GET READY FOR GREEN IN BERLIN
With five different winners from the first six races, Formula E’s final season of the Gen2 era has certainly lived up to expectations so far. Four drivers from as many different teams have come to the fore as the early championship challengers, but all is still to play for ahead of this weekend’s Berlin double-header, which marks the halfway point in the 2021-22 campaign.
Such is the unpredictable nature of Formula E that predicting a favourite at the Tempelhof Airport track, a fixture on the calendar with the exception of 2016’s one-off visit to Karl-marx-allee, is an exercise in folly. But if last year’s dramatic title decider is anything to go by, then those making the trip will be in for a treat.
Inside this guide to the FIA’S world championship for electric single-seaters, you’ll find everything you need to be armed with knowledge for Berlin. From the basics of Formula E’s unique format (page 18) to an in-depth look at how it has led the push for other categories to electrify (page 24), there’s something within these pages for both newcomers and seasoned FE observers alike.
Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara explains the complexities of racing on a circuit that can be run in both directions in our track guide (page 20), while his team-mate Lucas di Grassi shares his experiences of switching from a manufacturer to a customer team after seven years as part of the Abt Audi set-up (page 11).
Jake Boxall-legge outlines how the championship has evolved from its humble origins powered by a 200kw motor to the imminent arrival of its 600kw Gen3 machine in his technical overview (page 30), and also gets the lowdown from champions on the traits needed to succeed (page 22).
Will the drivers take their own advice? Let’s wait and see…
The lights go green at the start of the 2021 Formula E championship finale at Berlin Tempelhof. Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes) and Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams) prepare to launch away from the front row, with championship challenger Mitch Evans’s Jaguar behind them in third. But the Kiwi failed to get off the line and was clobbered by unsighted 11th-place starter and fellow title contender Edoardo Mortara (Venturi), putting both out on the spot. That helped points leader Nyck de Vries, who had qualified 13th, to come through and secure the crown by finishing eighth. Norman Nato won on his final start for Venturi from sixth on the grid, beating Rowland and Vandoorne.