Latest news with #BerlinEPrix
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Berlin Rookie Test standouts Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini share insights after impressive runs
Image credit: Instagram The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Berlin Rookie Test, held at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit on Monday, was a surefire success. A strong contingent of 22 rookie drivers showcased their potential on track, with several emerging talents setting competitive lap times. Italian driver Gabriele Minì topped both sessions and set the fastest lap of the day at 57.643 seconds. Mahindra Racing's Kush Maini and TAG Heuer Porsche's Ayhancan Güven followed closely behind Minì in the two sessions, respectively. Top performers Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini reflect on Berlin Rookie Test The highly competitive test saw all 22 drivers separated by a mere 1.5 seconds, as teams ramped up their development programs with rookie talent. Collectively, more than 1,000 laps were completed over the course of the day. Sharing a few pictures from Berlin, Gabriele Minì wrote on Instagram, 'Fastest in Berlin. Very happy about the Rookie Test: a productive day with 96 laps covered, multiple race simulations, quali runs, and we set the overall fastest time of the whole #BerlinEPrix weekend. Thanks @nismo for this year's second opportunity after FP0 in Jeddah and for these brilliant days together.' Indian driver Kush Maini, fresh off his historic FIA Formula 2 win, continued to impress in Mahindra's GEN3 Evo machine by securing the second-fastest time of the day. He appeared pleased with his performance in both sessions, finishing second in the morning and third in the afternoon. Reflecting on his experience with Mahindra Racing, he said, 'I think it was a very strong day overall. We always made progress, and the team gathered some good data for London. Obviously, it's a different track, so we tested a lot of things. In the morning, we focused on 350kW runs, and in the afternoon, more on race runs. Whatever the run, we were always in the top three and really fast, so a good step was made. Whenever I get into this car, I leave with a smile on my face. ' Jak Crawford and Abbi Pulling share their Berlin Rookie Test experience American F2 race winner Jak Crawford also made a notable rookie return, claiming third place in the morning session while driving for Andretti. Sharing his thoughts, he said, 'It was a great day testing in Berlin. I feel like we really got the opportunity to try a lot of setup items and gain a solid understanding of everything. It felt good to be back in the car, and I was able to get up to speed right from the start, which really helped us begin working on things early in the session. Hopefully, the work pays off and the team can deliver a strong result in London.' Abbi Pulling, one of the women drivers in the Berlin Rookie Test, drove for Nissan. She looked content with the day's progress and said, 'It was a great day—very productive—and we achieved everything the team needed. I'm happy to take on this new role with the Nissan Formula E Team, as it's created a new pathway for me to experience machinery at the World Championship level. The morning involved a lot of runs focused on race settings and data gathering, and in the afternoon we did more push laps, testing several important items ahead of the London finale. ' Also Read: Berlin Rookie Test 2025 results: Nissan's Gabriele Minì leads, Mahindra's impresses in both sessions She expressed satisfaction with the improvements made during the day but added that she was still striving for more. She appeared pleased with her performance, considering how competitive this year's rookie line-up was. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Great Britain's Oliver Rowland seals maiden Formula E world championship
Great Britain's Oliver Rowland has won his maiden Formula E world championship, driving for Nissan at the Berlin E-Prix. Rowland sealed the title by taking fourth place in the second of two races at the penultimate meeting of the all-electric series' season at Tempelhof Airport. Rowland was reduced to tears on his in-lap after starting eighth on the grid in a hugely competitive race. The lead changed hands 16 times, including Rowland taking to the front, in what might be considered the race of the year in the sport's 11th season and which represents the first time Nissan have taken the drivers' title in Formula E. 'Daddy, you're the world champion!' Rowland's four-year-old daughter, Harper, exclaimed proudly to him over the team radio as the 32-year-old from Barnsley returned to the pits. The championship is the first of Rowland's career in his seventh season in Formula E. He has seen off a strong challenge from the Porsche of the former Formula One driver Pascal Wehrlein, the defending champion, but Rowland has been the dominant driver in the series this year to achieve a career high. 'I was already an emotional mess when that came on,' Rowland said of his daughter's message. 'We are a team; my wife, my daughter. We have another one on the way and we go through the emotions together..' This win comes only two years after Rowland was disenchanted with the performance of his Mahindra team, so much so that he left them midway through the season and considered leaving the sport altogether. 'There was a point where I was not very interested in continuing,' he said. 'I wasn't enjoying myself, I found myself not wanting to get on flights to come to races. That was a problem. 'I took a big risk to pull out halfway through the season, from a good contract. I had nothing on the table ready for me to sign. I took a big risk but I knew I needed something different.' Rowland managed to secure a return to Nissan and this season has taken four wins and seven podiums for the team, enough to ensure he could close the championship out with two races remaining, at the season finale in London at the end of this month. Sunday's race was impressively won by Jaguar's Nick Cassidy from 21st on the grid. But Rowland pulled out an equally excellent recovery. He had struggled in Saturday's first race of the weekend at Tempelhof, taking a five-place grid penalty after causing a collision which also forced his retirement, his first of the season Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Wehrlein started from pole and Rowland needed to outscore him by 11 points, an unlikely prospect at the start. Wehrlein duly led in the early stages, looking in every position to take the fight to the final meeting. However, he went backwards in the second half of the race, stymied by his energy strategy, and finished outside the points. Rowland began his career in Formula Renault before moving up to GP2. He won the chance for a test with the Red Bull F1 team and was taken on as part of the Renault young driver programme, becoming their development driver in 2017. He became a junior driver for Williams in 2018 and completed a full test of their car at Hungary that year. Wanting to continue racing, he took his first full-time drive in Formula E with the Nissan team in the 2018-19 season. He then spent two seasons with Mahindra between 2021 and 2023 before what has turned out to be an enormously successful return with Nissan.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oliver Rowland clinches Formula E title as Nick Cassidy wins second Berlin E-Prix
Oliver Rowland has been crowned the 2024-25 Formula E world champion after finishing fourth in the second Berlin E-Prix of the weekend, which was won by Nick Cassidy. Chief title rival Pascal Wehrlein needed another strong points finish to keep his championship defence going into the double-header London finale, but faded during the race and slipped to 16th at the finish. Advertisement With Rowland battling at the front of the pack in the closing stages - the Nissan driver running in fourth place when the majority of attack mode activations had been taken - clinching the title in the Berlin Sunday race looked realistic until a full course yellow period was called on the penultimate lap. But with the yellow flags withdrawn before the end of that lap, Rowland kept clear of the chasing pack to take fourth place and with it the drivers' title with two races to spare. Race winner Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team Race winner Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team Having dominated the Formula E season after victory in round two in Mexico, Rowland picked up further wins in Jeddah, Monaco and Tokyo to strengthen his grip on the title, while Wehrlein was unable to find the same consistency as the British driver. Advertisement Cassidy charged from 20th on the grid to win the second race of the weekend in Berlin, making it a Jaguar double after team-mate Mitch Evans won on Saturday. The Kiwi driver fended off 2022-23 Formula E champion Jake Dennis, who had to settle for second for Andretti. Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the podium for DS Penske. Full report and analysis to follow. Formula E Berlin E-Prix II - results To read more articles visit our website.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
New Zealander wins Formula E race
New Zealand driver Mitch Evans competing for Jaguar in Formula E. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Jaguar's Mitch Evans won the first of two Formula E races in Berlin as Nissan's Oliver Rowland failed to finish on a grey and soggy afternoon that left the Briton's title bid on hold for another day at least. Rowland would have been champion with three races to spare had he finished 69 points clear of closest rival Pascal Wehrlein but instead he retired with a damaged car and his lead reduced to 50. It was the leader's first retirement of the season. Porsche's Wehrlein, the defending champion from Germany, finished second with a bonus point for fastest lap at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport circuit and Mahindra's Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara was third for his second successive podium. Rowland can still clinch the title on Sunday if he finishes 59 points clear of Wehrlein, otherwise the chase continues to the final two races in London at the end of the month. There are still 87 points to be won. Rowland slipped from third to fifth at the start, with the safety car deployed after Jake Dennis's Andretti was stranded on the grid, but the key moment came six laps from the end when he made contact with Stoffel Van Doorne's Maserati and spun around. The impact damaged the car's right front suspension and Rowland had to stop. The win, from pole position and through two safety car periods, was New Zealander Evans's second of the season and the record-equalling 14th of his career as well as Jaguar's 50th podium in Formula E. McLaren's Taylor Barnard finished fourth and moved up to third in the championship, 68 points behind Rowland. In the teams' championship, Porsche -- who had Antonio Felix da Costa demoted from third to 10th thanks to a five-second penalty for an overly-aggressive move -- have 221 points to Nissan's 191 and DS Penske on 153. - Reuters
Reuters
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Evans wins in Berlin, Rowland's Formula E title bid on hold
BERLIN, July 12 (Reuters) - Jaguar's Mitch Evans won the first of two Formula E races in Berlin on Saturday as Nissan's Oliver Rowland failed to finish on a grey and soggy afternoon that left the Briton's title bid on hold for another day at least. Rowland would have been champion with three races to spare had he finished 69 points clear of closest rival Pascal Wehrlein but instead he retired with a damaged car and his lead reduced to 50. It was the leader's first retirement of the season. Porsche's Wehrlein, the defending champion from Germany, finished second with a bonus point for fastest lap at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport circuit and Mahindra's Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara was third for his second successive podium. Rowland can still clinch the title on Sunday if he finishes 59 points clear of Wehrlein, otherwise the chase continues to the final two races in London at the end of the month. There are still 87 points to be won. Rowland slipped from third to fifth at the start, with the safety car deployed after Jake Dennis's Andretti was stranded on the grid, but the key moment came six laps from the end when he made contact with Stoffel Van Doorne's Maserati and spun around. The impact damaged the car's right front suspension and Rowland had to stop. The win, from pole position and through two safety car periods, was New Zealander Evans's second of the season and the record-equalling 14th of his career as well as Jaguar's 50th podium in Formula E. McLaren's Taylor Barnard finished fourth and moved up to third in the championship, 68 points behind Rowland. In the teams' championship, Porsche -- who had Antonio Felix da Costa demoted from third to 10th thanks to a five-second penalty for an overly-aggressive move -- have 221 points to Nissan's 191 and DS Penske on 153.
