The magnificent seven set to contest FE's title showdown

It's been a long wait since Antonio Felix da Costa's first win for DS Techeetah in the Marrakech E-Prix back in February thrust him into the lead of the Formula E title fight. But one month after Formula 1 made its return amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, FE will do the same this week with the first of three double-header races held across nine days at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport to complete the 2019-20 season.

Plenty has changed in the intervening months, but the level of intrigue in a season that has produced five different winners from as many races thus far certainly hasn't.

PLUS: What's new in Formula E ahead of its return?

With over half of the season - both in terms of races and points available - still to come, every one of the 24 drivers on the grid remains in mathematical title contention, including some who haven't started a race this season.

Autosport takes a look at the likely names who will still be a factor come the finale on 13 August.

Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah)

Championship position: 1st
Best Tempelhof finish: 4th (2018-19)

Sitting atop the standings after the first five races of the interrupted 2019-20 Formula E season, da Costa is a clear favourite to emerge from the six Berlin races with the title spoils. Add in that the DS Techeetah E-Tense FE20 is level-pegging with the Jaguar I-Type 4 in terms of sheer race pace, the Portuguese pilot has the mount needed to convert his current 11-point advantage over Mitch Evans into the crown.

There have been issues adapting to his new home at DS Techeetah after leaving BMW Andretti, which have been particularly prevalent during qualifying. Da Costa blamed the initially subdued performances on his unfamiliarity with the new car, but his progress come the races has been astounding.

In Santiago he climbed from 10th to second and in Mexico City he was up from ninth to another second. Finally, in Marrakech he nailed his car to pole by 0.07 seconds and duly converted it into a consummate 11.4s victory.

PLUS: How DS Techeetah acted on its warnings in Marrakech

But there have also been teething problems with his on-track relationship with double champion team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne. Although the duo are good friends - even holidaying together - in Santiago and Mexico they tripped over one another. Team boss Mark Preston told Autosport that the similar pace of the drivers had proved hard to manage.

Da Costa also didn't hold back after the Chilean race, which he likely should have won before slowing down and conceding victory to his BMW replacement Maximilian Guenther. He passionately demanded more from his engineers after he was fed "not the complete or slightly wrong information" concerning battery temperatures.

But if drivers are only as good as their last race, then da Costa is in good stead to ensure that a DS Techeetah face ends up as champion for the third season in succession. It would be his first title since a 2009 Formula Renault NEC triumph, too.

Mitch Evans (Jaguar)

Championship position: 2nd
Best Tempelhof finish: 6th (2017-18)

Jaguar has signed Sam Bird for next season as it eyes its first Formula E constructors' title, but Evans could well seal the drivers' title in a more timely fashion. That reward would be entirely just for a driver who has consistently delivered in 2019-20 now he has a car in the I-Type 4 that's a match for his ability.

The marque was late to join the FE ranks and it showed; the rushed development meant it propped up the table come the end of its maiden season in 2016-17. There's been steady progress since, enough for Evans to win in Rome last term, but now the machinery has taken a sizeable leap forward in performance.

A software glitch that sapped pace in Santiago cost him a probable victory and dropped him to an eventual third, but he responded magnificently in Mexico City to qualify second and score a composed victory after a near-immediate pass on polesitter Andre Lotterer.

PLUS: Jaguar's Mexico domination shows another way to skin a cat

The chance for successive wins was spurned by Jaguar in Marrakech after the team released Evans late from the garage in qualifying and he circulated slowly with the belief he had time to spare. The group run ended 0.268 seconds before he crossed the line and meant he would start the race plumb last.

However, as a sign of the potency of the car and with the bit between Evans' teeth, he scythed through the pack to deliver a stunning recovery drive in sixth. If such calamitous errors go unrepeated in Berlin, the 2012 GP3 champion should be in position to continue his sterling form to really breathe down da Costa's neck.

This is a team and driver combination that have evolved together - Evans has been a Jaguar ever-present in FE, meanwhile Bird will be the fifth different driver to occupy the second seat. It appears as though there is still some learning to be done in their new position at the top of the field, but Lucas di Grassi's claim that the Jaguar is on a "different planet" is reflective of the worries that rivals should possess.

Alexander Sims (BMW Andretti)

Championship position: 3rd
Best Tempelhof finish: 7th (2018-19)

A quick call to Alexander Sims and he rubbishes talk of his title chances even quicker than he makes an Alan Partridge reference. Nevertheless, the Briton heads into the second-half of the Formula E season a lofty third in the points in his sophomore campaign at BMW Andretti, one in which he's found his electric feet.

