Berlin E-Prix: Formula E finale red-flagged after startline crash
The final round of the 2021 Formula E season at Berlin has been red-flagged following a major startline crash involving title contenders Mitch Evans and Edoardo Mortara.
Watch: Nyck de Vries wins Formula E World Championship
Evans had put himself in a strong position to claim his first title since GP3 in 2013 by qualifying third on the grid when the majority of his main rivals failed to bag a spot inside the top 10.
But the Kiwi’s championship hopes came crashing down when he stalled on the grid and was later hit by the Venturi of Mortara.
While Tom Blomqvist and Andre Lotterer were some of the drivers who were able to avoid crashing into the stranded Jaguar, Mortara - who had started 11th - was unsighted and made heavy contact with the rear-right side of Evans' car.
Both drivers immediately retired from the race with terminal damage to their cars.
A safety car was deployed instantly given the debris on the car, with drivers being instructed to pass through the pitlane, before the race was halted altogether.
"I am fine, thanks," Evans said after the incident. "We seemed to have some sort of failure after the launch. It went and then I had an alarm and the car basically stopped.
"Edo [Mortara] had nowhere to go, I feel for him as well.
"It was over before it even started. It was obviously not meant to be this year. I'm gutted for the whole team, for myself, to not even get a run at it is tough. I've never had that issue before. We'll analyse that but it will take a while for the pain to ease."
Polesitter Stoffel Vandoorne will lead the restart from pole position in the lead Mercedes ahead of the Nissan of Oliver Rowland and Mahindra’s Alexander Sims.
Championship leader Nyck de Vries was running 12th when the red flag was deployed, ahead of the DS Techeetahs of Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa.
BMW’s Jake Dennis, currently third in the standings, runs eighth.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments