Berlin E-Prix: Timings, ways to watch, and more
- Vyas Ponnuri
- Jul 11
- 7 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula E heads to a staple on its calendar, to the familiar sights of an old World War II airport. In the backdrop of an ancient piece of history, and a decommissioned aircraft skirting the circuit, lies a potential championship decider.
In a championship calendar that sees locations added and dropped off every year, Berlin has remained a constant on the Formula E calendar. Through thick and thin, the circuit has supported the all-electric racing series across various types and characteristics of track layouts throughout its hosting tenure.
You don’t need to go too far into Berlin’s history to remember when the circuit hosted six races across a span of nine days, concluding the COVID-affected 2019-20 Formula E season. Or the circuit doubling up to host races on reverse layouts between 2021 and 2023. The previous running of the Berlin E-Prix saw Gen3 cars hit high speeds around a revised, high-speed track layout.
Berlin’s position on the Formula E calendar has been subject to plenty of switching around. Having hosted six races in 2020, the German capital was then pencilled in for the season finale in 2021, before returning to its traditional slot in May for the next three seasons.
This time, however, Berlin once again hosts a race in July, coming in as the penultimate weekend of what has been yet another exciting Formula E campaign. A multitude of brilliant performances, streaks being broken, and a first-time winner to boot, yet the absence of a full-blown championship battle slightly dampens the spirits, coming into what is always a crunch point in the season.
Historically, Formula E has seen championship battles go all the way till the final race of the season, as was the case in the last four seasons of the all-electric racing series. The last time a championship wasn’t decided in the final race of the season was back in 2020, when Antonio Felix da Costa took his maiden championship by a whopping 77-point margin. It remains the highest winning margin in Formula E to date.
This points gap has remained under threat for the best part of the last six Formula E weekends, as Nissan and Oliver Rowland ushered in a new wave of dominance, extending the points gap at the front since the Monaco E-Prix.
It was a lead that, at one point, stood as high as 87 points when Rowland won at Tokyo, and finished fifth at Shanghai in Round 10. However, a non-score in Round 11, coupled with a singular point from Jakarta, has left the championship battle still in the air, even if a long shot for the likes of reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein, da Costa and rookie Taylor Barnard.
Holding a 69-point lead heading into Berlin, Rowland knows he can seal the Formula E title even before leaving the German capital. 87 points is the magical number for the Briton to seal it after Saturday’s Round 12 in Berlin, while a margin of 58 points wins the title even before heading into his home event in London.
Rowland will want to seal the title at the first possible opportunity, and avoid the fate that saw Nick Cassidy’s 45-point lead slip through his fingers in the final two double-headers of the season. The first step to that will be sealing the title in Berlin, to shrug off any nerves and jitters that may creep into his final two weekends.
While both Porsche drivers are still in mathematical contention for the title, their combined points haul leaves the German outfit comfortable in their quest for a maiden constructors’ title.
Top five drivers’ standings heading into Berlin
Oliver Rowland (Nissan) - 172 points
Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) - 103 points
António Félix da Costa (Porsche) - 98 points
Taylor Barnard (McLaren)- 92 points
Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro) - 80 points
Top Five constructors’ standings heading into Berlin
Porsche - 201 points
Nissan - 191 points
DS Penske - 145 points
McLaren - 123 points
Mahindra Racing - 121 points
The track layout
The revamped, quicker Berlin E-Prix track layout was first used for the 2024 Berlin E-Prix double header. Featuring a series of fast corners and maintaining elements of the previous circuit, it replaced the long, winding 270-degree turn 1 and the slow in-field section with a speedier series of left-handers taking the drivers back onto the start/finish straight.
While the layout played host to Formula E’s typical peloton racing back in 2024, with chaos and side-by-side battles the order of the day, expect the 2025 races to be more sedate, affected by attack modes and Pit Boost.
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice a few tweaks to the circuit. These include opening up turns 3 and 4 to encourage faster corner entry and exit speeds. Elsewhere, the single hairpin corner of turns 9 and 10 is now a double-left-hander, following up from the double-right of turns 6 and 7.
The fast right-hand kink of turn 15 is now slightly opened up, providing drivers with greater speed heading off the three left-handers in the lead-up, and allowing for increased overtaking on the start/finish straight, heading into the turn 2 hairpin, where attack mode is situated.