His late form from 2018-19 (quickest in qualifying for the New York finale and second in the race) continued across the break. He was back on pole for both E-Prix at Diriyah and in race two he then chalked a textbook maiden FE triumph, which meant he departed Saudi Arabia as the early points leader.

A fine recovery from 15th on the grid in the next event at Santiago seemed on the cards until a costly mistake, in which he tagged the wall and sustained terminal driveshaft damage. He was then forced to bounce back again at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez after qualifying 18th. This time he delivered the goods with a strong fifth before retiring again in Marrakech after an "innocuous" clash with Edoardo Mortara broke his steering - meanwhile, team-mate Guenther proved the BMW had podium pace.

Despite the two retirements, the largely unsettled order at the top of the field means Sims heads to Tempelhof with an entirely achievable 21-point deficit to overturn. And he'll be relishing the prospect being back driving a car in anger.

Not one to sing the praises of simulator sessions, Sims has been testing a BMW M6 GT3 on the Nordschleife by way of sharpening his skills and set fastest lap in an Italian GT round at Mugello last month.

Sims has enjoyed the company of rivals Valtteri Bottas, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and more while ascending the single-seater ladder, but hasn't yet won a championship title in his car racing career. The consistent and accessible BMW package this season provides a platform upon which that unenviable record can come to an end.

Maximilian Guenther (BMW Andretti)

Championship position: 4th
Best Tempelhof finish: 14th (2018-19)

The young German has been the breakout star of the season, capped off by a well-managed victory in Santiago. That maiden win was helped in no small way by the technical gremlins plaguing da Costa and Evans, but nevertheless a composed drive from Guenther ensured he was there to capitalise.

It was also a fine assertion of why BMW Andretti were right to sign the former FIA Formula 2 driver, after he'd parted ways with former employer Dragon Racing (currently 11th of 12 teams in the points).

Guenther showed emphatically in Marrakech, however, that his Chilean success was no flash in the pan. He battled hard with da Costa in the opening phase of the race, but as the DS Techeetah shot off down the road, Guenther had to instead turn his attention to the recovering Vergne. When Vergne ran Guenther right up to the pitwall as he passed, the BMW Andretti driver didn't shy away from retaliation. He came straight back, regaining second place with a fine, legal and decisive manoeuvre on the double champion in the final sector.

As for the pace of the BMW, it's in third place behind the DS and Jaguar machines. But in its favour, the iFE.20 enjoys a wide operating window meaning its more often on the boil than off it. Although six E-Prix all on the same concrete surface at Berlin shouldn't result in massive fluctuations in results from each team race-to-race, here Guenther can find some security.

With a new deal reportedly on the horizon for Guenther as BMW looks to retain his services, it shows the marque has great faith in the 23-year-old to deliver results - some of which should arrive on his and the team's home soil in the coming days.

Lucas di Grassi (Audi)

Championship position: 5th
Best Tempelhof finish: 1st (2018-19)

Tempelhof Airport is a happy hunting ground for both di Grassi and his Audi team. First through Daniel Abt and then di Grassi last season, the German squad returns to local turf with winning form. Past performances, however, are no guarantee of future success. Combined with Audi's dip in form this season, and 2017-18 champion di Grassi will be hard pressed to collect a second crown.

The team won the 2017-18 title, was second in the constructors' standings the year after, but is currently an uninspiring sixth. Customer outfit Envision Virgin Racing lies only seventh, with signs pointing to the Audi e-tron FE06's powertrain performance lying some way wide of its predecessors' competitive benchmark.

But di Grassi heads to Berlin buoyed in confidence owing to the developments the marque has blessed on its software.

"What motivates us is that we have improved the car since the last race quite a lot more than I expected really," he says. "I'm quite confident that in Berlin we can be in the best position."

Given the car's subpar pace, di Grassi's fifth in the drivers' table is a rather solid return for his efforts. Setting aside a second place in race two in Saudi Arabia, there haven't been headline-grabbing drives of exceptional quality. It's more been a case of the Brazilian quietly going about his business to take consistent points finishes.

If he continues that trend through Berlin, he might not wow but given the unpredictable nature of FE, that dependability could be enough to shove di Grassi up the order. And if the Audi improvements match expectation, there could yet be a podium or two on the horizon.

Should any of the main title protagonists find themselves down on their luck at Tempelhof, that might be enough for consistent di Grassi to make them sweat come the final race.

Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes)

Championship position: 6th
Best Tempelhof finish: 5th (2018-19)

Mercedes' recent motorsport domination has not carried over into its maiden Formula E campaign. Stoffel Vandoorne did open the batting with a brace of podium finishes in Saudi Arabia, enough to hoist him into the early points lead when added to his sixth in Santiago, but there's been a drop in results ever since.

