Winners and Losers: Berlin E-Prix
- DIVEBOMB Motorsport
- Jul 16
- 14 min read
Written by Vyas Ponnuri and Elodie O’Callaghan
The Formula E grid took to its annual Berlin jaunt for the penultimate weekend of 2025. A new champion was crowned, but several drivers and teams experienced their ups and downs in the vicinity of the Berlin Tempelhof airport. Vyas and Elodie break down the winners and losers from the double header.
Winner: Oliver Rowland
Perhaps the biggest winner from Berlin was none other than Nissan’s Oliver Rowland. The Briton, who walked into Berlin with a chance to seal the title, walked away from the German capital with his name etched alongside the multitude of Formula E champions.
Despite sealing the title, it wasn’t the smoothest world champion run for the Briton. Qualifying second in Group A to pole-sitter Mitch Evans in Round 13’s rainy qualifying, he started third on the road. Running in the mid-pack even as his closest challenger Pascal Wehrlein made up valuable ground, Rowland ensured he remained in the top ten, ensuring he did not fall down the order early in the race.
Things took a turn for the Briton towards the end of the race. A late race safety car bunched up the order, after the drivers had taken their Pit Boost stops. With Rowland now down the order, he attempted a risky overtake into Turns 6 and 7, making contact with Maserati’s Stoffel Vandoorne and spinning around. A disillusioned Rowland blamed stand-in Felipe Drugovich for the collision instead, arousing confusion.
Having suffered race-ending damage, Rowland was left to watch from the pits as rival Wehrlein claimed a fighting second, eating into his points gap. It may have induced flashbacks from the year prior, when Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy saw the title slip through his fingers in the last two weekends.
His incident on Saturday may have come with a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s race, but this did little to deter Rowland from sealing the title. Starting eighth on the road after his grid drop, the Briton once again drove a measured race, holding firm and not getting baited into rash overtakes.
Following Wehrlein into their second attack mode deployments, Rowland capitalised on his rival’s troubles, moving up to fourth, a result good enough to take the title, while Wehrlein wound up well outside the points, much to the delight of his Nissan crew and his family.
Losers: Porsche
Porsche’s Formula E team went into this weekend with both drivers still in mathematical contention for the championship. Both Pascal Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa were outside contenders, but a particularly dreadful weekend for championship leader Oliver Rowland could have brought them back into contention.
The weekend got off to the worst possible start, with both Porsche drivers unnecessarily clashing in free practice one. Contact left da Costa in the wall and Wehrlein with a three-place grid penalty.
Wehrlein qualified sixth and would start ninth in Round 13. He had good pace in the wet conditions and remained in the tête de la course for much of the race, though the gaps between the leading cars was too large to mount a push for the lead.
A late safety car negated those gaps, and Wehrlein used attack mode to make a renewed push for the win. Unfortunately for him, Mitch Evans’ Jaguar was too fast in the slippery conditions, and the German had to settle for second.
Meanwhile, teammate da Costa was also in the leading pack. He was incredibly aggressive with his overtakes, and they had been working as he was in a strong position to score a podium. However, an overly-ambitious move on Maserati’s Jake Hughes late in the race resulted in contact, and the Portuguese driver was handed a five second penalty. This dropped him from third to tenth, ending his championship challenge.
Round 14 was promising at first for the two Porsche drivers. Wehrlein qualified on pole with da Costa third. Porsche controlled the race early on, with their two cars at the front. Despite leading the most laps, Wehrlein experienced a baffling drop off in pace late in the race, which the team attributed to poor energy efficiency.
At points he appeared to have as much as four percent less energy than the drivers around him. He had to massively reduce his pace to make it to the chequered flag, and in the process was swallowed up by the pack. A 16th place finish for the German confirmed Rowland as the champion. Da Costa seemed to experience similar (but not quite as extreme) issues, and faded to an eighth place finish.
Following the Berlin double-header, Porsche remains the teams’ and manufacturers’ championship leaders, but through poor strategy, energy management, and apparent self-sabotage; their two drivers ruled themselves out of title contention, despite Oliver Rowland giving them every opportunity not to.
Winner: Jean-Éric Vergne
It has been quite the story of a consistent season for Formula E’s most titled racer in 2025, with Vergne sitting comfortably in the top 10, despite scoring two podiums all season. The DS Penske man has played second fiddle to teammate Maximilian Günther in the German’s victories in 2025.
