Cassidy comes out of nowhere and takes surprising win in Berlin E-Prix

Mortara started the race from first place, after surprising friend and foe by capturing pole position in qualifying against all odds. A rare result for the Formula E team of Mortara and De Vries, who have consistently raced towards the back so far this season. De Vries is unable to capitalise on that strong performance as he, like several other drivers, will be present at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps due to contractual obligations in the WEC.

FE race full of duels and safety cars

The pole-sitter initially retained the lead at the start and deployed two minutes of his attack mode early on. In the process, he lost the lead to Stoffel Vandoorne, who then had to take second place to Pascal Wehrlein. Jean Eric Vergne also moved to the front to join the fight.

The first safety car of the race came out after the Envision car of Joel Eriksson, acting as a replacement for Robin Frijns (also in Belgium for the WEC), came to a halt on the track. All gaps were nullified as a result, and on the restart it was Vergne who led the field. However, he soon had to relinquish the lead to Wehrlein and so it continued to be shifting points at the head of the field.

Maximilian Guenther, the local hero who recorded the fastest time in the second free practice, caused the second safety car of the race. He hit the wall and could not continue his way, forcing the safety car to come in to remove the car safely.

Cassidy comes out of nowhere in spectacular final sprint

After the second safety car, there were again many changes of guard in the top positions. Mitch Evans led the race, but faced competition from Vergne and Jake Dennis, who had come from 20th starting position. Jehan Daruvala also surprised by getting back into the points after a 10-second time penalty. However, disaster struck for Dennis, who had to make a pit stop after being pushed into the wall and fell far back as a result. Daruvala too was later forced off the track, and thus out of the points.

The race, which should have lasted 40 laps, was extended by six laps because of the two safety cars. This was followed by a spectacular final sprint, with Nick Cassidy surging forward from nowhere and taking the lead from Vergne. Vergne had to settle for second place ahead of Oliver Rowland.

Results of the first E-Prix in Berlin