Berlin E-PRIX: Jean-éric Vergne scores valuable points and climbs back to 3rd place in the drivers’ championship

• Jean-Eric Vergne finished in 7th position in the first race of the Berlin E-Prix

• The double Formula E champion thus climbs back to 3rd place in the Drivers’ championship

• DS PENSKE maintains its 4th position in the Team rankings before the second confrontation which will take place this Sunday

During the first of the two rounds of the Berlin E-Prix, Jean-Eric Vergne once again proved that he never gives up! During a very eventful race, the Frenchman scored valuable points in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Starting tenth on the starting grid at the Berlin-Tempelhof circuit, the double Formula E champion had to fight hard to stay in the top 10. Sent into a spin mid-race by an opponent who caused him to downgrade in 19th position “JEV” however managed to make a very good comeback to 7th position. Enough to score six points and take provisional 3rd place in the Drivers’ standings. This great performance also allowed DS PENSKE to remain in 4th place in the Teams championship.

For his part, Stoffel Vandoorne confirmed the excellent level of performance of the DS E-TENSE F23 by displaying a very good pace during qualifying. Starting third on the starting grid, the reigning world champion fought for a long time at the front of the race before being pressed against a wall by an opponent and unfortunately being forced to retire.

It is therefore with a mindset of resilience and great motivation that the entire team will take part this Sunday in the second confrontation of the weekend.

Eugenio Franzetti, director of DS Performance:

“I think the public enjoyed this very competitive race from the first to the last lap. There was a lot of spectacle in Berlin but for us it was a difficult round. As always, JEV made a good comeback, going from 10th place on the starting grid to 7th position. In the end, he regained a position in the drivers’ championship and climbed onto the provisional podium. Obviously, we are very disappointed for Stoffel who was unfortunately hit by a competitor even though he had a good qualifying and a good start to the race. Tonight the team has a lot of work to do to repair their car… But tomorrow we will start attacking again. We have another opportunity to score points and we are sure to seize it! We know that our car is very fast and we will do everything to achieve this performance! »

Jean-Eric Vergne, Formula E champion in 2018 and 2019:

“It was a really tough race. I was hit several times and even found myself spinning at one point. Consequence: I fell back to 19th place before moving up to 7th position. In the end, I consider myself quite lucky to have been able to finish this very eventful round but I obviously would have liked the race to take a different turn. »

Stoffel Vandoorne, reigning Formula E world champion:

“It was a difficult day but I also want to remember the positives. We had another good qualifying session after the pole position we won in Sao Paulo. It was good to be able to confirm our good pace in this exercise. By starting 3rd on the starting grid, we were well placed to hope for a good result on this track where it is not always good to be leader. At the start of the race, everything worked well despite the numerous overtakes and the different strategies put in place to avoid leading. I then had bad luck with the second ‘Attack Mode’. Very shortly after activating it, the Safety Car entered the track. It is therefore impossible to take full advantage of it. And then there was this incident… It’s frustrating because there was a great opportunity to score big points. »

Key figures since DS Automobiles’ involvement in Formula E:

• 96 races
• 4 championship titles
• 16 victories
• 46 podiums
• 22 pole positions