The Frenchman, who hasn’t won a race since Hyderabad in 2023, has scored points in all but four races in season 11. Coming off a disastrous Jakarta weekend, Vergne suffered a suspension failure on Lap 32 in Round 13, forced to come into the pits and retire from a points-scoring position.
Things didn’t look to be on the up heading into qualifying for Round 14, when Vergne failed to make the duels stages, starting far down the order in 18th. However, in what would quickly become a race of energy conservation, Vergne’s experience would come into the picture. Running outside the top ten for majority of the 41-lap race, the Frenchman slowly made his way up the field, having conserved energy early in the race.
Sitting on the fringes of the top ten as the safety car peeled into the pits, Vergne followed Rowland’s Nissan in to take his first attack mode deployment. The extra power helped him eventually get into the race lead on Lap 33.
Taking his second attack mode deployment on lap 35 for four minutes, Vergne made hay of his extra power to move past the champion-elect for third. Fending off the Nissan man, Vergne ensured DS Penske left Berlin with silverware on the board, joining a rare podium made up of drivers starting outside the top ten for the race.
Losers: Maximilian Günther
Berlin has been a venue of mixed success for Günther in the past. The German scored a podium around his home venue back in 2023, with a last-lap, last corner pass on Buemi’s Envision Racing on that day.
Season 10 did not bring the same level of luck for him, though, as Günther failed to finish both races in an incident-riddled weekend for Maserati back then.
In his first home race for DS Penske, Günther ensured he put in a steady showing to qualify fifth in a rainy qualifying. Running in the points for the race, he managed to come away with sixth, and eight points to add to his tally, while teammate Vergne retired after suffering a suspension failure.
Qualifying tenth for Round 14, the German would drop three spots down, having missed a black and orange flag during the Saturday race.
Despite running strongly throughout the race, Günther would not go on to finish, following a technical issue on his DS Penske rendering his race short after 35 laps.
Winners: Envision Racing
Although the final results may not have reflected a resounding success for the team in green, Envision Racing would certainly take encouragement from the finer details in the Berlin double header.
Coming off a successful appeal that saw Sébastien Buemi’s Jakarta podium reinstated, the motivation certainly ran high in the Envision camp coming into the German capital. While neither driver finished in the top ten in Free Practice 1 on Friday, Robin Frijns came into his own in the wet conditions on Saturday, setting the quickest time in Group B qualifying to net a front row spot alongside pole-sitter Evans.
In conditions reminiscent of his Berlin pole from Season 9, Frijns managed to run in the top half for a large part of the race, including the Pit Boost stages. At the other end of the grid, teammate Buemi, who had suffered a 40-place grid drop for changing components, served a ten-second stop/go penalty during the race, after being unable to serve his full grid penalty.
The two Envision Racing cars then went in contrasting directions. While Frijns lost 15 seconds of attack mode due to the safety car period, Buemi made use of attack mode late in the race to finish seventh, while Frijns slid down to 13th, with no points to show for an excellent qualifying performance.
The Dutchman once again made it into the duels in Round 14, qualifying up in fifth. Buemi, meanwhile, would start 17th for the race.
While Frijns ran in the lead battle for almost the entire race, Buemi would grind to a halt on the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 21, with a technical issue leaving his Envision Racing stranded on track. The safety car was deployed to clear his green Envision off the road.
The same fate would befall Frijns, who would pull over at the same spot three laps from the end, suffering a technical issue that put him out of the race. Despite scoring no points, Envision Racing climbed up one position in the standings, and left Berlin wondering ‘What could have been’.
Losers: Cupra Kiro
Having ridden the wave of victory in Jakarta, Berlin did not reap the same rewards for a resurgent Cupra Kiro team. Dan Ticktum accumulated only two points across the double-header, his lowest weekend haul since the Jeddah E-Prix in February.
Ticktum would start eighth for a wet Round 13 in Berlin, up one spot after Porsche’s Wehrlein served his three-place grid drop. Teammate David Beckmann, meanwhile, started down in 20th. Both Cupra Kiro drivers attempted to save their attack modes until after the Pit Boost period.
