Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Lucas di Grassi: Berlin Formula E schedule will create "a big mess"

Lucas di Grassi says the unusual timetable at ABB FIA Formula E's race in Berlin this weekend is "a big mess" that could "severely" hinder the championship leaders in qualifying

The 2019 edition of the Berlin race features a unique split timetable, with the two practice sessions taking place on Friday, qualifying scheduled for first thing on Saturday morning and the race starting at 1pm rather than the traditional 4pm slot.

The event timetable has been altered to avoid a clash with the build-up to the German football cup final, which is taking place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin also on Saturday.

But the change means there is no on-track running - all of the Jaguar I-PACE eTrophy sessions apart from the race are taking place on Friday - during the morning ahead of qualifying.

Many drivers therefore feel the arrangement will leave the group one runners - the first five drivers in the standings, Jean-Eric Vergne, Andre Lotterer, Robin Frijns, Antonio Felix da Costa, and di Grassi - at a major disadvantage.

"It's a big mess," di Grassi told Autosport, "because the track will not be used from FP2 to qualifying.

"So the track will be completely dirty from the wind and the dust over the night and then you go straight to qualifying.

"Group one will be for sure more affected. It is again the same as we have discussed [before] - group one will be severely impacted by the track conditions

"I actually personally asked the organisation 'could we have like a five-minute/10-minute warm-up?'

"Just to make sure everything is working, clean the track a little bit before qualifying. But they said 'No, the teams agreed [to] not having them'."

But di Grassi added that he still expects the Berlin race to be "very fun", as the wide Tempelhof circuit encourages overtaking.

"Even if you have a bad qualifying you can overtake, there are a lot of points [to get by]," he said.

"The race is [also] very energy efficient - you have to save a lot of energy - so it will be strategic."

Envision Virgin Racing driver Frijns said he does not "have a problem to go out at 8.40 in the morning and do qualifying" but agreed the timetable spilt will hamper the group one runners.

"We will be the ones who clean the track," he continued to Autosport. "And we will have probably the most disadvantaged position.

"Because if you go to groups two, three and four, the track gets better and better.

"And the temperatures immediately go up because it's so cold in the morning. [So] I see us struggling in qualifying."

But DS Techeetah's reigning champion Vergne said he thinks the timetable change is "great".

"I like it - I think it will be cooler," he told Autosport.

"I love Formula E for this - it pushes the boundaries of the drivers all the time with the tracks we're going to, with the timetable we have, with the kind of difficulties we have to overtake."


Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Why even Porsche cannot be certain of FE success
Next article Berlin Formula E: Title-chasing Lotterer tops practice from Mortara

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe