BERLIN, Germany — António Félix da Costa clinched the win in the 10th round at the Sun Minimeal Berlin E-Prix, making him the only driver to have won three times at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.
His win also secured Porsche’s inaugural victory on home turf in Formula E.
Da Costa took an early lead during the initial flurry of Attack Mode activations, with Porsche’s cars strategically positioned and collaborating through much of the opening half of the race. Throughout the 38-lap race, da Costa successfully defended relentless pressure from Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy of Jaguar, the latter being the victor of Saturday’s Round 9.
“It just feels great to win at a home race for Porsche, it’s amazing,” da Costa said. “We’ve got so many guests here: so many people who work in the factory that don’t normally get to come to the races, our Board members are here, so it’s definitely a special one.
“Honestly, it’s been a tough start to the season and we’ve been building a really good momentum, always closing the gap to the championship leaders and it feels good to take this one. You have to work hard when things aren’t right, but when you have the right people around you it makes it a little bit easier. I want to dedicate to this to my engineer’s father-in-law who passed away this week, so it’s for him and his family.”
On lap 31, Evans surged to the forefront after a brief pause prompted by Porsche’s new Taycan FIA Safety Car. However, he still had one of his two 50kW Attack Mode boosts remaining for deployment in the final phase. Employing a late-braking maneuver into the hairpin, da Costa managed to overpower Evans, compelling the New Zealander to overshoot the turn.
Subsequently, Oliver Rowland, advancing from 16th on the grid, followed da Costa’s lead, yet was unable to intensify the pressure as Cassidy manoeuvred past his teammate into third place as the laps dwindled, relentlessly hounding Rowland.
This strategic reshuffle allowed da Costa to surge ahead, maintaining a comfortable lead and ultimately seeing the chequered flag – his first victory since Cape Town 2023. Da Costa’s victory in Berlin brings the total number of race winners this season to eight, in just 10 rounds of Season 10 so far.
Further behind da Costa, Cassidy executed a last-minute move on Rowland to secure second place, clinching the fastest lap in the process. Rowland snatched third after a challenging starting position, ahead of Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, who valiantly battled reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti) for fourth.
Cassidy’s teammate Evans finished the race in sixth position, while Jehan Daruvala of Maserati MSG Racing delivered an impressive seventh-place finish, marking a personal best Formula E result for the Indian driver, after navigating through the pack from 13th.
19-year-old Taylor Barnard of NEOM McLaren Formula E showcased remarkable prowess by climbing from 18th to eighth at the finish line in his full debut weekend in the series. Joel Eriksson also achieved his best result to date with a ninth-place finish, while Jean-Éric Vergne rounded off the top ten.
Cassidy will leave Berlin with a substantial 45-point haul and assumes the top position in the standings with 140 points, ahead of Wehrlein’s 124. Rowland occupies third place with 118 points. Jaguar TCS Racing leads the Teams’ standings with 237 points, followed by TAG Heuer Porsche in second place with 183.