A Mercedes-Benz EQ/Michelin one-two wraps up 2019/2020 Formula E campaign

Formula E’s Season 6 concluded with a 69th win for the championship’s founding partner Michelin. The last of six races in Berlin saw Stoffel Vandoorne head a Mercedes-Benz EQ/Michelin one-two after Antonio Felix da Costa and DS Techeetah had secured the all-electric series’ Drivers’ and Constructors’ crowns with two rounds remaining.

Michelin Motorsport’s technical squad rose successfully to the logistical challenge posed by the organisation of six back-to-back races at Berlin’s former Tempelhof Airport as the Michelin Pilot Sport delivered yet another display of its consistency at Formula E’s most abrasive venue.

“The bill in Berlin featured six Formula E e-prix and seven rounds of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy,” explains Jérôme Mondain, the manager of Michelin Motorsport’s Formula E programme. “As a result, our six fitters had the task of fitting, balancing and removing some 1,300 tyres, including 864 Michelin Track Connect-equipped Michelin Pilot Sports for the Formula E races alone, a job that involved individually matching each tyre and sensor to the 24 drivers.”

The last two e-prix of the season – which used a different circuit layout to the first four – produced a maiden Formula E win for Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams/Michelin) on Wednesday, August 12, while ex-F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne headed Mercedes-Benz EQ/Michelin’s first one-two in the series the following day to claim his first victory.

The Belgian’s result earned him second place behind Da Costa in the final 2019/2020 standings, a point clear of the outgoing champ Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah/Michelin), while Nissan e.dams cinched runner-up honours in the Constructors’ table, behind DS Techeetah and ahead of Mercedes-Benz EQ.

The 2019/2020 Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy was won by New Zealander Simon Evans.

“It’s been a very positive sixth year in Formula E for Michelin,” observes Jérôme Mondain. “The Michelin Pilot Sport proved competitive and consistent across a wide variety of conditions at the different circuits visited in the course of the 2019/2020 championship. Its versatility was especially evident in Berlin where the drivers posted the same lap times during a shower as they did in the dry. The Michelin Track Connect – which marks a first in international motor racing – harvested valuable real-time data which, after analysis, allowed us to run lower tyre pressures during the last four races and consequently provide the drivers with both superior performance and even greater consistency.”

ABB FIA Formula E action will resume when Season 7 gets under way next January in Santiago, Chile.

Berlin E-Prix 5 – Final positions:

1. Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams), 36 laps

2. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing), +1.903s

3. René Rast (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), +7.490s

4. André Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche FE Team), +7.863s

5. Alex Lynn (Mahindra Racing), +11.441s

Etc.

Berlin E-Prix 6 – Final positions:

1. Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-Benz EQ FE Team), 36 laps

2. Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-Benz EQ FE Team), +1.340s

3. Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams), +2.841s

4. René Rast (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), +3.580s

5. Sam Bird (Envision Virgin Racing), +8.710s

Etc.