Germany leads both Drivers’ and Teams’ championships with Pascal Wehrlein and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team topping the tables
Tempelhof Airport’s notorious concrete slab track set to be a tough test for drivers as the GEN3 race car competes in Europe for the first time in the 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix
Rounds 7 and 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship complete the first half of the Season 9 calendar with Monaco, Jakarta, Portland, Rome and London to come
Formula E fans at the historic Tempelhof Airport Circuit in Berlin this weekend will, for the first time in championship history, get to cheer a German team and driver at the top of the standings going into the 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix double-header.
The Porsche 99X Electric has proven to be the benchmark car package in Season 9 with Pascal Wehrlein winning twice in the first three races to lead the Drivers’ World Championship and putting his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team at the top of the Teams’ standings.
Great Britain’s Jake Dennis of Avalanche Andretti Formula E, the Porsche customer team, is 24 points behind Wehrlein in second and under pressure from Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) just a point back in third after three consecutive appearances on the podium.
Double champion Jean-Éric Vergne (DS PENSKE) is only two points away in fourth having steered to a textbook defensive victory in Hyderabad and finished a close second in Cape Town.
Jaguar’s I-TYPE 6 has emerged as the strongest competitor to the Porsche-powered cars since Round 4 in India. Cassidy has led the charge for Jaguar customer Envision Racing who sit just behind the German manufacturer in the standings.
The factory Jaguar TCS Racing team finally capitalised on its race-winning pace and energy management for a 1-3 result last time out in São Paulo as Mitch Evans and teammate Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) took to the podium together. They find themselves 42 and 46 points from top spot in the Drivers’ table but with plenty of racing still to come – the Berlin races will complete the first half of Season 9 – in Formula E, everything can change.
António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche) had seen race strategies torn up in the early season – contact at Turns 1 and 2 in Diriyah is a prime example – and had fallen away from Wehrlein despite piloting a Porsche. But da Costa has gained on his German teammate with a podium in India then a stunning last gasp victory in Cape Town with an unforgettable move on former teammate Vergne. Da Costa has proven himself in Berlin with two wins in the Season 6 finale propelling him to the title. Only he, Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing) and Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra Racing) have taken the top step at Tempelhof more than once in Formula E.
Reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) sits 11th in the standings, more than 60 points back. Retaining the title now looks like a distant dream but he has form around Tempelhof with a win and two podiums to his name. Dominating the double-header in Berlin would put the Belgian firmly back in contention.
Return to Tempelhof
Berlin is the only city to have hosted a race in every season of Formula E – 16 in total. The 2.4km Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit on the outskirts of the German capital city is a unique challenge for the teams and drivers, and a favourite of many. Tackling the high-grip and energy sapping concrete slabs initially designed for aircraft – not cutting-edge electric race cars – means the Hankook tyres will be pushed to their limits on the abrasive surface.
Phil Charles, Technical Manager, Jaguar TCS Racing, said:
“Berlin is a unique race event for the championship – some long and fast corners and an unusual track surface. I call the surface ‘pebblemac’ as it is actually made up of large concrete blocks with stones – the pebbles – pressed into the top surface. These stones are aggressive on the tyres and although it is a short lap, the percentage of time spent cornering is quite high so car setups need to compliment the corner type. In addition, it’s a tricky energy management race so there is plenty to think about in Berlin but it’s a great track to go to.”
WHEN TO WATCH
Free Practice 1 for the SABIC Berlin E-Prix gets underway at 17:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST) on Friday 21 April.
Free Practice 2 starts at 08:10 CEST on Saturday followed by qualifying from 10:40 CEST. Round 7 of Season 9 gets underway from 15:00 CEST.
Free Practice 3 kicks off on Sunday morning at 08:10 CEST with qualifying at 10:40 CEST. Round 8 gets underway from 15:00 CEST.
FOLLOW LIVE!
Follow the action on-track as it happens in the new Race Centre. Keep across Live Timing – which includes a real-time interactive track map and the ability to follow drivers during every session of every E-Prix – plus highlights, detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all the standings and results as well as data, insight and reaction from trackside.
