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Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries wins 2020/21 BMW i Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium in dramatic race at Tempelhof

Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries won the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship title at the 2021 BMW i Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium in dramatic circumstances as four of his title contenders failed to finish. ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara finished second in the Drivers’ standings with Jake Dennis from BMW i Andretti Motorsport in third.
Mercedes-EQ won the Teams Championship with 183 points, followed by Jaguar Racing and DS TECHEETAH rounding up the top three in the standings.
The E-Prix itself was won by ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Norman Nato but drama at the beginning of the race – and the subsequent championship victory for de Vries – dominated proceedings.
Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans failed to move from his starting slot, with ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara crashing into the back of the Kiwi to force an instant red flag and delay the start of the race.
Both drivers walked from their vehicles with Mortara taken to hospital for precautionary further assessment. The competition for the title was subsequently thrown wide open – as Mortara had begun the race in second place in the standings, with Evans in fourth.
The drama did not end there as BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Jake Dennis – who began the race in third place in the standings – quickly suffered technical issues, later claiming battery failure while lifting to save energy.
A full course yellow flag was called for as the British driver emerged from his car – evidently furious at his mistake as he threw his race gear to the ground and fell to his knees in disbelief.
It meant that three of the top four going into the Sunday finale were forced out within the first five minutes – and the championship was now de Vries’ to lose.
At the front of the grid, de Vries’ Mercedes-EQ teammate Stoffel Vandoorne – who began the race in P1 having secured the Julius Baer Pole Position – tussled it out with Nato and Nissan e.dams’ Oliver Rowland.
Nato made use of Vandoorne’s slowing pace to take the race lead at the half-way point – with Mahindra Racing’s Alexander Sims in second place having made good use of his ATTACK MODE power boost.
Rowland made smart use of his own power boost – which returned to the usual two four-minute bursts for the Sunday race – to overtake his British compatriot and take second position.
There was further drama as the fourth of de Vries’ title challengers – reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa of DS TECHEETAH – was forced into the wall while trying to overtake Saturday’s race winner Lucas di Grassi of Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler. The move caused another full course yellow and a penalty for di Grassi.
Amongst all the drama de Vries had snuck into fourth position, taking advantage of the overtaking capabilities at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.
As the cars emerged from the safety car de Vries narrowly avoided a collision with teammate Vandoorne when the two Mercedes-EQ cars were caught either side of TAG Heuer Porsche’s Andre Lotterer.
And there was no looking back from there as de Vries held on to finish eighth and subsequently become Formula E’s first World Champion – with Nato holding off the challenge from second-placed Rowland and third-placed Vandoorne to win Round 15 itself.
Following Nato’s maiden victory, ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Team Principle Susie Wolff collected the team’s second trophy of the season.
ADDITIONAL POINTS
Fastest Lap Group in Qualifying (1 point)
Stoffel Vandoorne 1:06.678s
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
Julius Baer Pole Position (3 points)
Stoffel Vandoorne 1:06.794s
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
TAG Heuer Fastest Lap (1 point)
René Rast 1:08.486s
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 
MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM
MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM
NYCK DE VRIES
“I’m lost for words. It’s been such a tough season with highs and lows. Everything came down to the last race and I think we had a lot of fortune on our side today with everything that happened. I’m glad that everyone is OK from the incident at the start. I think we drove an incredible race, we had really good pace in the car, but at the same time, I felt like a target as well, it seemed like nobody was really respecting anything. So, at this point I just wanted to bring it home. My team were telling me to fight Jean-Eric Vergne, but I wasn’t sure why it was important, so I was getting frustrated that they didn’t want to tell me. Then the other drivers kept hitting me; left, right, front, rear. I wasn’t really happy with that, so I was a bit grumpy straight after the race. But now it’s starting to sink in.”
