Two races at Tempelhof, a disqualification after the first and a ten-second penalty that handed the second to Sebastien Buemi.
Felix Rosenqvist won the opener for Mahindra, and Sebastien Buemi inherited the second race after a ten-second penalty was applied to Rosenqvist. Buemi had first been disqualified from race one over tyre pressures, which cut his title lead to 22 points before the second race.
The 2017 Berlin ePrix was a Formula E double-header run over 10 and 11 June 2017 on the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, watched by 24,000 people across the two days. Felix Rosenqvist won the first race for Mahindra, but Sebastien Buemi was disqualified from fifth place after post-race checks. Buemi then inherited the second race when a ten-second penalty was handed to Rosenqvist, and his lead over Lucas di Grassi grew to 32 points.
When and where were the 2017 Berlin ePrix held?
The two races took place on 10 and 11 June 2017 at Tempelhof, the third Berlin ePrix. They were rounds seven and eight of the 2016-17 season, and the first of three double-headers that year. Berlin had first hosted a race at Tempelhof in 2015, which made the venue a familiar choice.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council confirmed the event in September 2016. A planned round in Brussels fell through in March 2017 when no suitable venue could be found, and the Berlin race switched away from the Karl-Marx-Allee circuit back to Tempelhof. Astana had also been weighed up, but the timing made arrangements hard.
The layout was revealed on 27 March. It was an anti-clockwise circuit, shortened and simplified to suit the faster and more efficient cars, with long main and back straights. Construction began on 29 May, just 13 days before the first race, and the track was built in a tight window.
Two races, one disqualification and a ten-second penalty that handed the second win to Sebastien Buemi.
What was the championship picture going in?
Going into Berlin, Sebastien Buemi of e.Dams-Renault led the drivers' standings with 132 points, and Lucas di Grassi was second, 43 points back. Nico Prost was third, a further 31 points back, and Nick Heidfeld was fourth on 47 points. e.Dams-Renault led the teams on 190 points, with Audi second on 115.
Two driver changes had been made before the weekend. Stephane Sarrazin left Venturi for Techeetah, replacing Esteban Gutierrez, who was focusing on IndyCar commitments. Venturi gave its seat to Tom Dillmann, its reserve and test driver, who stayed with the team for the rest of the season.
The format included Fan Boost, an extra 100 kW (130 hp) of power for the second car, with the drivers chosen by a fan vote. Qualifying was split into four groups of five, and the fastest five then contested Super Pole. The fastest qualifier earned three points towards the championships.
How did qualifying set up race one?
Lucas di Grassi took pole for race one, clocking 1 minute, 8.312 seconds, and Jose Maria Lopez was only 0.001 seconds slower in second. That margin was the closest in Formula E history. Felix Rosenqvist clipped the turn nine kerb, lost momentum and started third, while Heidfeld took fourth and Sam Bird fifth.
Practice had shown the pace. Buemi was fastest in the first session at 1 minute, 8.151 seconds, and Heidfeld led the second at 1 minute, 8.070 seconds. In the group stages, Rosenqvist set the fastest lap of any competitor at 1 minute, 8.171 seconds, which was the benchmark for the groups.
Who won race one on 10 June?
Felix Rosenqvist won the first race from third on the grid, giving Mahindra its first Formula E victory. Lucas di Grassi finished 2.2 seconds behind in second, and Nick Heidfeld took third, his third consecutive third-place finish. It was Rosenqvist's first win in the series.
Race one was run in dry, sunny conditions, with the track between 31 and 33.9 degrees Celsius. Rosenqvist and Heidfeld both made fast starts past the slow-starting Jose Maria Lopez. Sarrazin squeezed Mitch Evans into the concrete barrier in the early corners, breaking the Jaguar's suspension, and Evans switched to his second car. Di Grassi led after the first lap and built a 1.3-second lead by lap five.
The race turned in the pit-stop phase. Di Grassi locked his tyres, lifted early, and Rosenqvist took the lead on lap 22. He opened a two-second gap over di Grassi, who was struggling with battery temperatures and had lost regeneration from an overheating battery. Di Grassi used his FanBoost to defend second from Heidfeld, and Rosenqvist finished the race leading 23 laps, more than any other driver.
On lap 16 Mitch Evans posted the quickest time of the race, 1 minute, 10.224 seconds, which earned one point. Jean-Eric Vergne was given a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit release, dropping him from fifth to ninth. Buemi's race ended with a disqualification, which shifted the classification further.
Why was Buemi disqualified after race one?
