Strong performance for Porsche at the first home race in Berlin

Pascal Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa clinched fifth and sixth place respectively for Porsche at a fiercely contested home race in Berlin on Saturday. On the grounds of the historic Tempelhof Airport, both Porsche 99X Electric race cars fielded by the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team took turns to lead the field early on. However, in the final phase of the 46-lap race, they were no longer able to remain in the fight for victory. Heading into the race as the World Championship leader, Wehrlein ultimately took the flag in fifth place. His team-mate da Costa crossed the finish line directly behind in sixth.

The Andretti Formula E customer team finished outside the points. Starting from P20 on the grid, Jake Dennis battled his way up the order to fourth place in his Porsche 99X Electric, but retired shortly before the finish. Round 10 of the season will get underway on Sunday at 3:04 pm.

Comments on the Berlin E-Prix, Race 9
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E: “That was an exceptionally thrilling first race. We earned important points with 5th and 6th place. As far as the results are concerned, it’s still not what we’d envisaged. We lost the battle for victory or a podium spot in the last two or three laps. That’s disappointing. But overall, today was a good day. Tomorrow we’ll attempt to do better and take back the lead in the drivers’ championship. A huge thank you to our team, who worked overnight to put Pascal’s car back on the track, ready to race after an incident in practice.”
 
Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche works driver (#94): “What an eventful race with a lot of contact. You have to position yourself well to get through unscathed. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We were at the front for a long stretch, but we didn’t have the pace today to put the leaders under pressure all the way to the flag. Now we’re doing our best to do better tomorrow.”
 
António Félix da Costa, Porsche works driver (#13): I’m not entirely satisfied. That was a wild race. Especially towards the end, when a podium was definitely still within reach, but a few critical moments just didn’t end well for me. Tomorrow is a new day with a new opportunity.”
 
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – standings after 9 of 16 races
Drivers’ classification
1. Nick Cassidy (NZL), 121 points
2. Pascal Wehrlein (GER), 112 points
4. Jake Dennis (GBR), 89 points
10. António Félix da Costa (POR), 34 points
13. Norman Nato (FRA), 24 points
 
Team’s classification
1. Jaguar TCS Racing, 210 points
2. TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 146 points
5. Andretti Formula E, 113 points
 
Manufacturers’ Trophy
1. Jaguar, 239 points
2. Porsche, 227 points
3. Nissan, 183 points

The official points’ standings can be found on the Formula E website.
 
Next up
The next event for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and Andretti Formula E is race two (round 10) of the Berlin E-Prix on 12 May.