Nick Cassidy has retaken the lead of the Formula E Drivers’ Championship with a calculated victory in this morning’s Berlin E-Prix opener.
The Kiwi sat 21st and last of the remaining cars on the track on Lap 21 of 40 and worked his way forward over the second half of the race, hitting the front on the third of six added laps.
The hammer went down once in clear air, and his advantage at the chequered flag was 4.651 seconds over Penske’s Jen-Eric Vergne.
Nissan’s Oliver Rowland completed the podium, one place ahead of Mitch Evans, who ran with the lead group all race.
Both Jaguar entries started off the fifth row, having missed out on the qualifying duels. Mahindra’s Edoardo qualified on the pole and led the field into Turn 1, remaining at the front until he used his first Attack Mode on Lap 3.
The race’s first Safety Car came at quarter distance, with Envision’s Joel Eriksson clipping the wall and breaking his right-rear suspension.
Evans hit the front for the first time on Lap 28 but still had an Attack Mode to take. He would lead the field to green on Lap 34 following a second Safety Car intervention, which came when Maximilian Gunther and Jake Hughes came together, with the former spearing into the wall.
Jake Dennis ran deep into the hairpin on Lap 36, losing four spots and backing up the mid-field, allowing the lead group to pull a slight gap.
Silent climber, Cassidy emerged in the top six at the end of 40 laps with energy to spare for the six added laps to make up for the two Safety Car interventions.
Evans had returned to the lead but lifted early to sacrifice the position and conserve energy on Lap 41, allowing Vergne to hit the front. The French driver was quickly overcome by Cassidy, who hit the front and broke free on Lap 43, going over 1.5 seconds a circuit faster than the field.
A fierce battle for the final podium spots saw Vergne hold second from Rowland. Evans fought off challenges from Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein for fourth, with Antonio Felix da Costa sixth.
Cassidy’s win puts him 9 points clear of Wehrlein at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, with Evans now equal on points with Dennis in fourth, 32 points behind his teammate.
Jaguar TCS Racing extended their advantage in the Teams’ Championship to 64 points over Porsche.
Formula E returns for Round 10 on Sunday evening, with qualifying at 8.00 pm and the race at midnight.
