In the birthplace of the automobile, the Berlin E-prix demonstrates sustainability without sacrifice.
The arrival of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Germany’s capital city for back-to-back races on April 22-23 represents not only the series’ first European stop of Season 9, coming on the heels of closely fought battles across four continents, it also marks the midpoint of the 2022-23 campaign. The championship’s halfway mark has often been a pivotal occasion: championship contenders have established their strengths and often enough, promising early competitors have begun to fade.
Among the teams especially looking for strong finishes in the Sabic Berlin E-prix is ABB partner TAG Heuer Porsche, whose German driver, Pascal Wehrlein, leads the points table on 86, a 24-point margin over Jake Dennis, who drives for the Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti team.
But it’s too early to collect on any bets that Porsche would walk away with a season title: at the last race, in São Paulo, Brazil, Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing topped the podium, leading a Jaguar-powered 1-2-3 sweep of the E-prix. Eager to make sure there won’t be a repeat of that dominance, three German drivers in addition to Wehrlein will be on the grid: René Rast of Neom McLaren; André Lotterer of Andretti; and Maximilian Günther of Maserati MSG.
Berlin, which has hosted more Formula E races than any other city, is long accustomed to being at the turning point of major events. For instance, the Tempelhof Airport Circuit is built on the site where history was made when the Berlin Airlift delivered critical supplies to the city to break a Cold War blockade by the Soviet Union that cut off all other forms of access in 1948-49.
The concrete surface of this 10-turn, 2.4-kilometer (1.5 miles) racecourse is a shift from the asphalt city streets where most ABB Formula E races take place, pitching a challenge at drivers who are already contending with the process of adapting to the faster and more powerful Gen3 cars. While the teams can work with crucial data acquired in previous Berlin races in tuning the cars for the best lap times, the Hankook tires are a new specification for Season 9 – yet another unknown.
This year’s races – the 19th and 20th for Berlin – again bolster the status of the city’s image as a showcase of sustainability. Already known for its vast parks and woodland green spaces – some 30 percent of the city – Berlin has also been ranked as the most energy-efficient city in Europe in terms of residential building infrastructure. It also boasts a considerable ABB footprint, including a new training facility known as the Learning Factory Industry 4.0 where trainees are prepared for the digital future of manufacturing. In actions with a more direct impact on sustainability, Deutsche Bahn, the German rail network, has contracted with ABB to supply gas-insulated switchgear that is free of highly potent global warming chemical compounds.
In a country where EV sales have shown robust growth, rising 132 percent in 2022 over the previous year, for a market share of nearly 18 percent of sales, ABB is a key enabler. The company is collaborating with Shell to introduce the first nationwide network of Terra 360 chargers, which delivers a maximum output of 360 kilowatts and is capable of fully charging an electric car in 15 minutes or less. The Shell Recharge nationwide network of Terra 360 chargers will be powered by 100 percent renewable electricity.
The championship series continues on May 6 on the historic streets of Monaco ahead of a June 3-4 double header in Jakarta, Indonesia. Following directly after the Tempelhof weekend will be an official rookie test, allowing teams to evaluate and develop potential future drivers. Season 9 concludes its 16-race calendar on July 30 in London.
