Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries delivered a supremely controlled drive to win the second race in the 2022 Shell Recharge 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 ABB 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.