However, Beckmann’s clash with Nissan stand-in Sérgio Sette Câmara at Turn 3 left the German with a broken suspension, with the stranded Cupra Kiro on track bringing out the safety car. Ticktum, who hadn’t used his attack modes, managed to make his way into the lower points.
Things looked on the up for Sunday’s Round 14, with Ticktum netting a front row start after making it to the final of the duels stage of qualifying. Beckmann too looked on the up, taking a 13th position start for the race.
In a contrasting approach, Beckmann was the first driver to take his attack mode, even briefly heading a Cupra Kiro 1-2 early in the race. However, both Cupra Kiro drivers would squabble for the race lead, a move that would come back to hurt them later in the race.
With drivers behind conserving their energy and cycling to the front of the pack, Ticktum, along with pole-sitter Wehrlein, would slide all the way down the order later in the race, as the Briton eventually wound up 14th, while Beckmann rounded out his home weekend in 16th. Worse still, Cupra Kiro dropped a spot to Envision Racing in the standings, now down to 10th with a double-header to go.
Winner: Felipe Drugovich
Felipe Drugovich has seen very little racing action since winning the 2022 Formula 2 championship. He signed on as an Aston Martin F1 test and development driver in 2022, but has remained on the sidelines since. Occasional appearances in endurance racing, as well as a full European Le Mans campaign in 2024, has kept him sharp.
His forays into the Formula E world started in 2023, with a rookie test appearance for Maserati. He kept his foot in the door, and when Mahindra needed a driver to fill in for Nyck De Vries, who had to fulfill his commitments in the World Endurance Championship, Drugovich answered the call.
Round 13 in Berlin was a baptism of fire for the Brazilian driver. A wet Tempelhof Circuit introduced significant difficulties for the entire grid, with the concrete track surface providing less grip than traditional tarmac. Whilst some of Drugovich’s competitors ventured into the barriers, he was able to guide his car home to a 17th place finish, despite the high attrition seen throughout the race.
Round 14 was staged in much easier conditions for the rookie, with a dry track surface providing some welcome respite. Drugovich qualified 19th. In the race, he and the Mahindra team pulled off a strategy masterclass.
In the first portion of the race, the team prioritised maximum energy efficiency, hoping for a safety car at the right time to maximise the deployment at the end of the race. Luckily for them, that safety car did indeed materialise, and Drugovich used his two attack modes in the closing laps to surge through the field. He finished in a strong seventh place, netting six points on his debut weekend in Formula E.
For a driver that should have been rusty with regards to race craft, considering he had very little race experience in recent years, he drove brilliantly, and brought home some well-earned points for his team.
Loser: McLaren
In what is the McLaren team’s penultimate weekend in Formula E, they were looking for a strong result. The team has been hot and cold with pace throughout the season, with lack of consistency hurting the driver’s and team’s chances in the championships.
In Round 13, Taylor Barnard had strong pace and was battling near the front for much of the race. Despite his young age, Barnard has positioned himself as the team leader this season, whilst veteran teammate Sam Bird has struggled to get to grips with the Gen3 EVO car. Barnard just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth. Meanwhile, Bird just missed out on points in 11th.
Round 14 was more promising for McLaren. Taylor Barnard had the pace to win. His team seemed to have gotten the strategy spot-on. Barnard had taken the lead on lap 22 using attack mode, and with an energy delta over his nearest competitors, stretched out a solid lead. He was utilising his energy advantage to build a cushion for himself later in the race. Maximising this attack mode activation was crucial to his race.
However, at the same time, his teammate Bird was battling with Nico Mueller. The two collided at turn one with both drivers receiving punctures. Bird was forced to retire, and this incident brought out an unfortunately-timed safety car.
This safety car meant Barnard lost several minutes of attack mode, as well as the lead he had amassed, and was thus at a major disadvantage compared to his competitors. He later slipped through the pack and only managed a sixth place finish at the end.
McLaren, and especially Barnard, had the pace to take victory, but due to a collision involving Barnard’s own teammate, his strategy was ruined. Berlin was a weekend of great promise for the papaya team, but unfortunately for them it was not meant to be.
Winner: Jaguar
It’s no secret that Jaguar have had a nightmare season in 2024/25. They went from winning the teams’ championship in season 10, to struggling for points finishes in season 11. After the Jakarta E-Prix, Jaguar sat 7th in the teams’ championship, with Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans sitting 8th and 18th in the drivers’ championship respectively.
