The story so far…

The cancellation of the June 4 running of the Moscow ePrix means that Berlin, where this weekend’s race takes place, is the penultimate venue in the 2015/16 FIA Formula E Championship season.

With only the London double-header season finale at Battersea to follow, the tension is mounting in the battle to succeed Nelson Piquet Jr as champion. There’s still 90 points to play for, meaning the the top nine in the championship have a mathematical shot at the championship. Here’s a recap of the story so far:

Beijing

Sebastien Buemi and Renault e.dams hit the ground running in Beijing, recording the first perfect score – pole, win and fastest lap – in the series’s short history. The first ever appearance of the virtual safety car, coupled with a slightly slow pitstop, masked their true advantage, but this was a race that made the others sit up and take notice – Renault e.dams had raised the bar.

Lucas di Grassi kept Buemi honest in second, while Nick Heidfeld bagged Mahindra’s first podium in third. Oliver Turvey took full advantage of the virtual safety car timing to take sixth, still the best result for NEXTEV this season, while Nathaniel Berthon scored his only Formula E points to date with eighth place for Team Aguri.

Championship standings

1. Buemi 30
2. Di Grassi 18
3. Heidfeld 15

Putrajaya

The extreme heat and humidity in Malaysia meant that the mice got at the machinery during an unpredictable Putrajaya ePrix. Buemi was leading the way when his car unexpectedly cut out and he briefly coasted to a halt. This allowed di Grassi to slip by and claim his and Abt Schaeffler’s first win of the year.

In a frantic final few laps both Dragon Racing cars lost potential podium finishes as Loic Duval and Jerome d’Ambrosio suffered identical suspension failures. This left Sam Bird to grab an unlikely second, while Robin Frijns came home third for Andretti, despite his car having deranged steering – a legacy of a brush with the wall as he battled Duval.

Championship standings

1. Di Grassi 43
2. Buemi 35
3. Bird 24

Punta del Este

Buemi rediscovered his winning ways in Uruguay, but he had to work hard for his win after a mistake in qualifying left him back in fifth on the grid. Di Grassi kept up his run of podium finishes with second, while pole sitter D’Ambrosio was third, capping a strong weekend for Dragon.

In the closing stages there was a big accident for defending champion Nelson Piquet Jr as he battled for seventh place with Jean-Eric Vergne. The Brazilian clipped the wall on the way into the fast chicane, which speared him across the track and into the outside wall. He was unhurt, but his and the team’s difficult start to the season continued.

Championship standings

1. Buemi 62
2. Di Grassi 61
3. D’Ambrosio 28

Buenos Aires

With Buemi making another crucial error in qualifying, consigning him to the back of the grid, the way was cleared for someone else to capitalise, and it was DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird who took full advantage. The Brit took a brilliant pole and put up a great defence in the closing stages to deny Buemi after the Swiss driver had fought his way through the field into second.

Di Grassi was third, keeping up his 100 per cent record of podium finishes and limiting Buemi’s points lead to just four points. Bird’s win moved him into third place in the standings, 28 behind the Renault e.dams racer.

Championship standings

1. Buemi 80
2. Di Grassi 76
3. Bird 52

Mexico City

D’Ambrosio produced a stunning lap in qualifying to take pole position. But a great overtake by di Grassi using his FanBoost moved him into the lead, which he held to the end. However, post-race checks revealed that one of his Abt Schaeffler cars was underweight and he was disqualified from the results. This promoted D’Ambrosio into his first win of the season.

The Belgian had battled fiercely with Buemi during the second half of the race, with contact made between them at least once. Prost was promoted to third, while Duval picked up fourth despite receiving a 15-second time penalty for repeatedly cutting the chicane.

Championship standings

1. Buemi 98
2. Di Grassi 76
3. Bird 60

Long Beach

Di Grassi made up for the disappointment of Mexico in emphatic fashion with a commanding win in Long Beach. A solid move on Sam Bird brought him the lead just ahead of the pitstops and even a late caution period couldn’t prevent him from scoring his second win of the season.

Stephane Sarrazin recorded his first Formula E podium by taking an excellent second for Venturi, while Daniel Abt bagged his first podium position of the season with third. It was a fraught race for Buemi, who damaged his car in a collision with Frijns, for which he subsequently picked up a time penalty. The two points he collected for setting fastest lap were not enough to stop di Grassi taking over in the championship lead.

Championship standings

1. Di Grassi 101
2. Buemi 100
3. Bird 71

Paris

Di Grassi became the first driver in Formula E history to record back-to-back wins with a faultless performance in Paris. He beat pole sitter Bird off the line and into Turn 1 and was pretty much untroubled thereafter. Bird also dropped behind team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne at T1 and the battle between the DS Virgin drivers was the highlight of the race.

A small error eventually dropped Bird back to sixth, while Vergne scored his first podium of the season in second. Buemi recovered from qualifying back in eighth with a strong drive to third, which limited di Grassi’s championship lead to 11 points and means it’s all to play for over the final three rounds.

Championship standings

1. Di Grassi 126
2. Buemi 115
3. Bird 82