Contested on the tarmac of the former Tempelhof airport, the Berlin ePrix will be the penultimate European round of season 4 of Formula E. Sébastien Buemi and Nicolas Prost hope to continue their run of strong results in Germany on this very specific circuit.
This former airport has been converted into a gigantic park that has become very popular with Berlin families; Tempelhof is now a familiar setting for Formula E teams. Following the maiden race in 2015, the ePrix was moved to the German capital’s city centre in season 2. Last year, the event returned to the tarmac runways and two races were held on an all-new track lay out, which will again be slightly modified this year.
No matter the circuit, Renault e.dams has always enjoyed success in Berlin. Sébastien Buemi won the one-off race contested on the Alexanderplatz track and one of two Tempelhof races last year. Nicolas Prost has always finished in the points in Germany, with his best result being fourth place in season 2.
Seb is currently fourth in the Driver’s Championship, with 70 points. With three podium finishes so far this season at Marrakech, Santiago and Mexico City, the Swiss driver is only goal is victory before heading to ‘his’ home race : the Zurich ePrix (June 10). 18th in the general classification, Nico has had a tougher season, but his combative nature is intact as he aims to return to the sharp end of the order.
Surrounded by the enormous hangars forming a 1.2km arc, the Berlin ePrix circuit is quite fast, with an average speed between 120-130kph. It runs counter-clockwise and its principal specificity is the track surface, which is made of striated concrete slabs. Contrary to most of the ePrix races that begin at 16:00, the start of round nine of the season will be 18:00.
Sébastien Buemi : “We won race 2 last year, we know that we will have a good set-up to start the day on this track. The tyres suffer greatly on the concrete slabs and it is the primary difficulty this circuit poses. We will do our best to score a good result and move up the standings.”
Nicolas Prost : “Every track has its specificity, but this one is particularly singular. The striated concrete slabs tend to tear up the tyres. The rubber takes a beating, especially at the rear. We have done very well in Germany these past few years and I hope it will be the same this season. We are not giving up and we are working very hard.”
The Groupe Renault in Germany
Renault has been present in the German car market since 1907, or 111 years. It was in Berlin, on the famous Gendarmenmarkt (“Gendarmes Market Square”) where Louis Renault established his brand’s first foreign affiliate. Today, Groupe Renault is the n°1 importer in Germany, with a 5.9% market share. The Z.E. range includes the TWIZY, ZOE and KANGOO Z.E. models. In 2017, the ZOE was the best-selling electric vehicle in Germany, with nearly 15,000 registrations since its launch in 2013.
Key-numbers
2.375 km : Circuit length
10: Number of corners
45: Number of laps
106.875 km : Race distance
77: Renault e.dams comes to Berlin on 77 points in the Team Championship
6: Renault e.dams is sixth in the championship