Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team kicks off final week in Berlin with double points-scoring finish

Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne finished in fourth and sixth position respectively in the sixth round of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship

• Nyck de Vries finished fourth in the Berlin E-Prix, achieving his best ever result in Formula E
• Stoffel Vandoorne finished the race in P6, gaining nine positions over the course of the 36 laps
• Ian James: “I am really pleased about our solid start to the Berlin event. The drivers fought hard to finish in P4 and P6. Scoring a double points finish is very important for us.”
• Nyck de Vries: “Fourth place is a decent result after an extremely eventful race. Maybe a little more might have been possible, but I'm still happy with P4.”
• Stoffel Vandoorne: “Sixth place is great, considering where I started out from. After the qualifying I’d had, my charge up the field was pretty strong.”

After a five-month break from racing, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E team began the final sprint to the end of its debut season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship by finishing fourth and sixth in the 2020 Berlin E-Prix.

In an exciting finish to the race, Nyck de Vries finished the Berlin E-Prix in fourth position and achieved his best result to date in his sixth race in Formula E (his previous best result was P5 in Santiago). In qualifying, Nyck went through to Super Pole with a best time in Group 3. With P5, he secured a place in the Top Five on the grid for the fourth time in his rookie season.

Stoffel Vandoorne started the race from 15th on the grid, and, with great racing and intelligent use of Attack Mode and Fanboost, improved by nine positions over the 36 laps to finish sixth.

The Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team (76 points) is in third place in the team championship after six of eleven races this season. The next E-Prix will take place tomorrow, 6 August on the same track layout in Berlin.

Comments after the race in Berlin

Ian James (Team Principal):

“I am really pleased about our solid start to the Berlin event. The drivers fought hard to finish in P4 and P6. Scoring a double points finish is very important for us.”

“It was great to see how Stoffel made his way through the field and gained nine positions during the race. He proved his pace today. For Nyck, it was an intense battle to defend his position, and he gained one position overall. Today proved again just how exciting a Formula E race can be.”

“All in all, the team executed today’s strategy really well. I think the hard work of the past weeks is starting to pay off. Everyone stayed cool and focused on the task at hand. However, there’s still a long way to go. For tomorrow, the most important thing will be to continue in the same way.”

Nyck de Vries:

“Fourth place is a decent result after an extremely eventful race. Maybe a little more might have been possible, but I'm still happy with P4. Plus, Stoffel had a great comeback, making it a good first day for the entire team with double points. I'm happy, but at the same time, I want a little more and am eager to secure my first podium. The race was very eventful and difficult, because there were plenty of tough scraps to be fought. Overall, though, it was a great start.”

Stoffel Vandoorne:

“We can be satisfied with today's result. Sixth place is great, considering where I started out from. I got away really well and nursed my energy reserves initially. After that, I made some good calls in Attack Mode and executed decisive manoeuvres at the right time, which didn't make life at all easy for me towards the end. I made a lot of moves to overtake, but my aim over the last few laps was just to get the car over the line. I was even in P5, but my energy reserves were depleted and I couldn't defend my position on the last lap. After the qualifying I’d had, my charge up the field was pretty strong. The good thing is that we’ll have another chance tomorrow. Hopefully, I can make life easier by securing a better result in qualifying. Let’s wait and see what happens then! Overall, fourth and sixth places are a good team result and mean a lot of points for our outfit.”