Saturday’s first race of the Berlin E-Prix on the temporary Tempelhof circuit proved to be particularly competitive. With a notably abrasive surface, the track located at the German capital’s former international airport always represents a major challenge for the teams – particularly when it comes to tyre and energy management.

Taylor Barnard and Maximilian Günther showed the full potential of their DS E-TENSE FE25 cars right from the start of the weekend: setting the fastest and fourth-fastest times respectively in the first free practice session, followed by fourth and fifth fastest times in the second session.

Starting from 10th and 11th positions on the grid for the opening race in Berlin, the two teammates were optimistic and determined to shine. All the predictions for an action-packed encounter came true, with a close and spectacular battle throughout the opening stages. Both Maximilian Günther and Taylor Barnard made a good start and fought at the front. The German led the race for a while and battled in the top three, while the Englishman was a long-time contender for the top five.

Different strategies came into play during the second phase of the race, with the situation becoming clearer after the mandatory ‘Pit Boost’ stops. Despite choosing different tactics, the two DS Automobiles drivers were both able to fight for a points finish.

Taylor Barnard’s efforts were rewarded at the chequered flag. By finishing eighth, the young DS PENSKE recruit allowed the team to score four encouraging points. Maximilian Günther came very close to the top 10, but ultimately had to settle for 11th place.

The eighth round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place on Sunday. This second race of the double-header will get underway at 16:00 CET.

Taylor Barnard:

“It’s nice to score points again, even though I think we deserved better. Without a few small mistakes, we could have scored a few more points. There are things for us to improve for tomorrow but also positives to take away. The car is definitely very fast, and in qualifying today we certainly had the capability to fight for pole. Now it’s down to us to come back as strong as possible tomorrow!”

Maximilian Günther:

“This first race was really lively and we did a very good job throughout the early phases. We were briefly in the lead, before sticking in the top three. In my view, that was the right strategy to adopt. Afterwards, we lost a few places before the pit stop window, which was not ideal. We also encountered an issue during our Pit Boost stop, which reduced our chances of scoring points. At the end we came back nicely, but it was not quite enough to get back into the top 10.”