CITROËN RACING FORMULA E TEAM SHOWS QUALIFYING PROMISE AND ADDS TO WEEKEND POINTS HAUL

• Impressive qualifying performance saw Nick Cassidy secure P3 and Jean-Éric Vergne P5 on the grid, with both drivers progressing to the duels
• Vergne secured P8 and four championship points whilst Cassidy retired in closing laps following early contact
• Encouraging pace across the weekend with podium success on Saturday and progress to build on ahead of Monaco

 
Round 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship brought the curtain down on the Berlin double-header at Tempelhof, with Citroën Racing Formula E Team enduring a frustrating end to an otherwise very promising weekend with 22 points overall added to the team’s championship campaign.
Following Nick Cassidy’s outstanding podium finish in Race 1 on Saturday, the team carried strong momentum into Sunday, translating overnight learnings into an impressive qualifying performance. Both drivers progressed to the duels, with Cassidy securing P3 on the grid after reaching the semi-finals, while Jean-Éric Vergne lined up in P5, a clear demonstration of the team’s progress after Saturday’s race debrief.
In front of a sell-out crowd in the German capital, the 37-lap race presented a different strategic challenge compared to the previous day. With no Pit Boost in play and two Attack Mode deployments available, split at the team’s discretion, race strategy and timing proved decisive.
Cassidy’s race was unfortunately compromised early on following contact on lap 8 with Sebastien Buemi, which ultimately led to race-ending damage in the closing laps. The New Zealander, who had shown strong pace throughout, retired just before the finish.
On the other side of the garage, Vergne fought hard in a tightly contested field to bring the car home in P8, securing four valuable championship points despite the challenges of race execution and positioning in the pack. While the final result doesn’t reflect the team’s full potential, the weekend overall showed clear signs of progress, highlighted by Cassidy’s P2 finish in Round 7 and strong qualifying pace from both drivers in Round 8.
Citroën Racing Formula E Team will return to the track on May 16 for Rounds 9 and 10 of the championship on the iconic streets of Monaco.
 
Citroën Racing Formula E Team Principal Cyril Blais said:
“Overall, it’s been a positive weekend for the team. Of course, today’s race is a little disappointing with only four points scored, but there are still many positives to take away. Yesterday’s podium was a great result, and today both drivers did an excellent job in qualifying, with two cars in the top five, this is a clear sign of the progress we’ve made.
“Unfortunately, this was one of those races where qualifying position didn’t translate into race outcome, and in some ways it was easier to come through from the back than to start at the front. That’s obviously frustrating. Nick was involved in an incident that was not of his making, just one of those racing incidents where he ended up on the wrong side of it, which compromised his race.
“On Jean-Éric’s side, it was a very challenging race with a lot of fighting in the pack. We had to manage energy carefully early on while defending from cars behind, which made it difficult to fully capitalise later in the race.
“That said, we scored points in both races, secured a podium yesterday, and showed strong pace and qualifying performance. After some difficult rounds recently, coming away with 22 points from the weekend is encouraging. There are still areas to improve, but we’ll take the positives and keep pushing to deliver stronger results moving forward.”
Citroën Racing Formula E Team Driver Nick Cassidy said:
“It’s obviously disappointing to end the race like that, especially after such a strong qualifying performance, because we really put ourselves in a good position from the start. Unfortunately, sometimes things just don’t go your way in racing, and today was one of those days.
“That said, there are clear positives to take from the weekend as a whole. We showed strong pace again, the team did a great job, and yesterday’s podium was a big step forward for us. Backing that up with a strong qualifying today shows that we’re moving in the right direction and building some consistency. I’m proud of the work we’ve done as a group, it feels like we’re getting back to where we should be. We’ll take the lessons from this weekend, keep our heads down, and use this momentum to keep pushing forward into Monaco.”
Citroën Racing Formula E Team Driver Jean-Éric Vergne:
“Starting from P5 really showed the potential we had today, so it’s encouraging to see the progress the team made after yesterday. We took a good step forward in qualifying, and that’s something positive to build on.
“The race itself was very challenging, super tight, with a lot of fighting, and not always easy to manage energy and position at the same time. Unfortunately, P8 isn’t where we want to be, especially starting from the front, but at least we were able to come away with some points. We’ve learned a lot over the two races here, and there are some clear areas we can improve. At the same time, the pace is there, and that gives us confidence. We’ll take everything we’ve gathered this weekend and come back stronger in Monaco.”