After a double-points finish for Envision Virgin Racing in the second race of the Berlin season six finale, all eyes were on drivers Sam Bird and Robin Frijns in today’s qualifying on the traditional Tempelhof circuit.
Briton Bird, headed out for qualifying in Group 1 whilst teammate Frijns was to follow in Group 3, where conditions were ever-changing as temperatures continued to rise in the German capital.
Heading out at the back of the pack for Group 1, Bird was held up ahead of his flying lap and his preparation was hindered – leaving just a one second margin ahead of crossing the chequered flag. Struggling with traction in the first sector, Bird put in a good lap but placed sixth in the group.
Evolving track conditions meant that Group 2 pushed Bird further down the order and by Group 4 Bird was pushed down to P20.
Meanwhile, Frijns was pushing hard on his qualifying lap – having struggled with the car during the earlier practice sessions – and ended his Group 3 with an impressive third position. Making it through to the Superpole shootout for the second consecutive time, Frijns struggled with the tyres on his push lap and ended the shootout in sixth.
The eighth race of the Formula E series will be live at 19:00 local time (18:00 UK time) where Frijns will start from P6 and Bird in P20.