Dress rehearsal at the anniversary of Formula E in Berlin: Before things get serious later on Saturday with the first qualifying (live on DF1 from 11:00 a.m.) and the race (from 3:00 p.m.), the eleven teams had 30 -minute training gives you the opportunity to prepare for the competitive sessions in the best possible way.
In this, local hero Maximilian Günther secured the second best time of the weekend in the Maserati DS with a time of 1:02.177 minutes. Günther’s best time was 0.112 seconds faster than the fastest lap time from Friday training by Porsche works driver Antonio Felix da Costa. Once again the Formula E field was extremely close together. The first 21 pilots were all within one second.
Despite the best time, training didn’t go smoothly for Günther. During the session, the black and white flag was waved for the Allgäu native because, in the eyes of the race management, he drove unnecessarily slowly on the track. The same fate befell DS Penske pilot Jean-Eric Vergne a few minutes before the end of the second training session.
Pascal Wehrlein faces punishment
Lucas Di Grassi from the German team Abt-Cupra secured second place, 0.012 seconds behind Günther. The top three was completed by the second German on the Formula E grid, Pascal Wehrlein. However, the 29-year-old currently has to undergo an examination by the race management. Wehrlein, who rolled out with a technical defect after a few minutes in Friday’s training, is suspected of having a technical violation.
Günther’s teammate Jehan Daruvala has already received a penalty for a technical violation. The gearbox at the rear of the Indian’s Maserati DS was changed and the limit of the number permitted over the season was exceeded. To do this, Daruvala will be moved back 20 starting positions in the race.
Kelvin van der Linde best reserve pilot
Wehrlein’s teammate Antonio Felix da Costa finished the second training session in twelfth place after his best time on Friday, while Kelvin van der Linde was able to reach 14th place in the second Abt Cupra. DTM race winner van der Linde replaces regular driver Nico Müller this weekend, who is competing in the WEC in Spa-Francorchamps.
In addition to Müller, four other regular Formula E drivers are missing this weekend. Sam Bird (McLaren-Nissan) is still missing after breaking his hand in Monaco training two weeks ago and will again be represented by Taylor Barnard. In addition, four regular drivers, including Müller, are starting today in the WEC race in Spa. With 14th place, van der Linde was the best-placed reserve driver in FP2.
Can such scheduling conflicts be avoided in the future? At least for the long-term future, Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo was pessimistic on Friday in Berlin. You can read all the details in this article:
Advertising banner causes interruption
In a largely uneventful second training session in Berlin, a few light contacts with the wall caused a lot of excitement while the pilots tested the limits of the route at the former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport. The route of the course has undergone significant changes compared to last year and now consists of 15 turns instead of the previous ten.
Although no driver suffered serious damage from the collisions with the wall, they still had consequences: around ten minutes before the end of the session, training was interrupted with a red flag. Because of contact with the walls, an advertising banner installed on a wall had come loose and fallen by the wayside. However, around three and a half minutes later the hunt for times could be resumed.
After the red flag, Sergio Sette Camara (ERT) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) caused further excitement after the former ran into Vandoorne. In turn 2, the two drivers came dangerously close to each other and Sette Camara had to take evasive action.
Formula E Berlin: The rest of the schedule
After the two training sessions, things will get serious in just a few hours. Starting at 10:20 a.m., the drivers will fight in qualifying for the best possible starting position for the first of two races this weekend, which starts at 3:04 p.m. German time. DF1 broadcasts the Berlin ePrix live on free TV and on its own website. In Austria, ServusTV is only showing the first race in Tempelhof around an hour late as a re-live and, as usual, on ServusTV On in the live stream.
You can read all information about other broadcast options as well as live timings on the first day of the race in Berlin in this article:
Formula E Berlin 2024: Result of 2nd training
| Pos. | driver | team | Residue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximilian Günther | Maserati DS | 1:02.177 |
| 2 | Lucas Di Grassi | Abbot Mahindra | +0.012 |
| 3 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | +0.075 |
| 4 | Edoardo Mortara | Mahindra | +0.095 |
| 5 | Jean Eric Vergne | DS Penske | +0.103 |
| 6 | Nick Cassidy | jaguar | +0.122 |
| 7 | Oliver Rowland | Nissan | +0.123 |
| 8th | Norman Nato | Andretti Porsche | +0.133 |
| 9 | Stoffel Vandoorne | DS Penske | +0.253 |
| 10 | Jehan Daruvala | Maserati DS | +0.287 |
| 11 | Mitch Evans | jaguar | +0.310 |
| 12 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Porsche | +0.352 |
| 13 | Sergio Sette Camara | ERT | +0.403 |
| 14 | Kelvin van der Linde | Abbot Mahindra | +0.426 |
| 15 | Jordan King | Mahindra | +0.458 |
| 16 | Jake Dennis | Andretti Porsche | +0.485 |
| 17 | Sacha Fenestraz | Nissan | +0.624 |
| 18 | Jake Hughes | McLaren Nissan | +0.711 |
| 19 | Taylor Barnard | McLaren Nissan | +0.835 |
| 20 | Paul Aron | Envision Jaguar | +0.855 |
| 21 | Dan Ticktum | ERT | +0.980 |
| 22 | Joel Eriksson | Envision Jaguar | +1,006 |