2024 SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix

With the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship reaching its halfway point, the competition returns to Berlin for the third double-header of the season, intensifying the battle for the Season 10 World Championship title.

With a decade of racing history in Berlin, all eyes are on the 22 drivers looking to recreate the excitement of the past 18 races in the German capital, culminating in a remarkable 362 overtakes during last season’s event.

TICKETS: Come with us to the SUN MINIMEAL 2024 Berlin E-Prix

The net zero carbon racing series returns to the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, located on the outskirts of the German capital. Berlin is the only city to have hosted a race in every season of Formula E. In all seasons except one – season 2, when the German round took place near Alexanderplatz – Tempelhofer Feld was the host location.

This season the track layout has undergone a number of important changes. The new 2,343 km layout has 15 turns and will run counter-clockwise in both cases. It is a new challenge for the drivers to learn, on top of the unique track surface they experience here.

TRACK: Berlin’s track layout gets a fresh look for season 10

Tempelhof Airport consists of repeating concrete slabs and is designed for airplanes instead of a field full of fully electric single-seaters! The bumpy concrete track means higher than normal degradation of the Hankook tires and the high grip takes its toll on energy management, making race strategies tricky, but the action is always among the best on the calendar.

After the racing is over, we also welcome the popular Berlin Rookie Test. On the mandatory running day, all 11 teams call on the biggest and brightest stars motorsport has to offer for their chance to experience these fast GEN3 cars. Drivers from the world of FIA Formula 2, DTM, endurance racing and even the reigning F1 Academy champion all make their debuts, as well as some familiar faces returning.

If past form is anything to go by, we’re in for another exciting series of races in Berlin. With seven different winners from the first eight rounds of Season 10, the competition is as fierce as ever and almost impossible to predict. Can anyone beat TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein from first place in the standings after this weekend?

HANKOOK DEBRIEF: Five things we learned in Monaco

As it stands now…

After seven rounds, Formula E’s milestone 10th season becomes one for the ages. Mexico’s maestro Pascal Wehrlein opened Season 10 with more success in Mexico City, where the TAG Heuer Porsche driver converted a pole start into his fifth Formula E victory, at the site of Porsche’s first win in the series – secured by the German back in season 8.

Heading into Round 2 in Diriyah, reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti) scored a masterful victory under the lights after perfectly timing an ATTACK MODE overcut to romp to his sixth Formula E win by over 13 seconds – taking the recorded the second largest winning margin in Formula E history.

Round 3 would not see the Diriyah double repeated as Dennis could not carry over the pace from the previous day, but this opened the door for Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy to swoop in and take a win in just third time he asked. since moving to the factory team.

A return to Brazil for Round 4 and a country steeped in motorsport history, the second São Paulo E-Prix did not disappoint. After an exciting debut in Season 9, the streets of the Anhembi Sambadrome were flooded with even more wheel-to-wheel action, racing down to the wire.

It was Sam Bird who came out on top after a daring dive on the final lap to take the lead. He came around the outside of Jaguar’s Mitch Evans to score NEOM McLaren’s first win in Formula E, ending his winless streak of 37 dating back to New York. City in 2021.

A DNF for then World Drivers’ Championship leader Cassidy saw the gap at the top of the standings narrow after São Paulo, and with four different winners in four races the title fight was still wide open heading into Tokyo.

Another new team and a new driver took the top step of the podium in a ground-breaking first visit to Japan for Formula E. While home heroes Nissan gave it their all for the sell-out crowd to cheer, with Oliver steering Rowland to pole, the podium arrived race.

Heading into the Japanese capital, Rowland was on a roll after finishing third in Sao Paulo and started to pick up the pace after the second free practice in Japan. After finishing the final practice session in second, Rowland took pole position from Julius Baer Maximilian Guenther of Maserati MSG Racing during qualifying, around the 18-turn, 2.582 km long street circuit.

However, it was Maserati MSG Racing’s Guenther who had the last laugh – more than encouraging after a strong performance in Brazil to fight back from a penalty, all with a trip to Italy and home next. Guenther had built a points streak dating back to Round 1 – the only driver to score in every race in Season 10 – and he managed to stretch that tally even further at Misano.

However, the drama came to a head when Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa was on his way to victory at Round 6 in Italy, perfectly timing his tactical jump to the front, only to spot a technical problem – a non- compliant accelerator spring – remove victory from his and Porsche’s grasp. Rowland was the main benefactor when he inherited victory, but it wouldn’t be long before the tables were turned.

READ MORE: The full season 10 calendar

Right at the end of Lap 7, a day later, Rowland appeared to have victory in his pocket as he headed into the closing laps at the head of the pack. However, a technical error at the start skewed his energy targets and the race actually ran a lap longer than his car and engineers expected.

Pascal Wehrlein seemed to settle for second place ahead of Porsche as temperatures in the heat of the Adriatic Sea worried his drivetrain, but halfway through the final tour he passed the slowing Nissan – Rowland with no usable energy – and took the checkered flag for the win. top of the standings heading into mid-season in Monaco.

Last time out, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans took his first race win in Monaco and in Season 10. The Kiwi thanked his teammate Nick Cassidy for being such a strong team player, with the two friends finishing in first and second place – the former time for Jaguar this year and the only time a Formula E team has had two cars on the podium around the principality. DS PENSKE’s Stoffel Vandoorne achieved his first podium since winning the World Championship in Season 8, with he and Jean-Eric Vergne securing the most points for the team since the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix last year.

Another brilliant race in Monaco witnessed 198 overtakes, proving that Formula E is one of the most competitive motorsports around. Furthermore, Evans’ victory made him the seventh different winner in the first eight races of this season.

Return of the rookies

Following the double-header main event, Formula E will host the first official Rookie Test of the season on Monday 13 May, giving each team the opportunity to showcase new talent as they battle to make a name for themselves in the competitive world of motorsport.

BERLIN ROOKIE TEST: Here is each team’s lineup so far

Following a successful rookie free practice session at Misano in the build-up to rounds 6 and 7 last month, this full day of testing promises to add an extra layer of excitement to end the race weekend. Each of the eleven teams will field two drivers for the six hours of track time, collecting valuable data that will help them make strategic decisions in the future.

Almost all teams have announced their line-ups, with some major talent heading to the Berlin circuit in the GEN3 machines. Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford will be with Andretti, while five-time W Series race winner Alice Powell is back with Envision. 2023 FIA Formula 2 vice-champion Frederik Vesti makes his debut with Mahindra, and F1 Academy’s first champion Marta García gets a chance at ERT.

SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix 2024

The SUN MINIMEAL Berlin E-Prix 2024 starts on Friday, May 10 with free practice 1 at 5:00 PM local time.

The track action for the first day of the double-header starts on Saturday, May 11 with free practice 2 at 08:00 local time. Qualifying will follow at 10:40 AM local time with lights off for Round 9, scheduled for 3:00 PM local/1:00 PM UTC.

After this, Sunday’s action begins with Free Practice 3 at 8:00 AM, followed by qualifying and racing for Round 10 at 10:20 AM and 3:00 PM local time respectively.

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