Brought to you by TheJudge13 contributor Anil Parmar (editor in chief of FormulaEDiary.com)
This weekend, Berlin plays host to round eight of the Formula E season. Sebastian Buemi’s win at Monaco made him the first two-time winner in Formula E; can he continue to put pressure on championship leader Lucas di Grassi?
The Circuit
The race will take place at the now defunct Tempelhof Airport, just 20 minutes away from the famous Brandenburg Gate. The circuit is one of the most unique on the calendar; with 17 corners and a track length of over 2.5km, it will certainly prove challenging for both teams and drivers.
German driver Nick Heidfeld believes that drivers will have adapt quickly to the unique layout:
‘Many corners are just followed by the next which also partly shows that overtaking will not be easy. On the other hand, with so many corners follow each other, it’s easier to mess up and make a small mistake. It will be crucial to get into a good rhythm and learn the track quickly’.
Drivers and fans alike will be hoping that the two long straights will provide plenty of overtaking opportunities, especially as the tight streets of Monaco failed to provide wheel-to-wheel racing last time out.
The Ones to Watch
He may not have won a race since the opening round in Beijing, but Lucas di Grassi continues to lead the driver’s championship. He has a four-point lead over a revitalised Nelson Piquet Jr, with Sebastian Buemi a further six points behind.
Looking further back, it could be a crucial weekend for Sam Bird. His poor run of form since a dominant display in Malaysia has left him 30 points behind Lucas di Grassi. He’s a driver in need of a win if he wants to be in with a chance of fighting for the championship at the back-to-back British ePrix rounds in June.
- Lucas di Grassi(Audi Sport ABT)93
- Nelson Piquet Jr(China Racing)89
- SébastienBuemi(e.dams-Renault)83
- Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) 77
- Sam Bird (Virgin Racing) 64
- Jerome d’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) 52
- Antonio Felix da Costa (Amlin Aguri) 45
- Jean Eric Vergne (Andretti) 32
- Jaime Alguersuari (Virgin Racing) 30
- Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing) 28
- Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT) 22
- Scott Speed (Andretti) 18
- Franck Montagny (Andretti) 18
- Karun Chandhok (Mahindra Racing) 18
- Oriol Servia (Dragon Racing) 16
- Charles Pic (China Racing) 16
- Jarno Trulli (Trulli) 12
- Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) 10
- Loic Duval (Dragon Racing) 8
- Nick Heidfeld (Venturi) 6
- Takuma Sato (Amlin Aguri) 2
- Salvador Duran (Amlin Aguri) 1
- Marco Andretti (Andretti) 0
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (Trulli) 0
How To Watch:
Formula E is broadcast on a number of major broadcasters around the global. A full list can be found by visiting: http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/guide/television.aspx. If you’re based in the U.K, coverage begins at 2pm on ITV 4 this Saturday, with the race starting at 3pm.
Qualifying also takes place on Saturday and can be streamed through the official Formula E website.
| 7:00 | 18:00 | Gates open/close |
| 8:15 | 9:00 | NON-QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 |
| 9:30 | 9:50 | FE School Series – Practice/Qualifying |
| 10:30 | 11:00 | NON-QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 |
| 12:00 | 12:10 | QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 1 |
| 12:15 | 12:25 | QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 2 |
| 12:30 | 12:40 | QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 3 |
| 12:45 | 12:55 | QUALIFYING SESSION GROUP 4 |
| 14:40 | 15:00 | FE School Series – Race |
| 15:23 | 15:33 | Pitlane open/close |
| 15:50 | FanBoost implementation | |
| 16:00 | 17:00 | RACE |
Note: All times are listed in local time zone.
Fanboost:
Remember, you can vote for your favourite driver to receive a burst of extra speed during the race. The three drivers with the most votes will receive one five-second ‘power boost’ per car, temporarily increasing their car’s power from 150kW (202bhp) to 180kW (243bhp).
Voting can be done by visiting http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/ (you have to be registered)
