Felix Rosenqvist claims maiden Formula E win at the first race of the Berlin ePrix

Felix Rosenqvist claims maiden Formula E win at the first race of the Berlin ePrix as Sebastien Buemi gets disqualified

Yesterday afternoon saw Mahindra Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist claiming his first Formula E victory in convincing style with a fine drive in the first of the series’ two races in Berlin this weekend as Renault e.Dams driver and championship leader Sebastien Buemi was disqualified from the ePrix after post-race checks then revealed that all four tyres on both of his cars were below the minimum pressure stipulated by tyre supplier Michelin.

At the start, Felix Rosenqvist had a brilliant start and jumped into second place immediately as Lucas di Grassi’s fellow front-row starter Jose Maria Lopez made a poor getaway.
In the first half of the race, Di Grassi built a gap at first and held a lead of 2.3 seconds at one stage, but Rosenqvist gradually chipped away until he was on the Abt Audi Sport driver’s tail starting their final lap before swapping cars.

Then Rosenqvist took advantage of di Grassi lifting and coasting early on the run to Turn 1, passing him on the outside for a lead he would hold until the end. However Di Grassi tried to apply pressure at the start of the second stint but Rosenqvist was never threatened and even after easing off on the final lap, came home to claim his maiden victory by 2.2s.

By the end of the race, the second Mahindra driver Nick Heidfeld had caught di Grassi, who was struggling with his battery’s temperature, but Heidfeld had to settle for his third-consecutive third-place finish.

The biggest surprises of the ePrix was that Jean-Eric Vergne finished in fifth place but picked up a five-second penalty for an unsafe release (which made the damage limitation job by Buemiwho was right behind the Techeetah driver) even more effective.

Buemi started down the field after struggling with the handling of his car in qualifying, but made steady progress in the opening stint and had risen to ninth by the car swaps.He was ultimately superb in the second stint, catching the group in front and picking off Daniel Abt, Sam Bird and team-mate Nico Prost, then briefly attacked Vergne (whom he had trailed by seven seconds shortly before the pitstops) before backing off after the Frenchman’s penalty was confirmed.

Vergne’s infraction ultimately dropped him to ninth, with Maro Engel scoring the final point for Venturi.

However after the post-race checks, Formula E championship leader Sebastien Buemi has been disqualified from the first Berlin race. Post-race checks then revealed that all four tyres on both of his cars were below the minimum pressure stipulated by tyre supplier Michelin.

The Minimum tyre pressure was set for the Berlin eprix at 1.60 bar – the tyres on Buemi’s first car came in at 1.46, 1.57, 1.54 and 1.52 bar respectively, while on the second car the pressures were 1.54, 1.54, 1.59 and 1.53 bar.

This breached Article 25.11 of Formula E’s sporting regulations and Buemi has been disqualified as a result. Buemi’s exclusion cuts his championship lead from 32 points to 22, after nearest rival Lucas di Grassi qualified on pole position and finished second.

But it was Felix Rosenqvist who claimed ever Formula E victory of his career at the first race of the Berlin ePrix with a stunning drive at the front on the grid. Rosenqvist finished ahead of Lucas Di Grassi in second place who was 2.232 seconds behind and ahead of Nick Heidfeld in a surprising third place who was 4.058 seconds behind Rosenqvist.

Jose Maria Lopez ended the ePrix in fourth place ahead of Nico Prost in fifth place, Daniel Abt in sixth place, Sam Bird in seventh place, Jean-Eric Vergne in eighth place, Maro Engel in ninth place and Oliver Turvey in tenth place.

Stephane Sarrazin finished the race just out of the top ten in eleventh place ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr in twelfth place, Jerome D'Ambrosio in thirteenth place, Adam Carroll in fourteenth place and Loic Duval in fifteenth place.

As we head into the latter stages of the grid, Antonio Felix Da Costa ended the ePrix in sixteenth place ahead of Robert Frijns in seventeenth place and Tom Dillmann in eighteenth place. Sebastien Buemi was disqualified from the race and Mitch Evans retired from the race.

Here's the classification of the 2017 Berlin ePrix as follows:-

1. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, 53.19:661
2. Lucas di Grassi, Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, +2.232s
3. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing, +4.058s
4. Jose Maria Lopez, DS Virgin Racing, +13.638s
5. Nicolas Prost, Renault e.Dams, +19.068s
6. Daniel Abt, ABT Shaeffler Audi Sport, +19.799s
7. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing, +20.065s
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Techeetah, +20.689s
9. Maro Engel, Venturi, +39.030s
10. Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV NIO, +40.985s
11. Stephane Sarrazin, Techeetah, +42.682s
12. Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV NIO, +42.980s
13. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +45.712s
14. Adam Carroll, Jaguar Racing, +49.658s
15. Loic Duval, Faraday Future Dragon Racing, +59.010s
16. Antonio Felix Da Costa, Andretti, +1.00.269s
17. Robin Frijns, Andretti, +1.02.463s
18. Tom Dillmann, Venturi, +1.07.695s
19. Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.Dams, Disqualified
20. Mitch Evans, Jaguar Racing, Not Classified

Sebastien Buemi leads the Formula E Drivers Championship with 132 points ahead of Lucas di Grassi in second with 110 points, Nicolas Prost in third with 68 points, Felix Rosenqvist in fourth with 65 points, Nick Heidfeld in fifth with 62 points, Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth with 44 points, Sam Bird in seventh with 41 points, Jose Maria Lopez in eighth with 40 points, Daniel Abt is ninth with 34 points, Nelson Piquet Jr is in tenth with 33 points , Mitch Evans is eleventh with 16 points, Robert Frijns is in twelfth place with 16 points, Oliver Turvey is thirteenth with 16 points, Maro Engel is fourteenth with14 points, Antonio Felix Da Costa is fifteenth with 10 points, Jerome D'Ambrosio is sixteenth with 10 points, Loic Duval is seventeenth with 9 points, Esteban Gutierrez is eighteenth with 5 points, Adam Carroll is nineteenth with 4 points, Tom Dillmann is twentieth with 4 points and Stephane Sarrazin is twenty first with 2 points.

Renault e.dams leads the Formula E Constructors Championship with 200 points, Abt Schaffler Audi Sport are second with 144 points, Mahindra Racing are third with 127 points, DS Virgin Racing are fourth with 81 points, Techeetah are fifth with 49 points, NEXTEV NIO are sixth with 49 points, Andretti are seventh with 26 points, Jaguar Racing are eighth with 20 points, Venturi are ninth with 20 points and Faraday Future Dragon Racing are tenth with 19 points.

Driving for Pleasure will be producing reports on every session of second race at the Berlin ePrix this weekend.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa