Formula E has had its fair share of red flags this season, and with the first corner of the Bern ePrix circuit being a fiddly chicane… well, you don’t have to be a wizard to have seen what was going to happen.
And sure enough, Pascal Wehrlein got squeezed, hit by Maxi Gunther, triggering a classic Formula E roadblock on the inside. On the other side of the track, Robin Frijns was spun around by Jerome d’Ambrosio, blocking the drivers on the outside.
Heartbreak for @RFrijns whose race was over in seconds after this collision on the opening lap. The race will resume soon #SwissEPrix #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/8XbBMl7AbK
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 22, 2019
Those at the back were able to bypass the incident, gaining a truckload of positions in the process, before the inevitable red flag was flown.
Following a red flag restart, the grid lines up in the order it was in at the last time where it was possible to determine the order of all the cars – which is the rule in pretty much every racing championship. Since the crash happened at the first corner, race officials declared that cars would be reshuffled into qualifying order for the restart – as it should have been.
A few drivers (unsurprisingly, those who gained from the incident) decided that was the incorrect call. The ever-vocal Lucas di Grassi (who went from 19th to eighth in the melee) led the complaints as a bunch of drivers amusingly argued the toss with an FIA official.
.@LucasdiGrassi and @MassaFelipe19 among the drivers debating what happens next after the red flag #SwissEPrix #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/1XE8fdb3pF
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 22, 2019
You just know they wouldn’t have reacted the same if they’d lost places in the incident, but that’s racing drivers for you!
The race itself ended up being a tense battle for the win between Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans. Vergne defended well for the whole race and even survived a late downpour to win his third race of the season and move 32 points clear of teammate Andre Lotterer at the top of the championship.
With two races left to go this season in the New York double-header, it’s crazy to think that Vergne could wrap up his second title with a race to go, when at one point it looked like being an eight-way showdown in the final round!