All in all, it’s certainly a track layout that will see overtaking at almost every corner, as the wide track layout encourages drivers to take multiple lines heading off corners, and the double-apex corners allow for more side-by-side racing action.
Timings for the weekend: Local (in GMT)
Round 13
Friday, 11th July, 2025
Free Practice 1: 16:00 - 17:10 (14:00 - 15:10 GMT)
Saturday, 12th July, 2025
Free Practice 2: 09:00 - 10:10 (07:00 - 08:10 GMT)
Qualifying: 11:20 - 12:43 (09:20 - 10:43 GMT)
Race (39 laps): 16:05 - 17:00 (14:05 - 15:00 GMT)
Round 14 (Sunday, 13th July, 2025)
Free Practice 3: 09:00 - 10:10 (07:00 - 08:10 GMT)
Qualifying: 11:20 - 12:43 (09:20 - 10:43 GMT)
Race (38 laps): 16:05 - 17:00 (14:05 - 15:00 GMT)
Important Notes
The track layout features minor tweaks to the 2024 layout
Pit Boost will be used for Round 13 on Saturday
Lola ABT Yamaha bring a new Superman livery
Recurring concrete slabs can accentuate tyre wear
Major storylines:
Can Rowland seal the title in Berlin? - Much of the focus this weekend would be on the Nissan man, to see if he can seal the championship even before the final lap is turned on Sunday. The magical numbers all weekend will be 87 points after Round 13, and 58 points at the end of the Berlin double-header to win the title.
Will rain play spoilsport in Germany? - There was a brief scare on Thursday when the Formula E paddock had to be evacuated during a thunderstorm, although this did little to disrupt the day’s activities. There remains a minor chance of rain across the weekend, with a forecast of eight to 20 mm of rain on Saturday, and around ten mm of rain on race day. It remains to be seen how this will affect the weekend’s proceedings.
Can Dan Ticktum continue momentum into Berlin? - The biggest gainer after Jakarta was none other than Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum, who catapulted into the top five after his win in the Indonesian capital. Having scored all 80 points for the American team, it only remains to be seen if Ticktum can add more success to what has been an excellent season so far, it would only exemplify his talent on the global stage.
How will Brazilian super subs fare? - With this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix falling on the same dates as the World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of São Paulo, Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries and Nissan’s Norman Nato will be off to Brazil to fulfill their endurance commitments. Fittingly, their super subs for the weekend come from Brazil to Berlin, with Felipe Drugovich stepping in at Mahindra, and Sérgio Sette Câmara alongside Rowland at Nissan.
Will Stellantis rebound from difficult Jakarta weekend? - The biggest losers from the Jakarta weekend were Stellantis, with neither Maserati cars scoring, while DS Penske only saw one car make the final classification. With McLaren and Mahindra lurking behind, the black-and-gold outfit will need to be on their toes to ensure a repeat doesn’t ensue in Berlin.
Drivers to watch out for
Oliver Rowland: Perhaps the champion-elect heading into this weekend, all eyes will be on Rowland to see if he can seal his maiden Formula E title.
Pascal Wehrlein: More than half of the Formula E grid has won in Berlin, but the elusive home victory has never materialised for Wehrlein. The reigning world champion will aim to conquer his home turf this weekend, getting two stabs at a race victory.
Dan Ticktum: Formula E’s most recent race-winner, it will certainly be interesting to see if Ticktum continues his momentum from Asia back into Europe, to end his season on a high.
Taylor Barnard: Berlin was the venue for Barnard to take his first Formula E points in 2024, as he took the honours of becoming the series’ youngest points scorer. Now returning as a full-time driver, Barnard will be eyeing bigger results and even a podium to add to his growing tally in 2025.
Ways to watch the Berlin E-Prix
You can watch the Berlin E-Prix racing action. Full broadcast information here.
Predictions
Being a double header, I am inclined to predict that one of these races will go to Wehrlein, as he will fulfill his dream of winning a home race.
For the second race, I predict a Mahindra winner, with Edoardo Mortara making his way through to take victory in Berlin, and making up for the Indian manufacturer’s misses in Jakarta. All the while, Rowland will ensure he seals his championship in Berlin, with the constructors’ title going down to London.
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