Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries delivered a supremely controlled drive to win the second race in the 2022 Berlin E-Prix double-header, heading home ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and Mercedes-EQ teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.
Reigning champion de Vries powered to victory at the Tempelhof Airport circuit, the scene of his Season 7 title triumph, with Mortara following 2.5s back as Saturday’s windy conditions made way for weekend-high temperatures.
Vandoorne made it two Mercedes-EQ-run Silver Arrow 02 cars on the podium and three Mercedes-EQ powertrains in the top three. The Belgian’s third-place finish also extended his silverware streak to three races. Lucas di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) came home fourth to extend that to four Mercedes-powered cars in the top four in a dominant outing on home soil.
Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) wound up a battling fifth after a race-long back-and-forth between the Dutchman, António Félix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH), who finished in sixth and a gaggle of cars behind all fighting to maximise their points haul as Season 8 passed its half-way stage.
Oliver Rowland (Mahindra Racing) made good progress from 10th at the outset to an eventual seventh – the Yorkshireman running as high as fifth at one stage. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team’s André Lotterer took the chequered flag in eighth position, not quite able to capitalise on practice and qualifying pace.
Jean-Éric Vergne crossed the line in ninth, just ahead of fellow title challenger Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) who took the final point in 10th.
After eight races and at the halfway point in Season 8 of the FIA Formula E World Championship, Vandoorne is top of the Drivers’ standings running on 111 points, with Mortara moving into second on 99 points and Vergne now third, a further four points back. Mercedes-EQ sit atop the Teams’ standings on 176 points, with ROKiT Venturi Racing next on 148 points.
Round 9 in the biggest-ever 16-race calendar is the Jakarta E-Prix on 4 June, the first time the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has raced in Indonesia.
