Amid Formula E’s most turbulent start, Mercedes-EQ driver Nyck de Vries has become the first Formula E World Champion of the competition’s history with 99 points, finishing eighth at the second E-Prix in Berlin.
De Vries, who took the first win of the campaign in Saudi Arabia and also won a race at the double date in Valencia, Spain, had the table served from the beginning, since his main rivals (Evans, Mortara and Dennis) were involved into a series of accidents that affected the competition.
The 26-year-old Dutchman becomes the 6th Champion for the electric single-seater series, completing his 7th season. He also added a new trophy to his palmares, where he boasts of having won Formula 2 in 2019.
“I have no words, I’m starting to get emotional,” said de Vries while trying to hold back his tears. We had a good pace and had the target on my back, were the first impressions of the current series champion.
Mercedes, Team Champion
Beating Jaguar, the leader at the last date of the “season seven”, the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team won the ABB FIA Formula E World Team Championship with 183 points.
The winning squad, featuring Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne, scored 6 points and 15 points respectively.
The Podium
Venturi Racing driver Norman Nato deserved the first place of the second E-Prix in Berlin. Even with no chance, the Frenchman went out with a lot of confidence, moving up from sixth to first place.
Rowland kept his starting position (2nd), while Vandoorne managed to get onto the podium, finishing ninth in the standings.
Unexpected Start
As soon as the green lights appeared and the 13 drivers with title possibilities stepped on the accelerator, a strong accident stunned the virtual and on-site audience.
The Venturi driver’s car, Mitch Evans, was unable to start. Unfortunately, Mortara couldn’t do anything else and hit Evans hard on the tail. The incident caused an immediate exit of the safety car and the red flags.
Evans, despite not having won any race, had a good chance of winning the title; Mortara, who started in 11th place, also had a possibility.
“I’m fine, we had some failure to start the car. We had an alarm and the car stopped. Obviously Mortara didn’t have a chance to go anywhere else. I’m frustrated for the team (Jaguar) and for me, this has never happened before,” Evans said after leaving the impact unharmed.
Da Costa handed over the Title
With 10 minutes remaining, the previous season’s champion, António Félix da Costa, crashed his car on a curve due to a maneuver by Lucas di Grassi. The latter, who had won the first Berlin E-Prix, received a penalty and was relegated to the lowest position.
The Formula E 8th season is scheduled for January 28, 2022, in the same place that kicked off season 7: Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Written by | Osward Rubio
