2019/20 Formula E: Gunther fends off Frijns to win Round 8 in Berlin

BMW’s Max Gunther bounced back from a difficult double-header in Berlin (where he scored no points), to take a hard-fought win at Round 8. The 22-year-old beat out Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns by just 0.128 sec to take victory on home soil.

·         Gunther climbs from 9^th to 2^nd in the championship

·         Da Costa’s 4^th place finish helps him retain his championship lead

·         Vergne finishes on the podium

BMW’s return to form

BMW endured a string of bad results in the first two races at Berlin. However, the team appeared to be far more comfortable on the original layout of the Tempelhof Airport track used for Round 8.

Polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) did a good job holding on to the lead in the first quarter of the race. Gunther, on the other hand, spent the first half of the race expertly saving energy. This allowed him to really close in on Vergne in the closing stages and he pulled off what would be a race-winning move on the run up the inside of Turn 7.

Vergne then lost another place to Frijns, who was on a late race charge after starting 5^th. Using his 1 percent energy cushion, Frijns attempted to pass Gunther at Turn 9 and 10. But he was unable to find a way past the German driver and had to settle for 2^nd place instead.

“It was a tough race and we managed it well and kept cool – taking the Attack Mode early on both occasions,” said Gunther after the race.

“We made the move on JEV [Vergne], and Robin [Frijns] was able to get a bit of a run on us but we held on. I knew the guys behind had slightly more energy than us, so I had to make the pass on Vergne as early as I could. I was never going to give the win up on the last lap!”

Da Costa holds on to championship lead

After taking dominant wins at the first two races in Berlin, Round 8 ended up being a more subdued affair for Antonio Felix da Costa. After spending most of the race running in 8^th place, he started tearing through the pack and was soon up to 4^th.

However, his Techeetah team mate Vergne was able to hold him off to secure the last podium spot. Vergne did report loss of energy during Attack Mode use, but a 3^rd place finish is a major uptick in performance for the reigning Formula E championship, following his poor results in the previous two races.

Da Costa’s 4^th place finish was enough for him to hold on to the overall lead. His advantage in the drivers’ championship stands at 68 points, while Gunther’s second win of the season elevates him from 9^th to 2^nd in the overall standings.

Porsche’s Andre Lotterer finished 5^th, followed by Nissan’s Oliver Rowland.

Mahindra Racing unable to convert qualifying form into strong results

As has been the case in the past, Mahindra Racing enjoyed a strong performance in qualifying. Both, Jerome d’Ambrosio and Alex Lynn made it to the Super Pole shootout and qualified 3^rd and 5^th respectively.

Despite battling it out at the front in the opening laps, both drivers slipped down the order as the race progressed. D’Ambrosio ended up finishing 7^th, while Lynn dropped all the way down to 18^th place by the end of the race.

Audi’s Lucas di Grassi took 8^th place after spinning out at Turn 1 while battling Felipe Massa earlier on. Massa was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident and finished in last place. Meanwhile, Jaguar’s Mitch Evans finally scored points in Berlin with a 9^th place result.

After being involved in an incident with Geox Dragon’s Sergio Sette Camara, Jaguar’s James Calado and Porsche’s Neel Jani, BMW driver Alexander Sims recovered to secure the final points scoring position.

Round 9 of the 2019/20 Formula E championship will take place later today and will follow the same original track layout. You can head here for the complete schedule of the 2019/20 Formula E finale.

Berlin E-Prix (Round 8) results:

Also see:

2019/20 Formula E: Da Costa takes clean sweep at first Berlin E-Prix

2019/20 Formula E: Da Costa makes it back-to-back wins in Berlin