The opening race of the 2025 Berlin E-Prix unfolded under light rain, delivering drama, strategy, and intense wheel-to-wheel action. Evans took a commanding victory, his second of the season. Meanwhile, Dennis faced early misfortune, failing to start from 17th and retiring shortly after.
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Start and Early Laps
Evans had a great start, quickly taking the lead in tricky conditions caused by light rain. Dennis did not start from 17th position, which was a significant setback. Early in the race, a yellow flag and safety car were deployed. Under the safety car, the top three were Evans, Frijns, and Günther, while Rowland dropped to fifth.
Dennis was allowed to start before being lapped by the safety car but stopped and retired his car shortly after.
Lap 3-9
The green flag waved on lap 3. Günther had a poor restart, allowing Evans and da Costa, both using two attack modes, to make aggressive moves. Da Costa dropped to sixth, while Evans passed to take the race lead. Wehrlein also attacked, moving up from 11th to 8th.
In lap 4, Günther took his attack mode. Da Costa moved up to second place. Wehrlein posted the fastest lap and was involved in a tight battle with Frijns and Günther for fourth. Günther and Wehrlein both overtook Frijns, who was disadvantaged without attack mode.
Evans set the fastest lap while leading by lap 6. Wehrlein passed Günther after the latter made a mistake, moving into third place. Despite this, Günther still had one minute of attack mode left, whereas Wehrlein was already up front. Mortara, in sixth, and Vergne, in seventh, both had attack mode active. Hughes and Rowland were in eighth and ninth, respectively.
During lap 7, Wehrlein set the fastest lap again. Günther overtook Wehrlein to reclaim third place. Evans had a three-second gap over da Costa in second. From fifth to tenth, all drivers had attack mode available.
Wehrlein regained third place. Rowland, in ninth, still had two minutes of attack mode remaining druing lap 8. Günther was down to 77% energy left, the lowest among the top ten in fourth. Rowland moved up to seventh by lap 10.
Lap 10-19
Frijns posted the fastest lap in fourth place while using attack mode. Günther fell back to seventh. Vergne was under threat from Rowland, who was fighting for fifth.
Evans extended his lead to five seconds by lap 11. Wehrlein moved up to second place. Frijns overtook da Costa but struggled with grip and eventually fell back behind the Porsche driver as his attack mode expired.
By lap 12, drivers behind 12th position had yet to use any attack mode. Günther was now in seventh, closely following Rowland, who continued to pressure Vergne.
Barnard took attack mode in 12th place. The gap to race leader Evans was down to three seconds by lap 14. Wehrlein was closing in. Frijns overtook da Costa to move into third, with Vergne right behind. Barnard struggled to catch the cars ahead.
Barnard overtook Ticktum and then passed Vandoorne after a side-by-side battle. He quickly overtook Hughes as well, moving up to ninth place during lap 16.
Teams began talking about energy saving at this stage. Pit boost became available for six drivers in the top ten, including the top four.
Wehrlein set the fastest lap while running second. Günther pitted by lap 19 for his pit boost, dropping down the order. Hughes and Vergne both activated attack mode.
Lap 20-29
Rowland expressed concerns about cars behind him over the radio. Günther, now in 20th, took attack mode immediately after pitting but did not take the boost. Vandoorne was now on pit boost. Bird took his first attack mode while running 12th. Sette Câmara also took pit boost but was a lap down upon rejoining.
During lap 21 Günther, now the pit leader, was flying with attack mode in 18th place. Cassidy pitted to get his boost. Vergne, with attack mode active, moved into third and recorded the fastest first sector.
Da Costa and Vergne pitted one lap later, dropping to sixth and seventh. Barnard also pitted from ninth.
Günther set the fastest lap. Vergne moved ahead of Günther, who was now the pit leader. Frijns, Mortara, Hughes, and Bird all pitted during lap 23.
Evans and Wehrlein, running first and second, entered the pit lane. Rowland stayed out and took the race lead.
Evans rejoined in fourth, Wehrlein in sixth, just ahead of Vergne and Günther. Rowland and Ticktum both pitted.
By lap 26, Beckmann took over the race lead. Buemi and Maloney were the only drivers who had not yet used their pit boost, running first and 16th respectively. Rowland rejoined in ninth.
Frijns, running sixth, used his last attack mode during lap 28. By this point, all drivers had pitted or were in the pit. The first and second place drivers still had four minutes of attack mode remaining, while third and fourth had none left.
A yellow flag was deployed in lap 29 after Beckmann collided heavily with a barrier following contact with Sette Câmara just after taking attack mode. Beckmann’s car was stationary, prompting the safety car.
Lap 30-41
All drivers except Vergne (third), Günther (fourth), and Hughes (ninth) still had attack mode available. Cassidy (15th), Buemi (16th), and Maloney (20th) still had eight minutes remaining, which was problematic with only eight laps left in the race as they needed to use it all.
Vergne suffered a power loss during lap 32 and slowed dramatically, but race control allowed all drivers to overtake him. The safety car period ended.
Evans took attack mode immediately and maintained first place during lap 33. The rest of the top eight had not yet used attack mode. Rowland spun and dropped to 15th. Hughes was hit by da Costa and fell to ninth. Barnard moved up to seventh.
Rowland retired from the race after contact with two other cars in lap 35. Günther was in second after Wehrlein went wide to activate attack mode. Günther overtook again to maintain second place and began closing in on Evans.
Da Costa was in fifth, Barnard in fourth. Evans maintained a six-second lead by lap 36. Wehrlein set the fastest lap.
Two extra laps were added. Evans had no attack mode left, while Wehrlein still had one minute remaining. Mortara was third and da Costa fourth, with a fierce battle between them.
Wehrlein chased Evans for the lead but had only 10 seconds of attack mode left at the start of lap 38. The three drivers who still had eight minutes of attack mode after the safety car were now safe thanks to the added laps.
The top seven drivers were out of attack mode by lap 39. Wehrlein was just 0.06 seconds behind Evans.
Wehrlein’s gap increased to over one second, reaching the final lap. All attack modes were used up. Evans crossed the line to win, securing his second victory of the season and his first points since the opening race.
Final Results and Championship Impact
The top five across the line were:
- Evans
- Wehrlein (also fastest lap)
- Da Costa (penalized and dropped to 10th)
- Mortara
- Barnard
Da Costa’s penalty reshuffled the final standings, shaking up the championship battle and setting the stage for three exciting last rounds.
Formula E will be back tomorrow at 4:05 pm local time for round 14.
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