After races in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa and Brazil, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is heading to Europe for the first time this season. Germany’s capital city Berlin is the venue for races seven and eight on 22 and 23 April. And the Hankook iON Race will be making sure the 22 drivers have the necessary grip at the decommissioned airport Tempelhof. This will be the ninth edition of the Berlin E-Prix, which is a permanent fixture on the calendar of the all-electric race series. With approximately 3.7 million residents, Berlin is the largest local authority in Germany and the most densely populated city in the European Union. It takes 18 days and 1643 concrete blocks and safety fences to transform the apron of Tempelhof airport into a real racetrack. “Europe is the biggest sales region for our company. Here in the EU, we produce customised tyres for all of Europe’s leading automobile manufacturers at one of the most modern facilities in the world. Which is why we are delighted that Formula E is now coming to the fans in Europe. The opening races in Berlin are extra special since Germany is one of our key markets globally. The concrete slabs on the former Tempelhof airport are of course a challenge. But the strong performance of our premium tyre Hankook iON Race in all of the season’s rounds thus far on various tracks has shown that our engineers have done a great job of developing the tyre in advance,” says Hankook’s Director of Communications Felix Kinzer.
There are four drivers who are very excited to be travelling to their home event. In front of their “own fans”, Germany’s Maximilian Günther (Oberstdorf/Maserati MSG Racing), André Lotterer (Duisburg/Avalanche Andretti Formula E), René Rast (Minden/NEOM McLaren Formula E Team) and Pascal Wehrlein (Sigmaringen/TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) will battle for victory. Wehrlein has already won two races this season, and leads the overall standings with 86 points, ahead of second-placed Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E) of Great Britain, who trails by 24 points. In third place is New Zealand’s Nick Cassidy (61 points) from Team Envision Racing.
