Nick Cassidy has secured his first Formula E race victory of the season in Berlin, and it was no easy feat. The race was disrupted by protesters, who gained access to the track during the start procedure, sitting down on the circuit and delaying the start. The race director, Scot Elkins, sent marshals to examine the track surface amid fears that something had been put on it. Despite this, the race eventually got underway, with pole-sitter Robin Frijns leading the pack away.
As the race progressed, it became apparent that the leaders were taking their attack modes early, dropping into the midfield to conserve precious energy. Cassidy, driving for Envision, was one of these leaders. He hit the front and defended his position from the attention of Jake Dennis and Jean-Eric Vergne, who were both unable to find a way past the Kiwi.
With points leader Pascal Wehrlein only finishing in seventh place, Cassidy has reduced the Porsche driver’s championship lead from 23 points to just four ahead of the next round in Monaco. Cassidy had started the race in eighth place after having a lap time deleted in qualifying. However, he was involved in the constant changing of positions, hitting the front and forming a trio with Dennis and Vergne.
In the closing stages of the race, contact between Antonio Felix da Costa and Sam Bird allowed the trio to break away and be unchallenged for the run to the flag. Dennis, who had a poor showing in the previous day’s race, was happy to settle for second place. Race 1 winner Mitch Evans took fourth for Jaguar, with da Costa and Max Gunther also finishing ahead of championship leader Wehrlein in seventh.
The points positions were rounded out by Stoffel Vandoorne, who had his only finish of the weekend, as well as Nico Muller and Dan Ticktum. Ticktum had been highly critical of his NIO 333 team’s energy efficiency after the first race.
Cassidy’s victory in Berlin marks his second E-Prix win, after New York last season. He now has 96 points for the season, just four points behind Wehrlein. It’s clear that Cassidy expertly managed his energy to take this win, despite the disruptions caused by the protesters. As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain this level of performance and potentially take the championship title.
