Round 9 of the Formula E championship provided emotional scenes as Antonio Felix da Costa secured his first Formula E championship with reigning champion Vergne winning the race for Techeetah.
On Sunday evening, Round 9 of the Formula E Championship got underway in Berlin. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne started on pole ahead of teammate and championship leader Da Costa. Da Costa entered the race knowing that a second place finish would secure him the championship.
As the lights went out, both Vergne and Da Costa made a clean getaway. However, further down the grid, there were dramatic scenes as championship contender Max Guenther collided with the rear of Oliver Turvey. This moment proved pivotal for Guenther as the German driver was forced to retire from the race with the incident also bringing out the safety car. Stewards later awarded Guenther a three-place grid drop for the following race.
Upon the restart, the chase continued as all drivers fought for position. Mitch Evans and Rene Rast battled for P8 as the leading pack attempted to establish a gap. Rast was the first to use attack mode which allowed him to pass the New Zealand driver. Meanwhile, several drivers reported rain falling over the circuit which would continue for the remainder of the race.
With thirty minutes to go, most drivers took the decision to take advantage of their first attack mode. Race frontrunners Vergne and Da Costa initiated their attack modes at the same time. However, Da Costa lost position and temporarily moved back into P4.
A few minutes later, Da Costa took the race lead after team orders were issued to both DS Techeetah drivers.
Second half of the race
With sixteen minutes left on the clock, Rowland, De Vries, Buemi, and Lynn all activated their second attack modes with the hope of catching the leading Techeetah’s. Both Da Costa and Vergne initiated their own attack modes on the following lap and both managed to hold their positions at the front of the pack.
The two Techeetah’s swapped positions once again with seven minutes remaining as the pair worked together to establish a secure victory. However, as the race reached its conclusion, Buemi in P3 attempted to make a move on Da Costa and seize P2 from the championship leader but proved unsuccessful.
As a result, Da Costa and Ds Techeetah sealed both the drivers and constructors championship with two races of the season remaining. With his victory in round 9, Vergne moves up to second in the championship.
1. J.E.Vergne DS Techeetah
2. A.F. Da Costa DS Techeetah
3. S. Buemi Nissan E.Dams
4. N. De Vries Mercedes
5. O. Rowland Nissan E.Dams
6. L. Di Grassi Audi Sport
7. M. Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing
8. A. Lotterer Tag Heuer Porsche
9. A. Lynn Mahindra Racing
10. F. Massa Rokit Venturi Racing
Featured Image Credit: @FIAFormulaE Twitter
