Mortara wins first Berlin EPrix from pole position · RaceFans

Edoardo Mortara won the first Berlin EPrix of the weekend after leading the majority of the race from pole position.

The Venturi driver took his second provisional race win of the season by holding off Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne in a race that was uninterrupted by Safety Car periods.

When the lights went out, Edoardo Mortara led from pole, ahead of Alexander Sims, Antonio Felix da Costa and Andrei Lotterer, who passed Jean-Eric Vergne to take fourth place. Mortara looks comfortable out front in the early laps, while Sims was passed by Da Costa, then Lotterer to drop the Mahindra down to fourth in the early running.

Just under ten minutes into the race, the stewards announced that the leader, Mortara, was under investigation for potentially breaking the speed limit on the way to the grid prior to the race. They confirmed that Mortara would be investigated but only after the chequered flag.

Pascal Wehrlein was the first of the frontrunners to take his first Attack Mode from sixth. Vergne passed Lotterer to take third place, before Lotterer opted to take Attack Mode, dropping him to sixth behind both Wehrlein and Sims.

Wehrlein used his Attack Mode to pass Venrge for third place, before the two Techeetahs of Da Costa and Vergne both took Attack Mode, promoting Wehrlein to second – Mortara out front the only driver of the leading pack still to take his first Attack Mode.

Lotterer had more pace than his second placed team mate and Porsche asked Wehrlein to allow Lotterer past, which he did into the long first corner. That made Wehrlein vulnerable to the two Techeetahs still on Attack Mode behind, with both Da Costa and Vergne passing the Porsche to take third and fourth.

At the half-distance mark, Mortara finally took his first Attack Mode, surrendering the lead to Lotterer in the process. However, it did not take long for Mortara to reclaim the lead with the extra power, driver clean around the Porsche along the pit straight. Behind them, Sims used his second Attack Mode to power past Da Costa into third behind the leading pair.

Stoffel Vandoorne had fallen out of the top ten on the opening lap, but gradually made his way up the field during the course of the race with the help of Attack Mode. Eventually he got as high as fourth place, before he managed to pass Vergne to take third, which became second after Lotterer took his second and final Attack Mode.

Vandoorne followed in taking his final Attack Mode on the next lap but managed to retain third place – both he and Lotterer now chasing down Mortara out front. With less than ten minutes of race time remaining, Mortara took his final Attack Mode, falling to third. Lotterer took the lead but his Attack Mode quickly expired, leaving him vulnerable.

Vandoorne passed Lotterer to take the lead as Mortara followed him through to take second place. Vandoorne’s Attack Mode expired but Mortara still had over two minutes remaining. He used it to breeze by the Mercedes back into the lead and begin to try and pull away.

Vergne passed Lotterer to take third place and with just under five minutes remaining, Vergne used his Fan Boost to pull alongside Vandoorne and out-brake him into turn six, taking second place. Vergne later dived to the inside of the leader at the final corner, but Mortara cut back to retake the lead.

Vergne then had to worry more about defending from those behind rather than fighting for the lead, allowing Mortara to complete the final lap and take the chequered flag to take a provisional victory in the first of two races in Berlin for this weekend.

In second was Vergne, who held off Vandoorne to take second place. Lotterer finished just outside of the podium in fourth, ahead of Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein. Sam Bird finished seventh for Jaguar, ahead of Da Costa, Sims and Nyck De Vries taking the final point in tenth.

After the chequered flag, the stewards announced that Mortara had been fined €1,200 (£1,018) for exceeding the pit lane speed limit prior to the race. However, his victory was not in question.

Formula E Berlin EPrix Round 7 results:

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