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Formula E is coming to Germany: on Saturday and Sunday (22 and 23 April), the series will start its seventh and eighth rounds at the former Tempelhof Airport. For Nico Müller, Robin Frijns and the entire ABT CUPRA team, the home race with sold-out grandstands and many guests will be a weekend of superlatives. CUPRA is using the German event of the World Championship to present its new electrified Tavascan road car in front of more than 1,500 international guests and media representatives.
Berlin is an institution on the calendar. The German capital is the only city to have hosted the series in every season and has never disappointed in terms of excitement: in a total of 16 races, fans saw 13 different winners from nine nations. From an ABT’s point of view, especially 19 May 2018, remains unforgettable, when Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi took a one-two, the fastest race lap and pole position.
This season, the newly formed team is still waiting for its first points. After a year’s break and the delayed start of preparation as a customer team, ABT CUPRA is inching its way towards the midfield. Since the previous race in São Paulo, the team has been able to rely on the experienced Robin Frijns again, who had previously been forced to take four races off due to a hand injury sustained at the start of the season.
CUPRA is transforming an entire hangar of the site into a spectacular world of experience, which all Formula E fans with access to the Fan Village can also visit on Saturday and Sunday. In addition to virtual worlds, an all-new “Exponential Experience” and various show cars, CUPRA will also be displaying the brand’s second all-electric car, the CUPRA Tavascan – a world premiere. The car will already be presented to media representatives and guests from all over the world on Friday evening.
The two races on Saturday and Sunday will both start at 3 p.m. and run over 40 laps. A list of all broadcasters is available at fiaformulae.com.
Nico Müller: “Expect gaps of hundredths of a second”
“Berlin is the home race for ABT, but also a bit for me personally, because my wife is from the area,” says Nico Müller. “The race is an institution on the Formula E calendar. Like almost everyone in the paddock, I know the track well as I drove six races there in nine days in 2020.” So, after three recent races on new tracks in a row, it’s familiar territory again. Müller: “I expect the gaps to be even narrower on this familiar circuit and, especially in qualifying, a few tenths or maybe even hundredths of a second will be decisive. With its high proportion of full throttle and good overtaking opportunities, the track suits Formula E well.”
Robin Frijns: “Want to take the next steps”
Robin Frijns has already been on the podium twice in Berlin and knows the track inside out. “We want to make the best possible use of the two races in one weekend on a track we know well to take the next steps,” says the Dutchman who, like his teammate Nico Müller, was racing in the WEC last weekend. “It was nice to return to the team and Formula E in São Paulo. I used all the sessions and the race to settle in again – now we want to set our sights on the points at our team’s home race.”
Thomas Biermaier: “A special place for ABT”
“Berlin has a very special place in the hearts of all of us – this is where we have celebrated some of our greatest motorsport successes and experienced many emotional moments,” says ABT CEO and Team Principal Thomas Biermaier. ABT has already won three times in Berlin and stood on the podium here a total of ten times – a record in Formula E. “With two races, the rookie test on Monday, full grandstands and lots of activities from our partners, it’s going to be a hot weekend. We’re looking forward to it, because that’s exactly how motorsport should be.”
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