Oliver Rowland seals Formula E world title as Pascal Wehrlein suffers strategic disaster

Oliver Rowland secured the Formula E drivers' title after a dramatic second race of the Berlin E-Prix, after Pascal Wehrlein suffered a strategic disaster from pole position. 

Rowland patiently kept out of trouble and crossed the line in fourth to clinch the world championship, as Wehrlein dropped to 16th after using too much energy whilst leading in the opening stages. 

Jaguar's Nick Cassidy performed another peloton masterclass to cycle from the back of the field to the front, to win at the Tempelhof Airport. 

Andretti's Jake Dennis and DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne completed the podium, whilst Mitch Evans finished in fifth.

How the race unfolded

With Pascal Wehrlein on pole and Oliver Rowland in eighth, the situation was simple. To win the title, Rowland had to outscore his rival by 11 points, if not, the title goes to London. 

In dry conditions – the first dry session since first practice – the peloton was in its most extreme form, resulting in triple-digit number of overtakes. 

Wehrlein made an excellent start from pole and led the opening stages, whilst drivers swapped positions in frenetic fashion. It continued until a safety car was required on lap 19, due to Sebastien Buemi having come to a halt.

At the time of the safety car, Taylor Barnard led, ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa, Wehrlein, Mitch Evans and Robin Frijns – Rowland sat in seventh. Crucially, none of the leaders had used an attack mode. 

The safety car period ended at the conclusion of lap 21, with Barnard having immediately taken his first Attack Mode before returning to the lead in the space of two corners. However, a collision at Turn 2 between Sam Bird and Nico Müller triggered a second safety car two laps later.

It concluded at the end of lap 25, and saw Wehrlein take his first attack mode, triggering a flurry of others. 

Unlike his rivals, the German only took two minutes of attack mode at first, which saw him fall down to 18th by the time all first attack modes had been used – Rowland rose to fourth.

Crucially, Rowland was the first to take his second attack mode on lap 33, and managed to cycle to the front. However, Cassidy was directly behind Rowland following a masterful strategy, and overtook the Nissan driver for the lead on lap 36 when in his second attack mode, as did Jake Dennis.

Vergne also got past Rowland; however, the 32-year-old held onto fourth to win the drivers' title, as Wehrlein finished in 16th. Cassidy secured victory, ahead of Dennis and Vergne.