Berlin E-Prix: Mitch Evans Starts Day Two Perfectly in Damp Morning Practice

Mitch Evans remains the man to beat at the Berlin E-Prix, as yesterday’s winner made the perfect start to Day Two ahead of the second race in Berlin, by topping Free Practice 3.

Following what was a chaotic Saturday at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit, Sunday looked set to be just as eventful, partly due to overnight rain. It meant the circuit was damp for Free Practice 3, marking the first wet session of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The vast majority of the drivers tentatively made their way out onto track; however, there was instantly an issue for René Rast. The German came to a halt seconds after leaving the pits, resulting in him doing a full car reset on the side of the circuit. The reset, though, failed, meaning a red flag was flown five minutes into the morning session to recover the German’s car.

The red flag stoppage was incredibly brief, with twenty-one minutes having remained on the clock once the Sunday morning session resumed. Ten minutes into the session and it was astonishingly a ABT CUPRA Formula E Team 1-2, with Robin Frijns having topped the session from Nico Müller. Frijns’ time of a 1:17.649 was around twelve seconds slower than was done in the dry, highlighting how much the track conditions had changed.

The conditions were clearly working in Frijns’ favour, with the Dutchman having become the first driver in the morning practice session to dip into the 1:16s, something he did with twelve minutes remaining in the session. As the session entered its final ten minutes, Frijns remained on top from André Lotterer and Jake Dennis, with the latter needing a big performance after his nightmare yesterday.

With just five minutes left on the clock, Müller jumped to the front from Lotterer and Frijns, with ABT CUPRA having looked very strong in the mixed conditions. As the session entered its final couple of minutes, a dry line began to appear in places; however, grip remained an issue.

As the chequered flag was waved it as all change at the front, as yesterday’s winner Evans hit the top on a 1:15.955. The New Zealander topped the session from Lotterer, Dan Ticktum, Müller and Sébastian Buemi. With the weather set to improve throughout the day, the likelihood is that the race will be dry, whereas qualifying will likely see low-grip conditions. As long as Evans is at the top he presumably won’t care, with the New Zealander targeting a third win in a row.

Berlin E-Prix Round 8: Free Practice 3 Full Results