Pascal Wehrlein: “We’re certainly not the favourites in the fight for the title”

Pascal Wehrlein admits that the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team go into the season finale of the 2020-21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as underdogs in the battle for the title but having two strong races at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit could put him firmly in the hunt for the crown.

The German goes into the final two races of the season in Berlin sitting down in eleventh place in the Drivers’ Championship but only twenty-four points behind current leader Nyck de Vries, and the former Formula 1 driver is aiming to bring home good points on both Saturday and Sunday in order to give him a shot at becoming champion.

“The fact that we’re still within striking distance of the front on the last race weekend is a success in itself,” said Wehrlein.  “But we want more. We’re certainly not the favourites in the fight for the title, but with two strong races, a lot is possible.

“In any case, we’ll do our absolute best to ensure that we make a decent leap up the points table. To compete in Germany and particularly in front of home crowds is exactly the right motivation.”

This weekend will see Formula E race on two different layouts in Berlin, with race one on the traditional track with race two on Sunday being run with the track in reverse. Wehrlein did not race in Berlin when they used three tracks in 2020, meaning he goes into this weekend with experience of only the one layout.

“That’s quite a challenge. I drove one of the track layouts two years ago, the other one is new to me,” said the German.  “Still, I think I can quickly familiarise myself with the track and be strong on both days.

“We’ve driven both layouts in the simulator. We worked on a baseline setup and we prepared for effective energy management.”

“We have the potential to win races and that’s our goal for Berlin” – André Lotterer

Team-mate André Lotterer says the races in Berlin are probably the most important of the year for Porsche due to being German, and it would be great to end the season with the teams’ first victory in Formula E.

Lotterer is mathematically in contention for the title but would need a lot of things to go his way to achieve this, and he goes into the weekend looking for two strong results and his maiden Formula E victory.

“As a German team, obviously the races in Berlin are the most important of the year,” said Lotterer.  “I was on the podium last season and if we get everything right, we’ll definitely have a good chance of repeating that success. It would be even better, of course, to celebrate our first victory in Berlin.  

“We’ve gained a wealth of experience this season and have grown as a team. As a result, we’re competing under completely different and better conditions this time. We have the potential to win races and that’s our goal for Berlin.”

André Lotterer is aiming to give Porsche their first Formula E victory this weekend in Berlin – Credit: FIA Formula E