The second European round of the FIA Formula E Championship was held in Berlin. Highly committed to sustainable development, Germany’s largest city provided a unique backdrop in the Tempelhof airport to the spectacular action of the innovative new series.

On a specially-designed track, the forty Spark-Renault SRT_01E single-seaters – the architecture of which is supervised by Renault Sport – showed off their dynamic qualities and their impressive ability to adapt to every kind of surface, whilst also proving to be safe, reliable and, in particular, fast.

Although Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi topped the timesheets in free practice, it was Jarno Trulli (Trulli) that sneaked ahead of them to claim pole. However, Lucas di Grassi grabbed first position on the opening lap and quickly built up a sizeable lead.

Sébastien Buemi got past Trulli on lap six, before Nick Heidfeld (Venturi) and Jérôme d’Ambrosio did likewise a lap later. Sébastien Buemi set about chasing down the leader, but he also came under pressure from the Belgian, who had overtaken Heidfeld in the meantime.

Jérôme d’Ambrosio managed to get past when the drivers pitted to change cars, but Lucas di Grassi was already too far ahead and went on to win the race by seven seconds from the former F1 driver. The Belgian later inherited the win as the Brazilian was excluded for running with a modified front wing. Put under pressure by the comebacks of Nick Heidfeld and Loïc Duval, Sébastien Buemi managed to hold off his rivals to secure the second place ahead of the Frenchman.

Nelson Piquet (NEXTEV TCR now leads the championship, two points ahead of Sébastien Buemi, whilst e.dams-Renault stays clear on top of the teams’ standings.

As a curtain-raiser to the ePrix, the Formula E School Series races saw various Berlin schools compete with one another, whilst the famous Formula Student put on a demonstration. Throughout the day, Renault enlivened the event with a show car sporting e.dams-Renault livery, vehicles from the ZE range and other attractions and activities for the general public.

Moscow will host round nine of the FIA Formula E Championship on June 6.

Olivier Gaudefroy, Managing Director, Renault Germany : “This round is a big event for all of the parties involved, and especially for Renault, Formula E and the city of Berlin. The spectators have realised how important electric vehicles are in day-to-day life and their place in society is expected to grow considerably in the coming years. The fact that this great event – the first of its kind in Germany – has been such a success in terms of popularity and logistics will make a positive contribution to the development of the electric vehicles market here. It was important for Renault to be involved and show just how mature its range is, and we are all delighted with the podium for e.dams-Renault secured by Sébastien Buemi.”

RACE RESULT
1. Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) 33 laps
2. Sébastien Buemi (e.dams-Renault) +2.433
3. Loïc Duval (Dragon Racing) +3.508
4. Nelson Piquet (NEXTEV TCR) +3.975
5. Nick Heidfeld (Venturi) +13.046
6. Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) +13.335
7. Jean-Eric Vergne (Andretti) +13.678
8. Sam Bird (Virgin Racing) +14.055
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Trulli) +15.636
10. Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) +16.602
Fastest lap : Nelson Piquet (NEXTEV TCR) 1:24.435

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
DRIVERS
1. Nelson Piquet (NEXTEV TCR), 103 points
2. Sébastien Buemi (e.dams-Renault), 101
3. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt), 93
4. Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault), 78
5. Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing), 77
6. Sam Bird (Virgin Racing), 68
7. Antonio Felix da Costa (Amlin Aguri), 45
8. Jean-Eric Vergne (Andretti), 40
9. Jaime Alguersuari (Virgin Racing), 30
10. Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing) 28

TEAMS
1. e.dams-Renault, 179 points
2. Dragon Racing, 116
3. Audi Sport Abt, 115
4. NEXTEV TCR, 107
5. Virgin Racing, 98
6. Andretti, 88
7. Amlin Aguri, 48
8. Mahindra Racing, 46
9. Venturi, 34
10. Trulli, 17