He hit the wall exiting Turn 3 in Mexico to crash out and was a lacklustre 15th in Marrakech. Aping his occasional habits seen in his two seasons at McLaren in Formula 1, this was a race where there was no apparent reason for Vandoorne's poor form. He seemingly didn't turn up for the fight.

But the lengthy break has played in his favour, affording Mercedes the chance to perform a deep dive into all of its accrued data to assess where its apparent deficiencies are. Like all teams, it's had the chance to develop software to kick on as action resumes in Berlin.

Given that Mercedes' High Performance Powertrains set-up in Brixworth is behind the Silver Arrows 01's systems, there's a degree of expectation that the team has so far not met considering its utter domination of the hybrid F1 era.

In Vandoorne's favour, in part, is Berlin itself. Last season the HWA Racelab squad, which acted as a warm-up act for the fully fledged Mercedes entry, proved impressive in the German capital. Vandoorne qualified second before slipping to fifth.

Perhaps the greatest prospect for Vandoorne to deliver for Mercedes, however, is the sheer unpredictability that is present throughout FE. After five races this season, there's yet to be a repeat winner. Recent history offers some comfort, too. Come Berlin last year and Sebastien Buemi was a lowly 10th in the standings. He ended the campaign as runner-up to champion Vergne just three races later.

Although it's little in the way of a guarantee, with 180 points up for grabs - by way of context, points leader da Costa's current haul is 67 - the three double headers do offer drivers such as Vandoorne the outside chance of causing an FE upset.

Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah)

Championship position: 8th
Best Tempelhof finish: 3rd (2017-18, 2018-19)

On the surface, Vergne's Formula E title defence doesn't appear to be in rude health as he sits an unremarkable eighth in the standings. While he is a not-insignificant 36 points behind his team-mate and championship leader da Costa, with 180 points to play for in Berlin the DS Techeetah driver has every chance of converting that loss into a third crown on the spin.

The so-called "festival" in Berlin - as labelled by FE CEO Jamie Reigle - is in effect its own mini-series. Even those yet to chalk a single point this term are effectively still title contenders.

A bid to retain the championship has been, like stablemate da Costa, largely thwarted by some sub-par qualifying performances that Vergne repeatedly attributed to a lack of confidence in the E-Tense 20's brakes.

The French driver has only once set a time good enough for a top 10 start this season, and then in Marrakech he was knocked sideways by a virus. After missing practice while he was assessed in hospital, Vergne returned to the Moroccan venue for qualifying and was at times hunched over, sweating and short on words. Given he then raced with a 40-degree fever, it's little wonder he described that E-Prix as "definitely my most difficult weekend in Formula E".

Despite the suffering, he charged through to a remarkable podium finish from 11th on the grid. This was again indicative of his car's astonishing race pace as well as the grit of a driver who has reinvented himself as a leading light in electric racing since being shown the door at Toro Rosso not long after he missed out on the 2014 Red Bull drive to Daniel Ricciardo.

By Vergne's high standards, this has been a messy campaign - stumbling over da Costa in Santiago and Mexico City - and so the Berlin races will act as a recovery mission, but it's the furthest thing from a mission impossible.

The outside bets

Rene Rast (Audi)

Autosport has labelled the two-time DTM champion as 'the greatest driver outside of Formula 1' in the recent past. Although it's rather fanciful to expect the new Audi signing to take the series by storm - a notion which pays disservice to the driving talent rife in FE - Rene Rast's impressive achievements and pathological attention to the data means he carries a certain level of expectation.

PLUS: Why Audi's newest FE driver is almost a risk-free bet

If the team has indeed made the stride forward that it anticipates during the COVID-19 break, Rast might very well feature towards the front.

Sam Bird (Envision Virgin Racing)

The series stalwart will also be counting on Audi to deliver on its software developments, with customer team Envision Virgin Racing at the mercy of the Ingolstadt powertrain limitations. Bird heads into these final six races an unfamiliar 10th in the table and the car has shown precious few signs of being able to repeat the race one Saudi Arabian form that earned him victory. But as he bids farewell to Envision Virgin before moving to Jaguar, Bird will be desperate to reap rewards for a team he loves.

Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams)

Had Nissan been able to continue its development of the twin-motor design it brought to the table last season, 2015-16 champion Buemi might well have been at the front of the order. But, alas, it was ruled out by revised regulations and so he is currently 11th in the points. That said, Buemi gunned himself into title contention last term with a meteoric rise to two poles, one win and a further hat-trick of podiums in the final four races to finish second to champion Vergne.