FE: Vergne clinches victory in the fourth Berlin race, da Costa secures title
Continuing its impressive form, DS Techeetah took a double victory at Round 4 of the six-race Berlin Formula E showdown with Jean-Eric Vergne rising to the top of the field.
Pole-sitter Jean Eric Vergne took a great getaway to keep his position against his team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa. Following his sensational qualifying performance, Venturi driver Felipe Massa lost a place at the start.
Drivers were not even able to complete a full lap before the safety car was deployed to clear the stricken BMW i Andretti Motorsport car of Maximilian Guenther. The 23-year-old German was involved in a crash on the opening lap. The FIA stewards were quick in announcing a five-position grid drop for Guenther for the next E-Prix.
With 39 minutes left on the clock, the BMW safety car left the track with drivers being keen to battle it out in the fourth race of the six-round Berlin showdown. As per the 2020 sporting regulation, 5 KWH of energy was deducted due to the safety car interruption.
A few spots of rain were reported, adding another challenge to the race. Alex Lynn, Rene Rast and Felipe Massa became the first driver to activate their attack mode. The German who took a victory in DTM at Spa just seven days ago immediately set the fastest race lap thanks to his higher energy mode.
In the meantime, the rain became heavier with Vergne unable to escape from the field, holding up seven drivers behind himself. The rain unsettled things with the leading eight drivers going crazy to gain positions on the slippery surface of the Tempelhof circuit.
Using his attack mode, da Costa propelled to the top, but he was unable to escape from his team-mate Vergne. Using his fan boost, Lucas di Grassi overtook Mitch Evans to take eighth position.
With 14 minutes to go, the leading duo, the two DS Techeetah drivers activated their attack mode and managed to stay ahead despite going through the dirty activation zone.
With eight minutes remaining, Felipe Massa executed a sensational double-overtaking manoeuvre, passing Lynn and Evans around the last corner. In the meantime, the top five drivers were separated by just two seconds. Vergne got past his team-mate da Costa with six minutes left on the clock.
Vergne was able to hang on to the lead, winning the race ahead of the da Costa who wrapped up the Drivers’ Championship title. Sebastien Buemi finished third.
