The Berlin round of the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship (2014/2015) took place at the city’s former Tempelhof Airport where the track surface was particularly abrasive. This year’s action will take place instead in the heart of the German capital, around a more conventional street circuit.

After visiting Asia, then South and North America, the 2015/2016 FIA Formula E Championship arrived in Europe with the Paris ePrix on April 23. This weekend, it moves on to Berlin which featured on the championship’s inaugural calendar.

A repeat visit to Tempelhof Airport was not possible, however, so the drivers face a different venue this time round. Indeed, the all-electric action will take place in the city’s Mitte district, between the busy Alexanderplatz – where 300,000 people flock every day – and Strausberger Platz, while the pit garages will be erected along Karl Marx Allee. The total length of the 11-turn circuit is 2.030km.

Like their French colleagues in Paris, the championship’s German stars are thrilled to be competing in the streets of Berlin. “When I saw the plan for this circuit, I thought it was great that the organisers and the city of Berlin had succeeded in making this race happen,” says Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport’s Daniel Abt. “It’s a really incredible place with a unique atmosphere. Racing in the streets of our capital is a dream come true for me.”

Serge Grisin, the manager of Michelin’s Formula E programme, believes the second Berlin ePrix will be very different from the first but that it won’t pose any particular challenges for the drivers’ Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres: “In terms of grip and surface, the streets of Berlin resemble those we saw in Paris rather than the abrasive airport taxiways we had to cope with last year. As a result, this race is pretty much known territory for us. Since the beginning of this championship, the Michelin Pilot Sport EV has had to deal with practically all the types of conditions that can exist so we expect that wear-rates will be relatively low here. That said, the circuit’s layout is quite unique in that it features a high number of straights and hairpin bends, so that will require the drivers to show their braking management skills. It will also call for a great deal of hard acceleration out of the tighter turns.”

The Michelin Pilot Sport EV was developed especially for Formula E and has several specific features:
– Size: 18 inches (interior diameter). This size facilitates the reliable carry-over of technology to road tyres thanks to the advantages of full-scale testing made possible by the championship. Formula E is the first racing series to feature single-seater cars fitted with tyres of this size.

– Tread: The tread of the Michelin Pilot Sport EV bears numerous similarities with that of a road tyre. It has a pattern like that of a racing rain tyre but is used by the Formula E cars whatever the weather.
– Longevity: only one set of tyres is authorised for each car per meeting to cover free practice, qualifying and the race. The spare that is allowed must be a tyre carried over from the previous race in order to minimise the number of tyres that have to be made and shipped.