After a chaotic race yesterday, Formula E will hold the second race in Berlin this weekend on Sunday, May 12, 2024. Before things get serious later in the day with qualifying (live on DF1 from 11:00 a.m.) and the race (from 3:00 p.m.), the eleven teams had the opportunity to test their skills in the last 30-minute training session of the Berlin ePrix prepare as best as possible for the tenth race of the season.
Porsche works driver and local hero Pascal Wehrlein secured the best time. The 29-year-old needed 1:01.922 minutes on his fastest lap of the 2.345 kilometer long course at the former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport. Wehrlein set the fastest training time of the weekend, 0.181 seconds short of Edoardo Mortara’s pole time on Saturday.
Wehrlein just ahead of Saturday’s winner Cassidy
“It felt very similar compared to yesterday in terms of grip and everything,” Wehrlein said on international TV after the end of training. “It was a good session. I’m getting more and more used to everything, the new track, the settings, the setup.” Wehrlein was separated from second place and Saturday winner Nick Cassidy (Jaguar) by 0.043 seconds.
Cassidy won Saturday’s race using an unusual strategy, plowing through the field in the final laps with more remaining energy than his direct competition. You can read what Cassidy had to say about his triumph and why teammate Mitch Evans decided against his teammate’s strategy in this article
Evans was dissatisfied with his Jaguar car during the last training session. “It’s just far too easy to brake on the front axle,” the New Zealander radioed to his team. “It’s exactly the same every round.” Nevertheless, the 29-year-old also found himself in the top 10 and finished FP3 in P6.
Günther in the top 5, Felix da Costa with contact
Ahead of Evans, DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne and the duo from the DS customer team Maserati completed the top five. Jehan Daruvala was able to secure fourth place, while the second German on the Formula E grid, Maximilian Günther, reached fifth place. The German team Abt-Cupra found itself in midfield after a disappointing Saturday race. Lucas Di Grassi finished 13th overall, while Kelvin van der Linde, who replaced regular driver Nico Müller this weekend, secured P15.
In an overall calm training session, Wehrlein’s teammate Antonio Felix da Costa and ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara caused a brief excitement. In the combination of corners 6/7, Felix da Costa ran into Sette Camara and there was slight contact when turning into corner 7, but this had no serious consequences for both drivers. The incident is still currently being investigated by stewards due to possible obstruction.
Sette Camara was also the focus of race management for another incident with Jake Hughes (McLaren-Nissan). This investigation is also currently concerned with possible obstruction.
Formula E Berlin: The rest of the schedule
After the third training session, things will get serious again 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 second race 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 20 minutes late as a re-live and, as usual, on ServusTV On in the live stream.
You can read all information about other broadcast options and live timings on the second day of the race in Berlin in this article: