Formula E: Cassidy won the race, Rowland the title

      Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche driver and current Formula E champion, started in Berlin on Sunday from pole position, and he definitely needed a victory to maintain his championship hopes this year.

      At the start, he maintained the lead, although the ambitious British driver Dan Ticktum, who began the race second, immediately attempted to attack him, but Pascal defended himself. However, his teammate, António Félix da Costa, couldn't withstand the pressure from the young and very fast McLaren driver, Teylor Barnard, who managed to move up to third place on the very first lap.

      Soon after, the Portuguese driver was overtaken by Robin Frijns, who started fourth. Many drivers, including Wehrlein, almost immediately exploited the Attack Mode, which requires leaving the main racing line to enter a special sector, causing the leading group’s order to temporarily change.

      After six laps, Ticktum led, followed by David Beckmann, his Cupra teammate, with Wehrlein in third, then da Costa and Frijns.

      Championship leader Oliver Rowland, who had a very poor race the day before, was in seventh place—he needed to act thoughtfully and cautiously to maximize his points.

      On the 9th lap, Wehrlein returned to the lead, overtaking Ticktum, with Frijns moving up to second. Meanwhile, Rowland gained a few positions, reaching the top five. The pack remained tightly grouped, each driver pursuing tactical goals, including conserving tires and battery charge, leading to a constant exchange of positions.

      At the 13rd lap, Ticktum started in the lead, Wehrlein moved to second, da Costa to third, Frijns was fourth, and Rowland was still fifth. However, Wehrlein almost lost his position in a turn after a small mistake, which Barnard immediately took advantage of, but Rowland managed to stay ahead of the young and daring competitor, albeit operating quite riskily himself.

      Five laps later, Wehrlein retook the lead, with Barnard second, Frijns third, and Mitchell Evans, the winner of the previous race, in fifth.

      On the 19th lap, Sébastien Buemi's car stopped due to technical issues, bringing out the safety car, as his Envision teammate Frijns was also affected, and Nico Müller pitted to change a punctured tire.

      But just before that, Barnard attacked Wehrlein and overtook him, with da Costa doing the same—meaning Pascal was third again, and the race lead changed once more.

      McLaren driver Barnard's battery had a few percent more energy than the Porsche pair behind him, allowing Taylor to maintain the lead comfortably after the restart. He then chose to immediately use Attack Mode to distance himself from his opponents as much as possible.

      However, he couldn't fully execute the plan, and yellow flags appeared again due to a collision involving his teammate Sam Bird, who immediately retired, and Nico Müller, who returned to the pits with a flat tire. The safety car was deployed again. The incident was caused by German driver Andretti, prompting stewards to investigate.

      At the next restart, Barnard kept the lead, with da Costa second, Evans third, Wehrlein fourth, and Wehrlein's chances seemed promising. Thanks to Attack Mode, Pascal soon gained ground, overtaking three rivals and returning to the lead.

      Around the same time, Rowland and Edoardo Mortara made contact, costing Oliver some positions, but he soon used his increased power mode to push forward. On the 30th lap, he surged ahead and took the first position!

      But his Attack Mode timer ran out earlier than that of his pursuers, and on the 31st lap, Evans took the lead. da Costa was second, and Rowland settled for fourth. Wehrlein, for some reason, dropped out of the top ten to 18th, then fell to last.

      As Rowland continued to attack, he soon regained the lead, indicating that his chances at the title remained very high. Interestingly, Felipe Drugovich was also in the top five, participating in his debut Formula E race, replacing Nick de Vries for Mahindra. He started only 19th, showing impressive progress.

      Partly lucky, but not to be underestimated, was Barnard who overtook him with a daring maneuver, then Evans also managed a beautiful overtake on a McLaren driver, taking fifth place from Taylor.

      In the final lap, Rowland started fourth and finished there, earning enough points to secure the championship for Nissan two races before the season ended, much to the team's joy!

      Wehrlein scored no points, finishing 16th, but the reasons for his struggles at the end of the race mattered less, as Formula E was celebrating a new world champion!

      To be fair, the British Nissan driver had an excellent season and quite deservedly won his first title. That year, he achieved four wins, climbed the podium seven times in total, demonstrating remarkable consistency, and won the championship with a 59-point lead. After the finish, there was a very touching moment as Oliver's little daughter’s voice sounded in his headphones, one of the first to congratulate him on his impressive success.

      "Incredible result!" Oliver excitedly commented immediately after the race. "Honestly, today I started only thinking about minimizing losses ahead of the London finale, but I can’t believe I became champion. I have no words! And the race was just unbelievable, honestly!

      I tried to act as cautiously as possible, but my opponents were so aggressive—some were just going all-in—yet I managed to avoid serious trouble."

      The surprise winner of the Sunday race in Berlin was actually quite unexpected: it's Nick Cassidy, a New Zealand driver for Jaguar, who started from a distant 20th position. The team achieved success for the second consecutive day—yesterday it was Mitchell Evans, today fifth place.

      Cassidy was partly lucky, but his skill cannot be underestimated, as he managed to navigate the chaos of the final laps correctly and was the first to cross the finish line, a second and a half ahead of Jake Dennis, the Andretti driver.

      On the third step of the podium was Jean-Éric Vergne, driving for DS Penske, a two-time Formula E champion, but this was only his second podium finish of the year.

      So, the world champion in electric car racing has already been decided, but the London finale must answer one more important question: who will win the team championship—Porsche or Nissan? Currently, the legendary German brand's team is ahead, but the Japanese team is only 22 points behind, making it quite possible to catch up in the final two races of the season.

      Of course, with a bit of luck. But if luck smiled on Oliver Rowland today, why should it turn away from his team at the season's end? How everything will unfold in London, we’ll find out in two weeks.

      However, at the very end of July, the Belgian Grand Prix will take place, and Formula 1 has always been and will remain a priority for our resource. But in any case, we will try to cover the London stage of Formula E as well.