Buemi finished fifth on the road but was disqualified after post-race scrutineering. All four tyres on both of his cars were below the minimum pressure of 1.60-bar (160 kPa) that Michelin, the control supplier, had set, which breached the sporting regulations. The ruling moved Prost, Bird, Vergne and Engel up one place each, and Turvey was promoted to tenth.
Buemi had started 14th before finishing fifth. Alain Prost, co-owner of e.Dams-Renault, admitted the error was the team's, and he said the task was to improve for race two and keep Buemi in the title fight. Buemi remained on top of the championship on 132 points, but his lead over di Grassi shrank to 22 points.
Mahindra held its place in the teams' table after the opener, while Rosenqvist climbed in the drivers' standings. Audi trailed e.Dams-Renault by a much smaller gap in the teams' table.
Who won race two on 11 June?
Sebastien Buemi won race two, although he finished second on the road. Felix Rosenqvist was given a ten-second penalty for an unsafe pit release from the garage, which handed the win to Buemi. Lucas di Grassi finished third, 3.6 seconds further back, and it was Buemi's sixth win of the year.
Rosenqvist had taken pole, clocking 1 minute, 8.208 seconds, the second pole of his career, and Buemi lined up beside him on the front row. The race was 46 laps long, and Rosenqvist led throughout. Buemi trailed him by 1.3 seconds at the 20th lap, after a gap that had been larger in the opening stint.
The race started at 16:00 local time in warm conditions, with air at 28.2 to 29.25 degrees Celsius and the track between 31.6 and 33.35 degrees Celsius. After the opening lap Rosenqvist was two seconds clear of Buemi, and Heidfeld had gained five positions. Engel went around the outside of Duval at turn six, and the cars made contact, and Engel made an unscheduled stop for repairs.
The race had a late-running penalty. Rosenqvist was released from his garage right into the line of his teammate Heidfeld, who had to swerve, and the stewards investigated immediately. A ten-second penalty was issued during lap 34, and on the road he had crossed the line 2.9 seconds clear of Buemi before the adjustment. Rosenqvist said afterwards that he had braked to let Heidfeld in and found the penalty confusing.
Engel's quickest time came on lap seven at 1 minute, 9.519 seconds, and it earned one point. Heidfeld, who had started 20th after a throttle sensor fault, made up ground to finish tenth. Buemi's win was his twelfth in a career that had already brought him championship contention, and it kept him ahead in the title race.
How did the standings change after the double-header?
Before the weekend Buemi's lead had stood at 43 points, so the double-header narrowed the gap briefly before widening it. After race two Buemi led the championship on 157 points, with di Grassi 32 points behind. Rosenqvist moved into third with 86 points, and Prost fell to fourth on 72. e.Dams-Renault increased their lead over Audi in the teams' table to 58 points, and Mahindra held third on 149 points.
Across the double-header the title race both tightened and widened. Buemi's lead was cut to 22 points by his disqualification, then restored to 32 points by the second race. Prost lost a place after race two, dropping from third to fourth, while Rosenqvist climbed into the top three.
The result also put Techeetah ahead of NextEV for fifth with four races remaining. Di Grassi said his car had been quicker than in race one, but a couple of tenths were still missing to fight for the win. Virgin stayed fourth on 97 points.
Race results at a glance
| Race | Winner | Second | Third | Pole | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race one, 10 June | Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra | Lucas di Grassi, Audi | Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra | Lucas di Grassi, 1 minute, 8.312 seconds | Mitch Evans, 1 minute, 10.224 seconds |
| Race two, 11 June | Sebastien Buemi, e.Dams-Renault, after penalty | Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra | Lucas di Grassi, Audi | Felix Rosenqvist, 1 minute, 8.208 seconds | Maro Engel, 1 minute, 9.519 seconds |
How did the drivers react after the races?
Rosenqvist described the first win as a moment when everything came together, despite some small errors along the way. Mahindra's principal Dilbagh Gill called it a massive breakthrough for the team and for Indian sport, and he said he had felt the win was coming that morning.
Di Grassi said Audi had started the day very lost and had changed the car's set-up, and that his battery overheating had cost him regeneration. Heidfeld said his finish in race two was bittersweet, because his strong form could have taken him higher if his sensor fault had not hit him in qualifying.
Buemi admitted the second win had been handed to him, although he felt Rosenqvist was the deserving winner. He said he had been similar in pace to the Mahindra driver, and that the result tasted different from a normal victory.
Mahindra was also fined 1,500 euros for releasing Heidfeld unsafely from his garage. Gill praised Heidfeld's climb to tenth as a master lesson in wheel-to-wheel driving, and the team looked ahead to the season's final races.