RACE RESULTS
FINAL CLASSIFICATION
1
Norman Nato
ROKiT Venturi Racing
1:11:57.152
(25)
2
Oliver Rowland
Nissan e.dams
+2.270s
(18)
3
Stoffel Vandoorne
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
+2.837s
(19)
4
André Lotterer
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
+7.105s
(12)
5
Alexander Sims
Mahindra Racing
+8.453s
(10)
6
Pascal Wehrlein
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
+8.847s
(8)
7
Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing
+10.473s
(6)
8
Nyck de Vries
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
+11.108s
(4)
9
René Rast
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
+12.189s
(3)
10
Tom Blomqvist
NIO 333 FE Team
+12.679s
(1)
11
Jean-Éric Vergne
DS TECHEETAH
+13.437s
(0)
12
Robin Frijns
Envision Virgin Racing
+13.748s
(0)
13
Alex Lynn
Mahindra Racing
+14.366s
(0)
14
Sébastien Buemi
Nissan e.dams
+14.692S
(0)
15
Maximilian Günther
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
+15.528s
(0)
16
Joel Eriksson
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT
+15.940s
(0)
17
Nick Cassidy
Envision Virgin Racing
+16.306s
(0)
18
Sérgio Sette Câmara
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT
+16.961s
(0)
19
Oliver Turvey
NIO 333 FE Team
+21.076s
(0)
20
Lucas di Grassi
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
+35.155s
(0)
DNF
António Félix da Costa
DS TECHEETAH
DNF
(0)
DNF
Jake Dennis
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
DNF
(0)
DNF
Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing
DNF
(0)
DNF
Edoardo Mortara
ROKiT Venturi Racing
DNF
(0)
2020/21 ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
DRIVER STANDINGS
Nyck de Vries
Mercedes-EQ
99
Edoardo Mortara
ROKiT Venturi Racing
92
Jake Dennis
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
91
Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing
90
Robin Frijns
Envision Virgin Racing
89
Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing
87
Lucas di Grassi
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
87
António Félix da Costa
DS TECHEETAH
86
Stoffel Vandoorne
Mercedes-EQ
82
Jean-Eric Vergne
DS TECHEETAH
80
Pascal Wehrlein
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
79
Alex Lynn
Mahindra Racing
78
Rene Rast
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
78
Oliver Rowland
Nissan e.dams
77
Nick Cassidy
Envision Virgin Racing
76
Maximilian Günther
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
66
André Lotterer
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
58
Norman Nato
ROKiT Venturi Racing
54
Alexander Sims
Mahindra Racing
54
Nico Müller
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT
30
Sébastien Buemi
Nissan e.dams
20
Sérgio Sette Câmara
DRAGON / PESNKE AUTOSPORT
16
Oliver Turvey
NIO 333 FE Team
13
Tom Blomqvist
NIO 333 FE Team
6
Joel Eriksson
DRAGON / PESNKE AUTOSPORT
1
2020/21 ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAM STANDINGS
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
181
Jaguar Racing
177
DS TECHEETAH
166
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
165
Envision Virgin Racing
165
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
157
ROKiT Venturi Racing
146
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
137
Mahindra Racing
132
Nissan e.dams
97
DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT
47
NIO 333 FE TEAM
19
About Formula E and the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship 
Formula E exists to accelerate sustainable human progress through the power of electric racing. The only sport certified net zero carbon since inception, Formula E was founded to counteract climate change by accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship brings intense and unpredictable all-electric racing to the heart of iconic cities around the world. In its first six seasons Formula E crowned five different champions and celebrated 17 winners in 69 races. With more automotive manufacturers on the grid than any other motorsport, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is not only one of the most compelling racing series on the planet but also an unparalleled proving ground for race-to-road electric vehicle and sustainable mobility technologies.
Powered by purpose and united by a passion to deliver edge-of-seat racing, the positively charged Formula E community of teams, manufacturers, partners, broadcasters, host cities and fans work together to light up the world with the transformative power of electric racing.
About ABB 
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energises the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com