Round 13 saw a vintage Mitch Evans performance. He started on pole, but since qualifying was curtailed due to extreme rain, he was not awarded the corresponding three points. After the lights went out, the Kiwi driver excelled in the slippery conditions and effectively controlled the entire race. Porsche’s Wehrlein mounted a charge in the closing laps, but Evans was able to hold him off and took a triumphant win. It was Evans’ first points since his victory in the season opener at Sao Paulo.
It was Nick Cassidy’s turn for glory in Round 14. The New Zealander had encountered better fortunes throughout the season than his teammate and fellow countryman Evans, however, he was still not in championship contention. Cassidy was here to collect wins and improve his Jaguar team’s championship standing as much as possible.
In the dry conditions for the first time of the weekend, his Jaguar car showed supreme energy efficiency, and was able to climb through the field whilst maintaining a good energy delta over his competitors.
Cassidy passed Rowland for the lead in the closing laps, and was able to stretch away from the pack as his competitors behind squabbled amongst each other and eventually took the chequered flag. It was his second win of the season and completed a near perfect weekend for Jaguar, some welcome relief amidst a season of overwhelming disappointment.
Losers: Lola
Lola have good history at the Berlin Tempelhof Circuit. Particularly in 2023, then known as ABT Cupra, the team recorded a 1-2 qualifying effort in wet conditions, a remarkable result for what was a backmarker team. Lola, under a new name, was hoping to recapture some of that magic in 2025.
In qualifying for Round 13, the team struggled massively in the wet conditions. Lucas di Grassi and Zane Maloney would start the race in 15th and 17th respectively. The team gambled on setup, setting their cars up in anticipation of dry conditions for the race.
Unfortunately, those dry conditions did not materialise, and the team struggled for grip in the damp conditions with an incompatible setup. The two drivers barely made any progress, with Maloney coming home in 15th and Di Grassi 18th. The team hoped that the forecasted dry conditions on Sunday for Round 14 would suit their car far better.
Wet conditions persisted for free practice three on Sunday morning. These conditions caught out di Grassi, who experienced aquaplaning under braking for turn one, and crashed into the TecPro barrier at high speed. There was massive damage to the car, which required a monocoque replacement, and it meant the Brazilian driver missed out on qualifying.
Maloney showed slight improvement in pace in qualifying, and would start 14th for the race. Di Grassi, of course, would start at the back. Zane Maloney was competitive at points in the race, in the periphery of a points finish. He experienced a drop off in pace towards the end of the race and eventually retired with a few laps to go due to a technical failure. He was classified 18th.
Di Grassi made an impressive recovery. In a Frankenstein-esque car, he muscled his way into the top ten. However, contact with Nissan’s Sergio Sette Camara meant he missed out on points and came home in 12th.
Two high-attrition races provided Lola with plenty of opportunities to score valuable points, but technical faults, major crashes, and setup mistakes denied them the ability to chase after them.
Winner: Jake Dennis
Jake Dennis had a very difficult Saturday. After qualifying was curtailed due to the rainy conditions, Dennis would end up in 17th, a far from ideal starting spot. When Dennis pulled into his grid box for the start of the race, the lights went out and the rest of the field accelerated; however, Dennis was left stationary. His race was over before it even started. His Andretti team simply attributed this to a “loss of power.”
Round 14 was an opportunity to salvage something from the weekend for Dennis. He was caught out by a red flag on his final push lap in qualifying, and would start in a disappointing 16th place.
The Andretti team took a bold strategy for the race, pushing Dennis to drop to the back and save as much energy as possible, in the hopes of making a late charge in the race. A very fortunate late safety car played right into their hands, and Dennis used the extra energy to surge through the field.
He also had saved his attack modes for late in the race and they played right into his advantage. The pace advantage he had over the cars around him was substantial. Dennis was able to go from 19th in the early laps, to second at the chequered flag. He didn’t have enough to challenge Nick Cassidy for the win, but Dennis was more than satisfied after taking his second podium of the season.
Dennis stated: “Super ecstatic to finally get back on the podium after what’s been somewhat of a difficult weekend. Full credit to the team for giving me such a good racecar and strategy today; then it was just down to me to execute the plan as well as I possibly could, and I think we did the absolute maximum.”
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