Twitter Facebook Youtube

ERN’s Moments of the Race – Berlin

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

After a thrilling Berlin ePrix, in which Sebastien Buemi took victory ahead of the ABT duo of Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi, e-racing.net’s managing editor Renate Jungert and senior editor Laurence Thorn have come together to discuss their top moments from the race.

Driver of the day

LT: There were a number of strong performances so this is really difficult. Buemi, Abt, di Grassi, Frijns and Sarrazin could all make cases for winning this honour. However in the end I have to go for one of the three German drivers in the field, Nick Heidfeld. After qualifying an impressive fifth, he was forced to start from the lower reaches of the grid due to a technical infringement, but drove a race that was a perfect mix of speed, overtaking and consistent driving. He finished P7 but if not for the safety car period, perhaps could have passed Frijns and even Vergne and finished further up the field. A top drive from Quick Nick.

RJ: It is indeed a really tough call. We have seen a flawless drive to a race win from Buemi, a dashing performance from the usually rather unlucky Abt, a fiery race to the podium from di Grassi, and and had a few surprises in the midfield too, like Heidfeld who had fought his way back from the bottom of the grid. However, I will give my vote to Abt today: The young German outclassed his more experienced team mate today and raced onto the
podium in front of his home crowd.

Best start of the race

LT: This honour has to go to Sebastien Buemi, who made a superb getaway from second on the grid to pass polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne into turn one and take the lead. Although Vergne was soon able to get back past, Buemi would go on to re-pass him and from that point onwards took a dominant victory.

RJ: I agree: Being able to leap past Vergne in the first corner was important for Buemi, and I dare say it laid half of the foundation for his victory: It allowed the Renault e.dams driver to fight for the lead, and despite being demoted to second place Buemi could remain within striking distance to reclaim the lead again.

Overtaking move of the race

LT: There were several top moves on the streets of Berlin: Robin Frijns drifting past Loic Duval like a rally driver, Buemi’s forceful move on Vergne to take the lead on lap six, and Daniel Abt’s move on Vergne to take P2 on the tenth lap all spring to mind. However the way Lucas di Grassi passed Nicolas Prost for third place on lap 39 was stunning. On the previous lap he tried a move on the outside into turn 1, which didn’t work. Next time around he faked the same move, but sold Prost the dummy and actually cut to the inside, passing the Frenchman. A sublime bit of driving from the championship leader to salvage a podium after a poor qualifying.

RJ: It was a race full of exciting moves that had me at the edge of my seat. The two that stand out the most are the aforementioned moves of Frjins and Lucas di Grassi. The former proved his fierce bravery by fighting as hard as possible against Duval: He showed off his excellent car control skills as he wrestled the Andretti machine around the track and drifted past his rival, just barely under control. The latter however showed off his brains, beating Prost to a podium finish with smart, quick thinking: After failing to make a move around the outside of turn 1 work, he then tricked the Frenchman into defending the outside again, but instead dashed through the inside when his rival left his other side uncovered.

Surprise of the race

LT: This would be Daniel Abt – he has always been quick in his Formula E career but as even he has admitted, he is not consistent and has some races where he is nowhere. In his home race though, he really turned it on: a fantastic P3 in qualifying was followed up by an excellent drive to second place in the race, and a career best result on home soil.

RJ: The surprise of the race? In a negative way, this would be the strict interpretation of the regulations by the stewards: Handing out black and orange flags for seemingly harmless damage at times, many a driver had a promising race severely compromised.

Unlucky driver of the race

LT: There are lots to choose from here, so I am actually going to nominate both of the NEXTEV drivers Piquet and Turvey. They have both endured torrid seasons to date, but the NEXTEV powertrain is improving and they managed to both qualify very well. So for both of them to receive black and orange flags early in the race for front wing damage, ruining their races right there and then, was utterly unlucky. They will hope to at least salvage something from their season in London.

RJ: For me, the unluckiest drivers were the two Virgin team mates: Both cars were running at the front and could have been in the fight for the podium, however, being forced to return to the pits to carry out repairs diminished the chances of both for a top three finish. While Vergne was able to time his stop due to a black and orange flag so that it coincided with his regular stop to change the car, Bird was less lucky: The Brit had to abandon his chase of then third-placed Daniel Abt and was demoted to the lower midfield. He finished outside of the points, which means that the Brit’s championship hopes took a heavy hit.

Best battery management

LT: This race was not characterised by battery management as much as some other races, however Lucas di Grassi managed to eke one lap more out of his battery than the four drivers ahead of him, and this proved crucial as he leapfrogged Jean-Eric Vergne and got closer to Nicolas Prost following the pit stop phase – eventually allowing him to finish in P3 after the aforementioned pass on Prost.

RJ: Battery management did indeed play only a very minor role in this race. The only incident in which it was truly deciding was di Grassi’s race, in which the Brasilian stopped and changed his car one lap later than his rivals. With the energy advantage of two to three per cents di Grassi manage to chase down Prost and overtake him for third place.

Best rookie performance

LT: It’s hard to remember he is even a rookie as he keeps putting in brilliant performances, but once again Robin Frijns impressed. Qualifying was not good for him, being out-qualified by teammate Simona de Silvestro – but he drove an impressive race. keeping out of trouble where many failed and putting a fantastic rally-inspired pass on Loic Duval as he charged up the field. The Dutchman finished in a well-deserved sixth place.

RJ: A honorary mention goes to Rene Rast for setting the fastest lap at one point of the race, and even though that honour went to another driver in the end, it is not a simple feat to lap an unknown circuit quickest in a completely new car. The overall best rookie performance however goes, unsurprisingly, to Frijns: The young Dutchman has once again proven his aggressiveness, pace, and bravery to finished in the points once again.

e-racing.net

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Images courtesy of Rajan Jangda

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]