De Vries ruins Mortara’s double hopes
But Mortara’s bid for a clean sweep in Berlin was lost in the opening seconds of the race when de Vries made a fantastic surprise move, diving down the inside of the long right-hand Turn 1 to take a lead that became decisive. As ever, Attack Mode shook things up, the drivers being forced to run off line to gain what was this time a single dose of power boost for eight minutes. The action was frenetic with battles playing out down the field. But out front, de Vries was in charge to claim his second win of the season for Mercedes EQ. Mortara concluded a strong weekend for the Merc-powered Venturi team with a second place to go with his Saturday win. Points leader Vandoorne made it a Mercedes 1-3, with Mortara’s team-mate Lucas di Grassi in fourth.
For the most part, the wide Tempelhof track allowed Formula E’s drivers to show the series in its best light as they raced hard but with minimal heavy contact. Still, there was a dose of controversy on the final lap when Frijns rammed da Costa from behind on the straight in their battle for fifth, almost sending the DS Techeetah driver smashing into the wall. Frijns inevitably had the momentum to pass and snatched the place, leaving da Costa angry that his rival wasn’t penalised for the move.
Oliver Rowland was the best of the Brits in seventh for Mahindra, with Lotterer eighth for Porsche and Vergne down in ninth. Rome double-winner Evans completed an ultimately disappointing weekend for Jaguar in tenth.
The pair of podium finishes for Vandoorne has left him with a healthy 12-point lead at the top of the standings ahead of Berlin’s big mover Mortara. The Swiss finished a close second to de Vries in the standings last year and still has plenty of time to close the gap to Vandoorne, although Vergne remains third, just four points further back, with Evans losing ground in fourth. Reigning champion de Vries is way back in sixth right now, but with eight rounds still to come has time to charge back into contention.
The series moves on to the streets of Jakarta next for a single race on 4th June.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.