Impressive charge from Stoffel Vandoorne earns podium in Berlin

Podium for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team at home race in Berlin, as Stoffel Vandoorne finishes third in round seven of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Nyck de Vries finishes the race in P10.

• Stoffel qualified for the duel stage of qualifying with the second-fastest time in Group A. He was then knocked out in the quarter-finals by Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) by a margin of four tenths.
• Nyck was sixth fastest in Qualifying Group B, missing out on the duels by just six tenths. He was therefore obliged to start the seventh race of the season from P12.
• Stoffel initially lost a few positions and dropped out of the top ten. But as the race progressed, he steadily worked his way forward to join the leading group jostling for the win in an exciting race.
• Stoffel ultimately crossed the finish line just behind Jean-Eric Vergne in third place. It was his eleventh podium appearance in Formula E and his fourth of the season.
• Nyck gained two positions at the start to move up into the Top Ten at the end of the first lap. He finished the 40-lap E-Prix in tenth place, just inside the points.
• The race was won by Edoardo Mortara in Venturi Racing's Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02.
• Stoffel (96 points) leads the Drivers' World Championship by three points ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne (93). Nyck (40) is in eighth place.
• The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team (136 points) leads the Team Championship after the seventh round of the season ahead of DS Techeetah (127).
• The eighth race of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place tomorrow (Sunday 15 May). The start time is 15:04 CEST, and the venue is once again Berlin. However, the Tempelhof circuit will be driven in the opposite direction to the day before, i.e. clockwise.

Stoffel Vandoorne:

"Considering the way the E-Prix started, I'm honestly a bit surprised that I still made it onto the podium. From eighth on the grid, I didn't exactly have the best of first laps, and I lost a lot of places over the course of it. After that, I think I was actually way down in P15 at one point in the race. But I kept my cool and started to feel that there was good pace in the car. I was able to take advantage of that today and pull off some neat overtaking moves. Also, the team had a good strategy, which I was able to implement during the race. That enabled me to fight my way back to the front after my mediocre starting lap and still finish in the Top Three."

Nyck de Vries:

"That was a tough race. I was happy with our start and the first couple of laps, but after that, I simply wasn't quick enough. I was struggling with the car - the right rear temperatures were very high from lap one onwards - so there was a bit of an imbalance and the pace was just not good enough. I think maybe we could have done a bit better, but ultimately we were just not quick enough on our side of the garage, and that was that. Obviously tomorrow the track is going to be a bit different, because we'll be going in the opposite direction. I think we can be strong - if we can manage to be a bit more competitive, then I am sure we can have a good day."

Ian James, Team Principal:

"All in all, I think we can call this a positive day. We started the day with an announcement regarding the next exciting chapter in the development of the team. Becoming part of the McLaren Racing family from next season onwards is a privilege. Until then, we are 100% focused on defending our World Championship titles as the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team - and today was a good step towards that ultimate goal for Season 8.

The practice sessions were mixed in terms of how happy we were with the car setup and car preparation. During qualifying that showed: Stoffel unfortunately didn't manage to get further up on the grid than P8, Nyck started in P12.

Stoffel's race however was a different story. He dropped back quite some places in the early stages of the race, before managing to put in an amazing drive. From P12 he found the pace to fight his way onto the podium - even contesting for victory. What he and the team showed today confirms our ambitions and capabilities.

Nyck struggled more today in the race. He initially started confidently and made up some places. Later on however, he fell back down the pecking order and struggled with understeer. Scoring a point is important as every point counts in the championship, but I know he was hoping for more; he'll certainly be pushing for a better position tomorrow.

Once the analysis of today's race has been completed, along with the preparation for tomorrow, we'll head back to the hotel tonight with confidence and optimism, but also caution. We will approach tomorrow as any other race day: looking to tackle the challenges with a fresh perspective, but taking onboard all the learning from the days and weeks before. And to end with: congratulations to Venturi! They had an amazing day with Edo. Great to see a Mercedes-powered car on the top step today!"

Round 8 - Berlin E-Prix

When to watch

The team is back on track for round 8 of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship tomorrow, Sunday (start time 14:04 BST). Tune in at the following times to see the team in action:

Where to watch
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