Lucas Di Grassi heads into this weekend’s Berlin E-Prix knowing that perfection will be needed for Mahindra Racing to score points, with the Indian manufacturer having endured a challenging round in São Paulo.
Di Grassi’s home E-Prix certainly didn’t go to plan, with the Brazilian having started last after clipping the wall during qualifying, damaging his car in the process. He did well to recover to thirteenth in the race; however, he wasn’t able to score points in front of his adoring fans. At least this weekend Di Grassi will have two chances to score points, with Berlin being the second double-header of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The Tempelhof Street Circuit has been a very strong venue for Di Grassi in the past, with the former Formula E Champion having claimed two wins at the circuit. He views it as a “Formula E classic” and is hoping that the team can “secure the best result possible”, but that to do so they’ll need to “work harder than ever”.
“Berlin is a Formula E classic and I’m looking forward to returning to the track. I’ve won there many times before but as a team, we will need to get everything right to score points. We don’t give up and we will work harder than ever to secure the best result possible.”
“I won my first race in Berlin” – Oliver Rowland
Oliver Rowland is also targeting a better weekend in Berlin than he had in São Paulo, after the Briton started nineteenth and could only manage sixteenth in the race. Rowland’s season has certainly started poorly, with only one points finish from the opening six races.
With the season set to reach its halfway point in Berlin, Rowland will be eager to end the first half of Season Nine strongly, something which could happen given his strong record at the circuit. Rowland’s first and only Formula E Win came at Berlin back in Season Six whilst driving for Nissan, meaning he should have some confidence heading into the weekend.
Rowland is keen to improve in Berlin and “pick up some points”, something which “is the target” for not just Berlin but the foreseeable rounds this season.
“After a poor race in Brazil we head back to Europe to a track where I have had success in the past. I won my first race in Berlin, and I have also claimed pole positions and podiums there too. This time we will be looking for a bit of luck and an improvement in performance to pick up some points, which for the next rounds is the target.”
Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E