WAYS TO WATCH
Find out how to follow the action live in every country by visiting: fiaformulae.com/en/ways-to-
EUROPE
GERMANY: Both races will be live on Formula E’s home, ProSieben. Fans will also be able to catch free practice sessions and qualifying live on Ran.de. As usual, the Ran Racing team will be reporting from site, telling all the key stories direct from the paddock.
UK: Watch the action from both races live on Channel 4. All sessions will also be live on the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel. Eurosport 2 will also be covering both races live with extensive highlights. Discovery+ will also bring UK based fans dedicated coverage from all sessions.
FRANCE: Fans can catch live race action on L’Equipe.fr, with delayed race action from Saturday’s race on La Chaine L’Equipe. Sunday’s race will be live on La Chaine L’Equipe and L’Equipe.fr, with dedicated build up and analysis. The team from L’Equipe will also be on-site in Berlin, giving fans in France all of the latest news from the paddock. Eurosport 1 will
ITALY: Saturday’s race will be live on Mediaset’s Channel 20, whilst Sunday’s race will be live on Italia Uno. All sessions available live on SportMediaset.it .Sky Sports will also show the qualifying and race sessions live on Sky Sports Arena with all sessions across their digital platforms, and
NETHERLANDS: Enjoy all sessions on Ziggo Sport Racing, with highlights covered across Ziggo Sport, Select and Racing. Eurosport 2 will also be providing live coverage across the weekend on linear and digital channels with highlights covered on Eurosport 2.
REST OF EUROPE
Across the remainder of Europe (excl. Italy), all sessions will be live across Eurosport’s linear and digital platforms. Eurosport will provide bespoke, live coverage of the race on Eurosport 2, whilst all sessions will be live on Discovery + / Eurosport.com and Eurosport Extra. These platforms will also provide a one-stop destination for all Formula E fans’ catch-up needs. Race highlights will be covered on Eurosport 1.
AMERICAS
USA: CBS will show Saturday’s race across their free-to-air network channel on a delayed basis. Free practice sessions and qualifying will be live on CBSSports.com as well as the CBS Sports App. Sunday’s race will be live on CBS Sports Network.
CANADA: TVA Sports and TSN 5 / TSN 2 will show the race action from Berlin in French and English, respectively.
MEXICO: Fans can continue to enjoy coverage on Fox Sports 3, Claro Sports, and Azteca Deportes, with Claro Sports providing further coverage across Latin America.
BRAZIL: Fans in Brazil can catch all SABIC Berlin ePrix race action across Band TV and BandSports along with digital coverage on BandPlay and bandsports.com.br.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Qualifying and race will be live on Saudi Sport Company’s (SSC) linear channel SSC 2 as well as their digital platform shahid.net. Across the Middle East and North Africa, Dubai Sports 2 will be showcasing qualifying and race.
AFRICA: Across Sub-Saharan Africa, catch all the live action across SuperSport Action.
SOUTH AFRICA: Free-to-air broadcaster eTV will be covering race and highlights.
ASIA
INDIA: Star Sports First & Disney+ Hotstar will show all of the qualifying and race action live from the SABIC Berlin ePrix, with Disney + HotStar the destination for all the Formula E action across the weekend.
CHINA: Formula E’s digital partnerships continue with HUYA, BiliBili, Sina Kuaishou and Douyin will be covering all sessions live, with live race action from both Saturday and Sunday on Guangdong Sports linear channel.
SOUTH EAST ASIA: SpoTV will be providing full coverage of practice, qualifying and race from both Saturday and Sunday.
JAPAN: Viewers will be able to catch all the action from qualifying and race sessions on J-Sports 3, with BS Fuji providing dedicated highlights coverage.
INDONESIA: Catch the race live on iNews on a delayed basis, with dedicated coverage of the weekend across MNC platforms.
AUSTRALIA: Formula E continues the broadcast partnership with Stan Sports, who will bring live coverage of all sessions on the Stan Sports platform. 9GO will wrap up the weekend with highlights for fans in Australia.
NEW ZEALAND: In New Zealand, catch all of the action, live on Sky Sports 5.
