A successful end to the weekend in Berlin following the disappointment of Round 7 with a double points finish for Envision Racing
Sebastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson were able to bring home a strong points haul from a hectic race in Berlin. Buemi finished P4, with Eriksson in P10, who rounded off a solid day after his best ever qualifying in Formula E.
The result concludes a long weekend under the sun in the Tempelhof and ultimately gives the team more confidence heading into Monaco in two weeks’ time on May 16 and 17.
QUALIFYING
A better performance all-round for the team in qualifying during Round 8. The margins were incredibly tight in Group A, and Buemi missed out by just 0.08 of a second to progress through to the duels. This result would see him start higher than in Round 7 in P14.
Eriksson had a fantastic session, finishing P2 in Group B and earning himself a spot in the next phase of qualifying. The quarter final saw the Swede up against the Lola Yamaha Abt of Zane Maloney, in which Eriksson won by two tenths of a second. The semi-final was up against Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, and despite the #14 putting in his best efforts, he wasn’t able to beat the former world champion and classified P4 overall.
THE RACE
The 37-lap race delivered chaos from start to finish. A very busy opening few laps saw Buemi immediately make his way up to P6, with Joel slotting into P7. What unfolded over the next 15 laps was Formula E excitement at its’ best – with drivers jostling for positions at almost every turn, every lap.
Both Envision Racing drivers were right in the mix and led the race at multiple times to keep themselves in contention for the front running positions. By Lap 19 Buemi had settled into P3 and Eriksson in P7, with the latter taking his first Attack Mode activation, using two of the eight allocated minutes.
Team-mate Buemi followed suit the next lap with two minutes of Attack Mode, and although the Swiss driver managed to get back up to P3, once the rest of the field used their extra boost in power, he had dropped back down to P14. But, with a six-minute activation left to use and the majority of the grid only have two minutes to play with, this allowed Buemi to get back into P4.
A brief Full Course Yellow was deployed on Lap 35 for debris on the circuit; however, this was soon cleared and racing got back underway for the final two laps. Buemi was able to comfortably hold onto P4 to bring home a solid haul of points, with Eriksson bringing home a double points finish in P10.
Overall, a mixed weekend with highs and lows, but ending with a positive race for the team and more points to add to the board as the Silverstone based squad prepare for the Monaco E-Prix in just two weeks’ time.
Driver Standings (after Rd8)
- Pascal Wehrlein, 101pts
- Mitch Evans, 98pts
- Edoardo Mortara, 93pts
- Oliver Rowland, 83pts
- Nico Muller, 75pts
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9. Sebastien Buemi, 55pts
12. Joel Eriksson, 20pts
Team Standings (after Rd8)
1. Porsche Formula E Team, 176pts
2. Jaguar TCS Racing, 163pts
3. Mahindra Racing, 107pts
4. Nissan Formula E Team, 94pts
6. Envision Racing, 75pts
