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PREVIEW: Back to Berlin as Formula E returns to Germany for Round 13 and 14 of Season 11

APRESENTA 06 Jul 2025 5 Minutos

Here's what you can expect from Formula E's double-header race weekend in the German capital.

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Preview by Katy Fairman

Formula E returns to Berlin and the Tempelhof Airport this week, a very familiar location to the all-electric championship, but all eyes are on one man: Oliver Rowland. With a chance of being crowned drivers’ World Champion in the German capital, another double-header event and a Rookie Test, there’s lots to preview ahead of Rounds 13 and 14.

How can Rowland become Formula E champion in Berlin?

As the title race heads into its home stretch, it is very possible we could wrap up the drivers’ World Championship this weekend in Berlin. Oliver Rowland has had a fantastic season at Nissan, with seven podiums in the first nine races. Things have cooled off a little in the last three races with a fifth place and 13th in Shanghai, and one single point in Jakarta, but his dominance early on saw him create a gap to his rivals that has proved hard to reach.

Rowland currently leads TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein by 69 points in the standings. The Brit needs a lead of 87 points after Saturday's race to take the title on races won - so, it is possible in Round 13 on Saturday.

Failing that, Rowland needs a 58-point lead after Sunday if he wants to seal the deal in Berlin - with that amount on offer over the London double-header finale, and the Yorkshireman clear on races won in the event of a tie.

Realistically, the top four drivers - leader Oliver Rowland, reigning champion Wehrlein, his Porsche teammate Antonio Felix da Costa and NEOM McLaren's Taylor Barnard - are in the mix heading into Berlin, although mathematically the top 11, down to Nyck de Vries, could do it.

Back to Berlin

With over a decade of racing history in Berlin, the grid of 22 drivers will be looking to recreate the excitement of the past 20 races in the German capital. They once again return to the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, with a 2.345km 15-turn layout awaiting them for Season 11.

Berlin is the only city to have hosted a race in every season of Formula E. In all but one of those seasons – Season 2, when the German round took place near Alexanderplatz – Tempelhofer Feld has been the host venue.

Made up of repeating concrete slabs, Tempelhof Airport was designed for planes rather than a field of all-electric single-seaters! The bumpy concrete track means higher than usual degradation for the Hankook tyres and high grip takes a toll on energy management, making race strategies a headache but the action is always among the best on the calendar.

Drugovich makes his debut

It had been heavily rumoured, but last week Mahindra Racing confirmed that Felipe Drugovich would make his Formula E World Championship debut with the team at this week’s Berlin E-Prix, substituting for Nyck de Vries.

The Season 7 World Champion de Vries has a prior racing commitment this weekend, and so the Brazilian will take his place as teammate to Edoardo Mortara. Drugovich has enjoyed a silverware-laden rise through the junior ranks, including championship titles in Euroformula Open and the FIA Formula 2 Championship and has tested Formula E machinery before.

He recently completed a successful test for the team at Circuito Guadix, Spain, to gain crucial mileage in the team’s Mahindra M11Electro, built to Formula E’s latest GEN3 Evo regulations.

He is also no stranger to the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, having participated in the last two Formula E Rookie Tests at the same venue, topping the times in the 2023 edition.

As well as Drugovich, there’s also change at Nissan as Norman Nato departs over the Berlin weekend. Instead it’s a warm welcome back to Sergio Sette Camara, who is the team’s Reserve Driver and has 66 Formula E starts to his name with Dragon and ERT – now KIRO.

Return of the Rookie Test

As had been tradition for the last few seasons, new and upcoming talent get a chance to experience the GEN3 Evo machines in the mandatory Monday Rookie test. All 11 teams must field two ‘rookies’ – someone who hasn’t participated in an E-Prix before – and they get a full day of testing around Tempelhof.

In the past rookies like Nyck de Vries or Nick Cassidy have been given a shot, and their evident talents have been rewarded with full-time race seats. It’s a huge opportunity, as well as a chance for the teams to gather all-important data.

Here’s who is confirmed for the 2025 Berlin Rookie Test so far:

Team	Driver	Driver
Andretti	Jak Crawford	Frederik Vesti
CUPRA KIRO	Callum Voisin	Bianca Bustamante
DS PENSKE	Nikita Bedrin	Danil Kvyat
Envision Racing	Johnathan Hoggard	Zak O’Sullivan
Jaguar TCS Racing	TBC	TBC
Lola Yamaha ABT	Alessandro Giusti	Hugh Barter
Mahindra Racing	Dino Beganovic	Kush Maini
Maserati MSG Racing	Théo Pourchaire	Arthur Leclerc
NEOM McLaren	Ella Lloyd	Alex Dunne
Nissan	Abbi Pulling	Gabriele Minì
TAG Heuer Porsche	Ayhancan Güven	Elia Weiss

Buemi gets Jakarta podium after the race

In case you missed it, Envision Racing protested a in-race penalty for Sebastien Buemi given during the Jakarta E-Prix, which saw him demoted from third to eighth at the chequered flag. It was deemed during the race that the Season 2 champ made contact with Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and he was subsequently handed a five-second time-penalty.

NEWS: Buemi promoted to third in Jakarta after FIA hearing

However, a post-event FIA hearing last week saw Buemi cleared of the penalty in Jakarta, promoting him to a podium finish in Round 12, and demoting Nico Mueller to fourth.

Additional footage from the Envision Racing roll hoop camera, not available when the penalty was applied, showed that Buemi's move was within the rules.

What is PIT BOOST?

Introduced in Season 11 for the double-header events, PIT BOOST will play a part of the Berlin E-Prix weekend. Having debuted in Jeddah, this technology transforms in-race strategies giving teams a revolutionary recharging technology at their fingertips during the race.

The mandatory mid-race feature that sees cars given a 10% energy increase (3.85kWh) through a 30-second, 600kW boost in the pit lane. It will be used during one of the two races across a double-header.

All drivers must stop during the race for this extra energy, however each team is only provided one PIT BOOST rig which prevents them from doing any double-stacking. This also creates plenty of drama and excitement, as each competitor navigates an additional element of race strategy and could potentially alter race outcomes and tactics.

PIT BOOST EXPLAINED: All you need to know about Formula E's battery charging pit stops

SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2025 Berlin E-Prix Rounds 13 & 14

Berlin maintains its accolade of being the only city to be present on the calendar since the very first season. This time racing is set to run Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July, as the first of two European double headers to close out Season 11.

Make sure you've secured your tickets for this unmissable weekend!