That’s it. After an extended season, a global pandemic and a season finale compromising of six races in nine days – SEASON SIX IS OVER *takes a deep breath*.
MERCEDES DOMINATE IN FINAL RACE
It was a maiden victory for Stoffel Vandoorne today, who stormed to victory from pole to get his very first Formula E win. His team-mate, Nyck De Vries, followed closely behind after a stunning energy-saving drive, resulting in his first podium but also Mercedes’ first 1-2 result in the electric championship.
Vandoorne’s win makes him the fourth and final new winner this season, and projects him up to second in the championship standings. A result that I don’t think any of us could have predicted, let alone Vandoorne or Mercedes.
After several impressive performances during this Berlin finale of races, finally the stars aligned for the German manufacturer and they could end their first season in the championship with a first and second place finish.
VENTURI ANNOUNCE FELIPE MASSA DEPARTURE
As soon as the chequered flag was waved, Venturi announced that their driver Felipe Massa was to be leaving the team and would not continue his race seat into season 7.
The Brazillain driver, who came into Formula E from a long career in F1, has had mixed success making the switch to electric racing. During his two seasons with Venturi he manage to get into Super Pole five times, but his stand out moment was the third place podium finish he secured last season at the team’s home race in Monaco.
Currently, there is no drivers linked to replace Massa but news of his departure was to be expected. Unfortunately, the performance has been lacking and aged 39, he is the oldest driver on the grid.
Realistically, this is likely to be it for Massa’s Formula E career. Perhaps, he could take on an ambassador role or join the team as an advisor at a later date, but in terms of racing I think that this announcement all but confirms his retirement from the electric championship.
RAST CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
He made his debut just last week with the Audi team, brought in as a temporary replacement for Daniel Abt after his dismissal from the team. Although a double-champion in DTM, many questioned how quickly he would be able to merge with the team and get good results.
The answer? Impressively quickly. Challenging Lucas di Grassi, his team-mate at the Audi Formula E team, is not an easy task, but after having the advantage of starting in group 4 of qualifying and starting higher on the grid, Rast has managed to hold his own in a field that is very experienced and competitive.
Yesterday he scored his first Formula E podium, and today he continued to show flashes of brilliance with a fourth place finish. If you are Allan McNish, Rast has certainly done all he can to convince the Audi outlet to let him stay another year when we resume to racing in the 2020/21 season.
Quality driving from Rast during this Berlin finale of races.
Another race with no safety car
What is happening? In the most chaotic racing championship around, we had yet another race without the need for a safety car. Yesterday’s race winner, Oliver Rowland, had a piece of his cars wheel cover snap off towards the end of the race which landed close to the racing line but this didn’t cause a FCY or any need to slow the racing down to collect the debris. Rowland later retired.
