Formula E: Nine days of decision 🎥
EXTRAORDINARY FINALE With six races in nine days, Formula E is set for by far the most extraordinary season finale in the history of motorsport from Wednesday. Neel Jani and Sébastien Buemi talk to TV presenter Gabriel Gasser from MySports CH from their home office about the races in Berlin and their expectations. The venue is the former [...]
Neel Jani and Sébastien Buemi talk to MySports CH TV presenter Gabriel Gasser from their home office about the races in Berlin and their expectations.
The venue is the former airport grounds in Berlin-Tempelhof. Three different track variants can be set out there, which makes the six races much more varied.
Same terrain, different requirements
The first two races on Wednesday and Thursday, August 5 and 6, will be run on the traditional layout in the opposite direction. The following two races on Saturday and Sunday, August 8 and 9, will then take place on the traditional layout on the Tempelhof stage.
The first two track variants, each 2355 meters long, on the undulating airport circuit with armoured plates are wide and offer very good overtaking opportunities. Power plays a bigger role.
The two final races will then take place on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, August 12 and 13, on a newly created 2505-metre counter-clockwise course. This layout is significantly more winding and challenging than the other two variants - just right for a championship decider.
Praise for the organizers
All six races are self-contained one-day events behind closed gates, i.e. without an audience. Strict hygiene measures apply for the teams and their drivers.
On the first day of the race, the 24 drivers will have the opportunity to test their electric racing cars in two free practice sessions in the morning. The team manager of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team explains what to expect.
Amiel Lindesey: "The three different configurations make the final even more exciting than it already is. The characteristics of the normal and inverted track layout change completely. The third and completely new layout excites us: hats off to the planning and organization on the part of Formula E and the FIA for making such a course possible. The different track characteristics caused us a lot of work during the preparations. But we are in good spirits and are right on schedule."
Anyone can still become a champion
From mid-April to the beginning of June, the drivers initially fought an interesting and varied digital title battle before they began extensive simulation work for the restart after the Berlin tracks were announced.
After five races, Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa on DS Techeetah leads the standings with 67 points ahead of Jaguar driver Mitch Evans (56) and the two BMW drivers Alexander Sims (46) and Maximilian Günther (44). With 25 points for each victory plus five additional points each, i.e. a maximum of 150 points, theoretically any driver can still become champion of the extraordinary 2019/2020 season.
The six leaders are presented in the video for the restart of the championship.
Only one Swiss podium this season
In seventh place, Edoardo Mortara (Venturi) is the best-placed of the four Swiss drivers. With third place in Mexico and fourth in the last race to date in Marrakesh on February 29, Sébastien Buemi and his Nissan showed an upward trend that he would like to continue after the five-month break.
Nico Müller (Geox Dragon/Penske), who traveled directly to Berlin after the DTM season opener in Spa, and Porsche works driver Neel Jani are still without points. The unusual finale is no disadvantage for the two rookies.
Neel Jani: "It's good for newcomers to drive on a track several times. What's more, Tempelhof is more of a circuit than a street circuit with zero grip. That's good for me. I want to show that I can also be at the front in Formula E."
Last Formula E race for Neel Jani?
Perhaps this will be the last electric race for the man from Biel. On the one hand, Pascal Wehrlein, who no longer drives for Mahindra, is set to join Porsche. On the other hand, the Stuttgart-based company is making no secret of the fact that it is flirting with a return to Le Mans with a hybrid sports prototype in accordance with the new regulations.
Le Mans winner Neel Jani would be the right man to take over the development work, as he did with the 919 Hybrid, and concentrate on this scene again. This would also be very much to his taste.
Live on MySports Switzerland
All six qualifying sessions are scheduled from 14:15 to 14:51, followed by Super Pole Qualifying from 15:00 to 15:20. The start of the six races, each lasting 45 minutes plus one lap, takes place at 7.03 pm.
The Swiss TV channel MySports will broadcast all the action live on the first or second channel every day. There will also be replays. Eurosport 1 and the German channels ARD and ZDF will also broadcast alternating coverage.
