The day started well for the French team DS Penske, with Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne both finishing third and fifth in practice.
"Depending on whether you look at the data for 300 kW or 350 kW, the situation is more or less to our advantage," said Eugenio Franzetti, DS Performance Director. "But I prefer not to give any predictions for the future, because sometimes it comes down to nothing."
A remark that rang true, as Vandoorne then easily qualified for the final phase of qualifying, first in his group, while Vergne failed, missing out on progressing by five thousandths in group B.
"Contrary to practice, I didn't feel the car as much, even though we didn't change anything in the set-up," the French driver said.
Vandoorne then went on to be dominated by Envision’s Sebastien Buemi, who later became the polesitter ahead of Sam Bird. The front row was 100% Jaguar in terms of engines, ahead of the DS Penske of Vandoorne and the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum.
A race with twists and turns
Vandoorne's pole position in Sao Paulo just four weeks ago did not bring him luck. The Belgian driver had to use up a lot of energy to keep his position, only to be overtaken at the end of the race by those who had remained behind able to use his draft. In Berlin, the configuration of the circuit is different, and there were many changes of leader, even constituting a record in a single race, according to the organisers. Here, everyone knows that the ground is very aggressive for the tyres, but the configuration of the track means that it is possible to overtake in several places.
The strategies of the most experienced drivers were quickly opposed to each other. There was a battle of veterans at the front, but the group was never far away. At the halfway point, the first 15 drivers were within five seconds of each other.
A lot of drivers made their way up the ranking, including Vandoorne who, after having taken the lead of the E-Prix, lost a few places before being squeezed against a wall by Ticktum. Forced to retire, the Belgian driver did not achieve the podium that seemed within his reach.
Vergne, who started 10th, had 20 laps to try to score points. After several other race incidents, the French driver crossed the finish line in seventh position, behind the two factory Jaguars, the Maserati of Max Guenther, the two Envision Racing cars and the Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein.
It was therefore a day that didn’t reflect the true level of performance of the DS E-TENSE FE 23, but which remains encouraging, as the start of the second E-Prix of Berlin on Sunday, on a track that will have been potentially drenched by overnight rain.
