

Vergne took pole with a time of 57.811 seconds, his first pole of the season and the fourth of his career. Buemi, the pole favourite, could only qualify second, and Vergne's team had its third consecutive pole of the year.

Qualifying lasted 60 minutes in four groups of five cars, with each group allowed six minutes on track. The fastest five from the groups went into Super Pole, which ran one car at a time in reverse order. Buemi set the fastest overall group time of 57.322 seconds in group four.

In group one Turvey paced the session, and di Grassi was second, just seven-hundredths of a second behind. In group two Vergne was nearly two-tenths of a second quicker than Abt, and in group three Heidfeld was almost three-tenths ahead of Piquet, who had lost control at the hairpin.

Elsewhere, in group one, Frijns damaged his front-left tyre in contact with a barrier and still ended up third-quickest, ahead of Sarrazin, who lost control at turn ten and stopped the session briefly.

Abt set 57.852 seconds in Super Pole but made an error at the final turn. Heidfeld damaged his front-left suspension against the turn eight barrier, leaving him fifth. Vergne then went quickest through the second sector and took provisional pole.

The stewards then excluded Mahindra's Senna and Heidfeld from qualifying for irregular tyre pressures, and Sarrazin and d'Ambrosio were excluded for the same reason. Their penalties sent them to the back of the grid, which changed the shape of the race.

What happened at the start in Berlin?

Buemi was second on the grid, but he accelerated faster than the distracted Vergne and took the lead into the first corner. Piquet lost grip at the first turn, and Senna's error sent him into the rear of Rast's car, which damaged both cars.

At the end of the first lap Vergne braked later than Buemi into the first corner, took the inside line and reclaimed the lead in a near copy of Buemi's own move. Buemi then retook the lead by passing Vergne on the inside into turn five, and the two cars came close to contact.

Damage to the cars of Rast, Piquet and Turvey caused officials to show each of them a black flag with an orange disc, which sent them into the pit lane for repairs. Bird was also penalised, after taking a kerb too fast and loosening his front wing end-plate, and he came out in 14th.

Abt passed Vergne for second at the turn one hairpin on lap ten, and Buemi went on to increase his lead to five seconds. Di Grassi, in a tight group with Vergne and Prost, was told by his team that he would stay out one lap longer than his rivals.

How did the race finish in Berlin?

Vergne lost his front wing after hitting the bollards at the chicane, and then took too much kerb at the same chicane and lost it again. Debris littered the track, and Prost passed Vergne for third. Buemi led for most of the distance after the first corner.

Race officials called a full course yellow on lap 28 so marshals could clean the track. Buemi led Abt by 11 seconds at the restart, and the battle for third turned to di Grassi, who was closing on Prost.

Di Grassi made his move on the inside into turn one late in the race and took third from Prost. Senna set the fastest race lap of 59.067 seconds, which earned him two points, and di Grassi was then investigated for speeding under the full course yellow.

Duval lost control and slid into the turn seven barrier, which brought out the safety car, and the race restarted with two laps left. Abt was told that di Grassi was faster and should be allowed through, but Abt could not do so without risking his podium position, since Prost was closing too.

What did the drivers say after Berlin?

Buemi said he had let Vergne pass and then attacked when Vergne had used more energy. He wanted the fastest lap in his second car and did not get it, but he described the weekend as good overall. Abt called the race simply amazing and thanked his team for a fast car.

Di Grassi said he was happy to finish third despite the trouble he had with Vergne and the safety car. He said he did not want to lose the title by giving away points to a rival, and that he would rather lose it fairly than have another driver hand it to him.

Hans-Jurgen Abt, the team owner, accepted that his son had not complied with a team order, but he said driver integrity was worth protecting. Turvey and Bird were baffled by the number of penalties, and Buemi criticised the safety car, saying there had been no danger present.

What did the Berlin result do to the standings?

Di Grassi kept the Drivers' Championship lead, but Buemi's win cut it to one point. Bird stayed third despite failing to score, and d'Ambrosio held fourth. Prost's fourth place moved him past Sarrazin into fifth. Two races remained, and the title was still wide open.

In the Teams' Championship e.dams-Renault extended its lead to 11 points over Audi Sport ABT. Virgin gained a place to move into third, and Dragon fell to fourth, while Mahindra were fifth with two races left in the season.

Di Grassi had said he would rather lose the title by losing points to his rivals than see another driver hand it to him. Abt said it did not matter to him whether he finished second or third, since the team's objective was to win both championships.

What were the conditions in Berlin?

The race started in dry and sunny conditions, with the air between 23.5 and 24.05 C (74.30 to 75.29 F) and the track at 24 C (75 F). Officials had granted dispensation for a street race, because motor racing is otherwise forbidden on Germany's public roads.

An estimated 15,000 people attended, and the race began at 16:00 Central European Summer Time. Sarrazin's chassis damage meant his team first said he would not race, but repairs were finished in time for him to start.

Buemi, Sarrazin and Heidfeld were handed Fan Boost after a fan vote. The feature gives an extra 100 kW (130 hp) to the driver's second car, and it was a key part of the Berlin race strategy for those three drivers.

Berlin 2016 leading finishers