PASCAL WEHRLEIN IS VICE CHAMPION OF ABB FIA FORMULA E RACE AT HOME CHALLENGE

SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2020 – The Grand Final of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF took place today. Pascal Wehrlein and Sam Dejonghe took on the virtual Berlin Templehof circuit for Mahindra Racing in the final round of the Esports series, which had double points on offer. After battling it out for seven consecutive weeks, Pascal was crowned Vice Champion of the driver’s grid, with Stoffel Vandoorne of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team taking the series win. Mahindra Racing finished third in the team’s battle.

Heading into today’s race, Pascal was leading the championship, 14 points clear of Vandoorne. But with double points available for the finale, the battle had only just begun. He qualified on the front row of the grid in second position, just ahead of Vandoorne, but luck wasn’t on Pascal’s side as he was hit and forced into a spin in the third corner on the opening lap of the 15-lap race, causing him to drop down the grid to 21st position. He fought his way back to cross the line in the points but received a post-race 10-second penalty for a separate incident and was classified 12th. After three race victories and two Julius Baer Pole Positions the #94 driver finished as Vice Champion in the ABB FIA Formula E Race at Home Challenge.

Sam Dejonghe stepped in for Jerome D’Ambrosio for today’s finale race and qualified the #64 M6Electro on the twelfth row. The Belgian racer gained six places before being eliminated at the end of lap 10 and classified in 17th position.

Over in the Challenge Grid fight, Lucas Müller, who has represented Mahindra Racing every week of the championship and who entered the world of Esports in 2018, took the checkered flag at Templehof 1.4-seconds behind the race winner Kevin Siggy, finishing second. As a result of today’s race, Lucas was Vice Champion in the Challenge Grid championship.

Prior to the ABB FIA Formula E Race at Home Challenge Grand Final weekend Mahindra Racing announced its commitment to plant a tree for every live viewer watching the championship on the Formula E Twitch channel. Final numbers of this initiative will be confirmed in due course.

“I got hit from behind and spun, which meant there was nothing I could do. I think I did everything from my side in terms of qualifying and getting a good start. We had a good fight in the championship battle in the first and second corner but, unfortunately, after the spin my race was pretty much over. I want to say thank you to Formula E for the support and creating a show for the fans, and the team behind the scenes setting everything up with the tracks. It’s been good fun, hopefully entertaining and all for a good cause.”

Pascal Wehrlein