Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist won the first of two Berlin ePrix races on Saturday to hand India’s Mahindra Racing team a maiden victory in the Formula E electric series.
Starting from the third place, the Swede moved to second spot at the start after Jose Maria Lopez went off the line, and later used extra energy he had saved to pass Lucas di Grassi before pit stops.
Brazilian Lucas Di Grassi, who started on pole position, finished second for ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport with Germany’s Nick Heidfeld taking third to make it a double podium for Mahindra.
Switzerland’s reigning champion Sebastien Buemi finished fifth, after starting 14th, for Renault eDams and saw his lead over Di Grassi reduced to 32 points at the halfway stage of the season.
Berlin hosts a second ePrix on Sunday, race eight of the championship, on a track in and around the city’s old Tempelhof airport.
After winning the race, Rosenqvist said: “It was just such a good race, under control, so yeah, unbelievable. Nothing went wrong, just a little lock up in the last hairpin. I was able to enjoy the whole race.
{{/usCountry}}After winning the race, Rosenqvist said: “It was just such a good race, under control, so yeah, unbelievable. Nothing went wrong, just a little lock up in the last hairpin. I was able to enjoy the whole race.
{{/usCountry}}“My engineer gave me the go and I saw he was a bit tight on energy on his in-lap, so I thought I might give it a go and it worked out. From there on it was just about enjoying it.”
Rosenqvist got to his first Formula E podium in Marrakesh.