page_title: 2016 Berlin ePrix
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: 2016 Berlin ePrix / Background
caption_attribution_description: View towards west of Strausberger Platz in Berlin. Architect Prof. Hermann Henselmann, constructed around 1951-1953.
context_page_description: The 2016 Berlin ePrix was a Formula E electric car race held on 21 May 2016 before a crowd of 15,000 people at the Berlin Street Circuit in Berlin, Germany. It was the eighth round of the 2015–16 Formula E season and the second Berlin ePrix. The 48-lap race was won by e.dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi after starting from second position. Audi Sport ABT teammates Daniel Abt and Lucas di Grassi finished in second and third.
  Jean-Éric Vergne won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying but lost the lead to Buemi heading towards the first corner on the first lap. Vergne retook the lead from Buemi at the start of lap two until Buemi moved back into the position four laps later. Buemi held the lead through the mandatory pit stops, in which drivers switched into a second car, to win his and e.Dams-Renault's third race of the season. Further back, Abt passed Vergne and finished second despite ignoring team orders issued to him in the final two laps to allow di Grassi past as he became aware of the closing Nico Prost becoming a threat.
context_section_description: The Berlin ePrix was confirmed as part of Formula E's 2015–16 schedule in October 2015 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. It was the eighth of ten single seater electric car races of the 2015–16 season, the second Berlin ePrix, and was held on 21 May 2016 at the Berlin Street Circuit in Berlin, Germany. The eleven-turn track is 2.030 km (1.261 mi) long, with the pit lane on Karl-Marx-Allee and the course went around Strausberger Platz and Alexanderplatz.
  Before the race, Audi Sport ABT driver Lucas di Grassi led the Drivers' Championship with 126 points, eleven ahead of Sébastien Buemi in second, who in turn, was a further 33 points in front of third-placed Sam Bird. Jérôme d'Ambrosio was fourth on 64 points and Stéphane Sarrazin was fifth with 58 points. e.dams-Renault Led the Teams' Championship with 165 points, seven in front of Audi Sport ABT in second. Dragon and Virgin (on 112 and 106 points) were third and fourth and Mahindra were fifth with 65 points. e.dams-Renault and Audi Sport ABT had dominated the season, with Bird winning the Buenos Aires ePrix and d'Ambrosio securing the victory in Mexico City. Jean-Éric Vergne and Bird had each finished in second once, and Nick Heidfeld, Robin Frijns and Daniel Abt had all secured third-place results.
  In November 2015, it was reported the Berlin Tempelhof Airport was "highly unlikely" to hold the race because the facility was being used to shelter refugees. After the series received official confirmation they were not allowed to use Tempelhof's facilities, Formula E's chief operating officer Alejandro Agag sought to hold the event at the Norisring street circuit in Nuremberg with alternatives for Munich and Berlin. Negotiations with Norisring's management ended when a decision had not been made by the 15 January deadline. It was announced one month later the race would be held in downtown Berlin pending approval from city authorities and motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The race came under disapproval from the mayors of the Friedrichshain and Berlin-Mitte districts Monika Herrmann and Christian Hanke who both stated they did not want to the race in the city centre. Although motor racing is forbidden on Germany's public roads, the Senate of Berlin granted dispensation for Formula E to hold the race on Berlin's streets in March. Construction of the track started on 9 May, 12 days before the race.
  After finishing in third in the preceding Paris ePrix, Buemi was confident about his chances for the Berlin race, saying the plan was to qualify in a higher starting position and attempt to race at the front of the field: "We know we can do it as in Paris the car was super-quick; we just started too far behind to be able to do any better." Abt said that while he was not interested in the drivers' standings, he wanted to finish the ePrix on the podium. He wished to celebrate the achievement with the German spectators, and it was the best method in helping his teammate di Grassi in the championship battle. After winning the season's previous two races, di Grassi stated that his team's objective was to win the title and aimed to continue their recent momentum into Berlin: "Our car is a winner, our team keeps cool and stays focused when the pressure is on – in this way we can win the home race.”
  There was one driver change before the race. Having been in one of the Aguri cars since the first round of the season in Beijing, António Félix da Costa missed the race because of a Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters commitment at the Red Bull Ring and was replaced by endurance driver René Rast. The deal was confirmed in the week before the race and was originally slated to be World Endurance Championship driver Adam Carroll but the agreement fell through. It marked Rast's first participation in single-seater machinery since the Formula BMW ADAC in 2004 and practised on the team's simulator to familiarise himself with the car. Oliver Turvey was set to be replaced by the Formula Renault 3.5 driver Ben Hanley because of a Super GT commitment at the Autopoli
caption: Strausberger Platz, where part of the race was held.
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