Strong comeback from Lotterer in Berlin to finish eighth

Fourth race in Berlin (DE), fourth top-ten result for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. André Lotterer (DE) once again displayed some great fighting spirit as he drove the #36 Porsche 99X Electric from 18th on the grid to finish in eighth position. His team-mate Neel Jani (CH) reached 19th place in the fourth of six races at the Berlin-Tempelhof circuit.

With two races remaining, Lotterer has 59 points in the drivers’ standings and is in seventh place overall. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is in eighth position in the team standings and also has 59 points.

The qualifyingAfter his strong recent results, Lotterer entered qualifying in the first start group for the first time since the Santiago E-Prix (CL). His final time was a personal best of 1:07.036 minutes, which equated to 18th place on the starting grid. In the fourth group, Jani qualified in 22nd place with a time of 1:07.119 minutes.

The race
Both Porsche works drivers gained one position on the grid as another driver was unable to start. After a turbulent opening phase that culminated in a safety car appearance following an accident, Lotterer was able to make gradual progress. He moved up to 13th after his first use of ‘Attack Mode’, while Jani was in 18th place at the start of the second half of the race. Lotterer activated ‘Attack Mode’ for the second time 14 minutes from the end and managed to drive into tenth place. The German driver followed this by making overtaking manoeuvres to progress to seventh place. Lotterer crossed the finish line in eighth position. He, along with two other Formula E drivers, scored points in all previous races of the big season finale. His team-mate Jani saw the chequered flag in 19th place.

Reactions to the Berlin E-Prix

Amiel Lindesay (Head of Operations Formula E): “That was a tough day for us today. We struggled to find the right grip with both cars in qualifying. That meant we had to start from quite a way back. André was able to move up by ten places. Once again, we improved consistently throughout the race. That is definitely a positive aspect from today. We will now analyse why we didn’t do better in qualifying. Congratulations to António Félix da Costa and DS Techeetah on both of their titles.”

Neel Jani (Porsche 99X Electric, #18): “The race started off well but it got more difficult towards the end. I was able to keep pace after the start and saved energy. A minor collision set me back somewhat. I had to use a bit of energy to move up again. Essentially, that made my race more difficult. I would have had more of a chance otherwise.”

André Lotterer (Porsche 99X Electric, #36): “This race was a lot of fun at the end and I was able to improve by ten positions. I could hardly have done any better under these conditions. That was a good comeback. Overall, we had a tough day and qualifying didn't go too well as we finished in 18th place. Looking at it from that point of view, we can be satisfied with this result.”

Outlook
After four races in five days, drivers and teams can now look forward to a short break before the season enters the final stretch on Wednesday. In the meantime, the Berlin-Tempelhof circuit will be adjusted for the final double-header. This will take place on 12th and 13th August on a new track layout and marks the conclusion of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship 2019/2020.