Cassidy (Jaguar) wins the E-Prix of “impossible” comebacks ahead of Vergne (Ds Penske) and Rowland (Nissan)

BERLIN – Nick Cassidy (Jaguar Tcs) won the craziest race in the world in Berlin, repeating last year’s success. The New Zealander had started from ninth position and halfway through the race he was twenty-first, i.e. last because Joel Eriksson (Envision) was already out of the race, and he managed to climb back up to first place while also allowing himself the luxury of over 4.5” from Jean Eric Vergne (DS Penske). The Frenchman took second place under the checkered flag waved on the asphalt of the former Tempelhof international airport. The most sensational comeback was that of Oliver Rowland (Nissan) on the podium for the fifth time in this triumphant tenth season: he had started fifteenth and finished third.

Also in the Top 10 was Mitch Evans (Jaguar Tcs), fourth, followed by the two Tag Heuer Porsche drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa, who improved their starting positions, but who had given the impression of being able to fight for victory until the end. Stoffel Vandoorne (Ds Penske) was seventh, starting second behind poleman Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) who finished immediately behind him. For the Italian-Swiss it was still a positive weekend because he finally moved his own and the Indian manufacturer’s rankings. Sacha Fenestraz with the second Nissan crossed the finish line ninth ahead of Taylor Barnard with the same car, but with Neom McLaren insignia. For the 19-year-old Briton it is the first point in his second appearance: as in Monaco he replaced Sam Bird, who injured his hand.

The expected laps were 40, but they became 6 more due to the road of the various entries of the Safety Car that contributed to moving the ePrix number 9 of the 2024 championship. The race was “tense” and confirmed once again that in Formula E practically nothing is impossible. Jehan Daruvala (Maserati), for example, despite his excellent qualifying, had started last due to the penalty he received due to the replacement of several parts: after having also served a pit stop he even managed to authoritatively enter the Top 10 from which he was “expelled” in the final excitement also due to a contact.

Thanks to the second seasonal success (the first dates back to the end of January, in Saudi Arabia) Cassidy took the lead in the general classification with 121 points (also his fastest lap), i.e. 9 more than Wehrlein for whom the domestic weekend had started very badly on Friday with the car stopped due to a broken down. Rowland gained third place at 103, ahead of Jake Dennis (Andretti), the reigning world champion twentieth at the start, and who also climbed back up to the Top 5, only to then have to go to the pits after a contact and not reach the finish line. bottom, and Evans, both at 89. In sixth place Vergne, the first of the Stellantis group drivers, with 83 points. Tomorrow the second Berlin ePrix, the tenth of this season and the twentieth in the German capital in the ten years of Formula E. Among the teams, Jaguar Tcs (210) has dug an abyss compared to the second, Tag Heuer Porsche (146) . For third place the challenge is currently between Nissan (129) and Ds Penske (126). Then Andretti (113).

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