Porsche’s Nico Müller claimed his maiden Formula E victory in Berlin as the German giants celebrate 75 years of motorsport. Citroen Racing’s Nick Cassidy and reigning champion Oliver Rowland joined him on the podium.

Parc Femme spoke to Müller, Rowland, Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans in today’s media pen about their race.

Maiden Victory in Berlin for Müller

Taking the top step of the podium, on his 69th attempt, Müller found himself in the top 10 up to the pit stops. After emerging from the pit lane, he pushed hard to take the lead on Lap 29 – taking six minutes of ATTACK MODE.

“I’m grateful and relieved.” Müller told Parc Femme, “So good to do it here. Very thankful for the team to put their trust into me, for the hard work they put in every day.”

Season 12’s calendar consists of 17 races over 9 months. With the drivers away from home for racing and at the factory, it’s always special when family and friends are present at the track. Müller himself took his son up on the podium, but how did that make him feel?

“Very special, you know that my family is here. They’re not joining me on races very frequently, so that it worked out here is really, really nice.” The Porsche driver continued his praises, “My wife makes sure that everything’s running smoothly at home so I can focus on the job. She’s a big part of that success.”

Reminiscing on a true motorsport hero

Reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland maintained his third-place qualifying position to take the final spot on the podium. The Nissan driver remained in the lead group throughout the race, battling constantly as strategy proved crucial to a good result.

But how was it for him in the car?

“It was fun, I mean, the racing stuff was good.” Rowland told Parc Femme in the media pen following the race. “ I was suffering a little bit with the car, to be honest, in terms of just pure balance, managed it the best I could. I don’t think I could have got too much more out of the result today.”

Many drivers dedicate victories and podiums to their families or to team members. Rowland dedicated his to Alex Zanardi, who passed away peacefully on the morning before the race. But what did he mean to the reigning World Champion?

“The guy was an absolute inspiration. After his accident, going to the Olympics, requires a lot of dedication at his age.” Rowland added, “I was fortunate enough with Nyck de Vries, we were teammates, to drive for Zanardi when we were in karting.”

“It’s an incredibly sad day, but I also feel like he was the type of guy that lived life to the full. I’m not sure he would have any regrets.”

Wehrlein struggles in Berlin

Pascal Wehrlein looked a favourite to win at his home race in Berlin, with the two Porsches on similar strategies. Lining up second on the grid, he dropped to the lower end of the top-10 to conserve energy. However, Lap 19 saw the Season 10 Champion suddenly slow down with an apparent puncture.

With teams keeping findings relatively secret during the race, we caught up with Wehrlein to find out the reason for his sudden drop in pace.

“Unfortunately, we got a puncture because of a broken valve. I had a tiny contact with Dennis, which broke the valve of the rim, and I lost all the pressure in the tyre.”

Evans completes recovery drive after Jaguar exit announcement

Monday brought news that Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing would part ways at the end of the season. After a decade with the team and 15 e-Prix wins together, Evans looked set to continue his streak of top 10 finishes. 

Despite starting in 14th place on the grid, Evans recovered to continue his streak, crossing the line in sixth.

But how was it from his perspective?

“We wanted to do like an alternative strategy and optimise the pit window boxing late, and that paid off.” Evans told Parc Femme in the media pen after the race. “We were able to overcut quite a few cars, but just struggling a little bit with the car balance. I think from the starting position finishing P6 is not bad.”

Tomorrow is a brand new day

All is not over for the Berlin e-Prix as this weekend is the first European double-header on the calendar. With Sunday’s race having two ATTACK MODES instead of the PIT BOOST, strategies change, and it’s all to play for.

But how confident are the drivers for tomorrow’s race in Berlin?

“I’m hoping we can just find a bit of window for me and get a bit of one lap pace back in the car.” Evans said, “Track position is not as critical tomorrow because we’re starting from a lower target. We have to make some changes, and hopefully they’re the right ones.”

Comparatively, Wehrlein was also confident to race again despite his misfortunes in Round 7. 

“Yes, I am, I think we were on the same strategy today; we were driving the whole race together.” He continued, “Big congrats to Nico, it’s great for him to get his first win and also for the team, obviously very good points. On my side, I’m obviously unhappy how my race went, but that’s racing, and tomorrow we go again.”

After a promising performance in the PIT BOOST race, Rowland looked positive that he could continue his performance into Sunday.

“I think I’m feeling good, I had a good qualifying, and the car was quite far away in the race.”  He added, “If I can make the car better, then I think we’ll be good. Tomorrow will be a big strategy race, so I’m looking forward to it.