9 Days. 6 Races. 3 Tracks. 1 Champion. The most intense season finale in motorsport history.

Formula E gets back underway at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport this week, and with 180 points on offer, all 24 of the series drivers - representing 12 teams and 10 manufacturers - are in with a chance of securing the title.

The German capital has been a fixture in every Formula E season to-date, and the historic airfield has been a favourite among drivers and fans alike in each of its five appearances on the calendar. Tempelhof will host three double-headers in quick succession on August 5/6, 8/9 and 12/13, across three different circuit layouts.

Three tracks

Teams and drivers had been kept in the dark until a fortnight ago as to just how the trio of double-headers would look, with series organisers lifting the lid late in the day on the track configurations to be utilised.

Each pair of races will run a different layout, presenting opportunities for distinct strategies and providing the perfect conditions to feed Formula E’s inherently unpredictable, exciting all-electric street racing.

Rounds six and seven will see a first for an international circuit racing championship, with Tempelhof circuit to be run clockwise, in reverse.

Formula E’s 24 drivers will then race around the Traditional Berlin Tempelhof Circuit – a fixture that first featured on the calendar in the championship’s inaugural 2014/15 season – in rounds eight and nine.

Adaptations will be made on the ground in the 24-hour period between the first and second pair of races with run-off, kerbs, barriers and broadcast placements all to be changed on the fly.

Rounds 10 and 11 will take place on a third, more technical, New Berlin Tempelhof Circuit, featuring a tighter, twistier middle and final sector – another challenge entirely for teams, drivers and organisers alike.

“We’re doing something that has never been seen before in world-class motorsport and it’s an example of how reactive and innovative Formula E is – it’s in our DNA,” said Sporting Director Frederic Espinos.

“All along, we aimed to make teams’ lives as tricky as possible in Berlin, limiting the effectiveness of their simulation work and throwing strategies up in the air. I feel the Formula E spectacle fans are familiar with will be pushed a step further still with this additional bundle of variables.”

The contenders

Formula E had completed five races of the 2019/20 season before it was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

DS Techeetah driver Antonio Felix da Costa headed into the enforced hiatus atop the standings having signed off with a podium in Chile and Mexico and a race win last time out in Marrakesh.

Even so, he is only 11 points clear of nearest rival Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans, who pipped the Portuguese driver to the top step of the podium in Mexico City, and has strung together a consistent run over the opening five rounds of the season. It’s anybody’s game, he says.

Da Costa’s aim will be following up that promising first half of the season with a first Formula E title, but with the top four drivers in the standings separated by fewer points than a single race win offers, there’s plenty of scope for everything to change – and quickly – in typically Formula E fashion

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His team, meanwhile, is looking to retain its advantage at the head of the Teams’ table with BMW i Andretti Motorsport just nine points back and looking to benefit from home advantage, with Brit Alex Sims and Bavarian Max Guenther spearheading its charge - harbouring third and fourth in the Drivers’ running, respectively.

Sims secured a maiden Formula E win in Saudi Arabia, and Guenther responded immediately, achieving the same feat for himself in Round 3 from Chile. The pair are both motivated, both fast and well-placed.

Lucas di Grassi is one of a select group of drivers to have competed in every Formula E race to-date. Currently fifth in the running, the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver - and 2016/17 champion - will feel he is firmly in with a shout with his consistency and propensity for a late charge.

Di Grassi and Audi have a strong record at the old airfield, too, which should work in their favour - the Brazilian won there last season.

On 38 points, just like di Grassi, is Stoffel Vandoorne. The Mercedes-Benz EQ racer is in confident mood with the progress the team has made in its inaugural season as a manufacturer outfit – having made the podium twice in the opening race weekend. With just 29 points the gap to top spot, his confidence is not without foundation.

Things haven’t quite gone as might have been planned or expected so far for DS Techeetah’s reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne, with the Frenchman sitting eighth in the points table as it stands.

JEV feels his share of bad luck is spent and that early season luck will be reversed in Berlin, and with the pace and energy management evidenced by the DS E-TENSE FE20 so far this season, only a fool would rule the Frenchman out of the running.

Adaptation and endurance will be the watch-words for all of the drivers in Berlin with an alien scenario and an entirely unprecedented test - in modern motorsport terms - awaiting them. Each will rightly feel they can force the issue and string together a title tilt with just over half-a-season still to play for.

Driver market

Alex Lynn steps in at Mahindra Racing with Pascal Wehrlein moving on to pastures new. The 26-year-old Brit will make his competitive Formula E return following a spell as Panasonic Jaguar Racing's development driver. 

Lynn last turned a wheel in anger in the series in New York City, closing out a seven-race run with Jaguar through the second half of the 2018/19 season with a high of seventh place at the Bern E-Prix.

Home hero Daniel Abt makes the transition from a longstanding partnership with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler into new surroundings at NIO 333, having been a part of the Audi squad since day one of the championship.

He’s stormed around Tempelhof before; with that 2018 ‘Grand Slam’ of pole, race win and fastest lap - an achievement yet to be matched in Formula E. He knows his way around the old airfield and he currently leads the race for FANBOOST in Round 6.

In his place at Audi comes Rene Rast. The double DTM champion has sampled Formula E before, back in 2016 with Aguri, and team boss Allan McNish is more than confident Rast has what it takes to hit the ground running.

Lastly, Sergio Sette Camara jumps into the breach at Geox Dragon, replacing Brendon Hartley. The former Formula 2 star wound up second quickest in the Marrakesh Rookie Test earlier this year, just behind Envision Virgin Racing’s new signing for 2021, Nick Cassidy.

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