Mitch Evans returns to the podium with a dominant display in Berlin
- Jodie Saxon
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Written by Jodie Saxon
Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans took a dominant victory in Berlin as chaos erupted behind him, while championship leader Oliver Rowland was unable to finish the race at a vital moment for his championship hopes.
The penultimate weekend of Formula E’s 11th season got off to a rocky start due to the heavy rainstorms across Berlin. The free practice two was cancelled on Saturday morning with conditions impossible to drive in, and the duels stages of qualifying were cancelled later in the day, with the grid set using the results from the group stages.
As a result Mitch Evans took pole position with Robin Frijns starting second alongside him. Unfortunately for Evans, who hadn’t scored points since his race win in December 2024, he was not awarded the three points for pole position as the duels stages did not take place.
There were plenty of penalties up and down the grid too, with championship contender Pascal Wehrlein handed a three-place penalty for a collision with his teammate in the first practice session, while both Nick Cassidy and newcomer Felipe Drugovich faced 20-place penalties for changing components on their cars. Sébastien Buemi suffered the most of all, with the 40-place penalty going his way after the team changed his MCU and MGU.
The drama started immediately when the lights went out as Jake Dennis was unable to get his Andretti started, the car going into a complete shutdown and bringing out a safety car after only a few corners of racing.
Mitch Evans retained his lead throughout those few corners despite attacks from Frijns and Maximilian Günther, while Rowland had a tricky start that saw him slip back into 5th position.
Although Dennis was able to eventually get going he pulled off track in a safe space a few corners later, which brought and end to the early safety car. When the race went green again, Evans was the first to dive into Attack Mode, momentarily losing the lead to Frijns before claiming it back with the extra power and four wheel drive.
The trio with 20 and 40 place grid penalties peeled off into the pitlane to serve a 10-second stop-go each, which the unserved positions of their penalties converted into that for fairness. In doing so, Mahindra Racing’s Drugovich earned himself a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane, marking a tough start to his stand-in performance.
Despite the rain calming down since the earlier heavy storms, the track was still slippery and it made the difference between those in Attack Mode and those not all the clearer. Those in Attack Mode benefitted from better grip and better power out of the corners, allowing them to speed past their rivals and allowing Evans to build a strong gap up front.
German home heroes Günther and Wehrlein tussled over third position, trading blows over the podium honours until Wehrlein was finally able to get the better of the black-and-gold car and settle into the position.
By lap 12 Evans had cultivated a four-second lead and the rest of the pack had settled into somewhat of a rhythm, with everyone waiting to reach the right state of charge to unleash the usual Pit Boost drama on those watching.
Günther was the first to brave Pit Boost on lap 18 and dropped from the top 10 all the way down into 20th, but he immediately took his second Attack Mode and started to climb back through the field with the use of the extra energy and power.
Past races have seen a sudden flurry in the pits with almost everyone coming in at the same time, but in Berlin the stops were more spread out with only a handful in at a time. While running 1st and 2nd, Evans and Wehrlein headed for their boost on lap 25 with Rowland going a lap later, this shuffling allowed Cupra Kiro to briefly run one-two before they too had to pit.
The two Kiros left both of their Attack Modes until after their Pit Boost, possibly hoping for a late race safety car to close up the pack and help them finish in the good position – as luck would have it, the late safety car was caused by one of the Kiros with David Beckmann coming into contact with Sérgio Sette Câmara as the latter was coming out of the Attack Mode loop.
Beckmann found himself clipping the wall and limping across the track with a broken suspension, eventually coming to a halt and bringing out the safety car. Sette Câmara was handed a 10-second penalty for the incident.
As the race got going again, drivers were warned to move aside and pass a slowing car on the track, with Jean-Éric Vergne succumbing to a technical issue while running in the top five and soon being forced to pit and exit the race a few laps from the end.
Further back, championship leader Rowland tangled with Stoffel Vandoorne and was spun around, also damaging his suspension in the process and being forced to retire from a race he could’ve claimed the championship title in.
Vandoorne’s teammate Jake Hughes also suffered a moment after contact with António Félix da Costa sent him into a spin as drivers battled to make the most out of the final few laps. Two laps were added onto the end of the race, providing a glimmer of hope for Wehrlein in 2nd who was slowly closing in on Evans.
Just over six months after his last podium – and points finish in Formula E - Mitch Evans crossed the line in 1st to claim his second victory of the season ahead of Wehrlein in second. Although Wehrlein’s teammate da Costa initially finished 3rd he was handed a five-second penalty for the earlier contact with Hughes, knocking him off the podium and allowing Edoardo Mortara into the top 3.
With Rowland scoring nothing and Wehrlein finishing 2nd, the championship gap has now closed to just 50 points with three races remaining. Jaguar Racing's strong efforts should also be noticed, with Evans taking 1st and teammate Nick Cassidy in 5th to take the team's first double points finish since season 10.
The second Berlin E-Prix will take place at 4pm local time on Sunday 13th July, with the annual rookie rest following on Monday.
Berlin E-Prix Results:
Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing)
Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)
Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra Racing)
Taylor Barnard (McLaren)
Nick Cassidy (Jaguar Racing)
Maximilian Günther (DS Penske)
Sébastien Buemi (Envision)
Nico Müller (Andretti)
Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro)
António Félix da Costa (Porsche)
Sam Bird (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (Maserati MSG)
Robin Frijns (Envision Racing)
Jake Hughes (Maserati MSG)
Sérgio Sette Câmara (Nissan)
Zane Maloney (Lola Yamaha Abt)
Felipe Drugovich (Mahindra Racing)
Lucas di Grassi (Lola Yamaha Abt)
DNF: Oliver Rowland (Nissan)
DNF: Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Penske)
DNF: David Beckmann (Cupra Kiro)
DNS: Jake Dennis (Andretti)
