Buemi fastest in first Berlin practice, Piquet tops second session
Sebastien Buemi set the fastest lap in practice for the Berlin ePrix as Nelson Piquet Jr topped a session for the first time as champion
For the fourth event in a row Buemi was quickest in the morning session, taking his tally of FP1 top spots for the season to six.
The Swiss driver was one of only two drivers to complete a 200kW lap in FP1, the other being NEXTEV TCR's Oliver Turvey.
However, Buemi failed to register a representative lap in FP2 after nosing the wall early on and later appearing to be baulked by Renault e.dams team-mate Nicolas Prost.
Buemi wound up 15th fastest in the second session, one place behind Prost, but his 57.648s from FP1 would stand as the best time across both sessions as any chance of meaningful improvement in FP2 was ruined by two incidents.
Stephane Sarrazin caused the most significant disruption, bringing out the red flags for 10 minutes after crashing his Venturi car exiting Turn 11.
When the session resumed with less than five minutes to run, Rene Rast stopped at Turn 6 and brought out the yellow flags.
At that stage Sam Bird was top on a 57.922s but Piquet popped up with a 57.909s late on, going purple in the middle sector despite the caution remaining in place for Rast's stopped car.
That bumped Bird to P2, with Jean-Eric Vergne third despite clipping the wall and Robin Frijns and Piquet's team-mate Turvey completing the top five.
Lucas di Grassi's quiet practice meant neither of the two title protagonists featured at the sharp end of the times.
After accidentally activating neutral in FP1, championship leader di Grassi was 12th quickest in the second session.
PRACTICE ONE TIMES
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Buemi | e.dams | 57.648s | - | 32 |
| 2 | Oliver Turvey | China | 58.690s | 1.042s | 38 |
| 3 | Lucas di Grassi | Abt | 58.916s | 1.268s | 34 |
| 4 | Nicolas Prost | e.dams | 59.168s | 1.520s | 31 |
| 5 | Sam Bird | Virgin | 59.236s | 1.588s | 26 |
| 6 | Loic Duval | Dragon | 59.255s | 1.607s | 33 |
| 7 | Mike Conway | Venturi | 59.260s | 1.612s | 32 |
| 8 | Jerome d'Ambrosio | Dragon | 59.482s | 1.834s | 31 |
| 9 | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | 59.525s | 1.877s | 32 |
| 10 | Daniel Abt | Abt | 59.583s | 1.935s | 35 |
| 11 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra | 59.600s | 1.952s | 31 |
| 12 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | China | 59.724s | 2.076s | 32 |
| 13 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Virgin | 59.789s | 2.141s | 28 |
| 14 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra | 1m00.084s | 2.436s | 25 |
| 15 | Rene Rast | Aguri | 1m00.139s | 2.491s | 32 |
| 16 | Robin Frijns | Andretti | 1m00.548s | 2.900s | 26 |
| 17 | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti | 1m00.846s | 3.198s | 30 |
| 18 | Ma Qinghua | Aguri | 1m01.125s | 3.477s | 32 |
SECOND TWO TIMES
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | China | 57.909s | - | 6 |
| 2 | Sam Bird | Virgin | 57.922s | 0.013s | 16 |
| 3 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Virgin | 58.066s | 0.157s | 16 |
| 4 | Robin Frijns | Andretti | 58.145s | 0.236s | 15 |
| 5 | Oliver Turvey | China | 58.207s | 0.298s | 21 |
| 6 | Loic Duval | Dragon | 58.263s | 0.354s | 15 |
| 7 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra | 58.310s | 0.401s | 16 |
| 8 | Daniel Abt | Abt | 58.363s | 0.454s | 19 |
| 9 | Mike Conway | Venturi | 58.370s | 0.461s | 19 |
| 10 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra | 58.991s | 1.082s | 11 |
| 11 | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti | 58.992s | 1.083s | 14 |
| 12 | Lucas di Grassi | Abt | 59.076s | 1.167s | 17 |
| 13 | Jerome d'Ambrosio | Dragon | 59.178s | 1.269s | 13 |
| 14 | Nicolas Prost | e.dams | 59.256s | 1.347s | 17 |
| 15 | Sebastien Buemi | e.dams | 59.891s | 1.982s | 19 |
| 16 | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | 59.986s | 2.077s | 8 |
| 17 | Rene Rast | Aguri | 1m00.381s | 2.472s | 14 |
| 18 | Ma Qinghua | Aguri | 1m02.686s | 4.777s | 14 |
Renault e.dams retains Buemi and Prost for Formula E season three
Jean-Eric Vergne beats Sebastien Buemi to Berlin ePrix pole
Mortara turns up the heat on Formula E title rivals in Marrakech scorcher
Formula E’s unplanned return to Marrakech provided teams with a fresh challenge in old but familiar surroundings, as Edoardo Mortara kept his cool in melting conditions to triumph and retake the championship lead
How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
How Evans kept cool in Jakarta heat to renew his Formula E title push
Jean-Eric Vergne had comfortably taken a landmark pole for Formula E's first visit to Indonesia and looked set to win his first race of a highly consistent campaign. But the DS Techeetah driver couldn't answer a late attack from Jaguar's Mitch Evans, who profited from the Frenchman's change in battery management tactics to seize a third win of the campaign
Why de Vries' F1 practice debut could add a new path to his current crossroads
A Formula 2 and Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries is currently considering where his future in motorsport lies. Continuing in WEC and Formula E is possible and he's also courted glances Stateside after impressing in an IndyCar test. But ahead of his Formula 1 FP1 debut with Williams, he could have another option if he impresses...
How Jake Dennis’ struggles turned him into a Formula E front-runner
Having emerged as one of Formula E’s strongest drivers in his one-and-a-half seasons in the championship, Jake Dennis cemented his place in the series with a breakout maiden season. But it's not always been smooth sailing for the Brit
How Vandoorne recaptured Mercedes' winning feeling in Monaco
The Mercedes Formula 1 team is struggling, but its Formula E arm is in fine form at the moment and once again leads the drivers' standings courtesy of Stoffel Vandoorne. Here's how the Belgian took a well-judged Monaco victory to emerge at the head of the brewing four-way championship tussle
Will lighter, greener, faster Gen3 deliver on Formula E's many promises?
With a fighter-jet inspired design, revamped technical specifications and a new tyre supplier, Formula E's Gen3 car is set to shake up the series. But can it deliver on all of the promises that Formula E has set out to ensure that manufacturers consider the outlay on going racing in an all-electric arena worthwhile?
Why spanning different genres has lent Lotterer's career longevity
Although now well into his 24th consecutive season in racing, Andre Lotterer has no intention of winding his career down. Here he talks to Autosport about his and Porsche's continued progress in Formula E, his love for racing in Japan, and recalls his sole Formula 1 outing - and considers what's next in his lengthy career