Tempelhof Airport circuit, Saturday 22 April - Sunday 23 April

Hear from NEOM McLaren Formula E Team drivers René Rast and Jake Hughes, and Team Principal Ian James after the Berlin E-Prix.

Round 7

"It was a very difficult race, particularly in the first 10 laps. The whole field was close together with a mixture of slow and fast, so it was all about trying to avoid contact. I then unfortunately hit Sergio (Sette Camara), picking up damage and a five-second time penalty. By pushing to the end of the race, we learned more about how these Gen3 cars run on the track, which will be helpful ahead of the second race. We’ll debrief and analyse the data to work out how we can maximise our car for tomorrow."

"This wasn’t how we wanted the race to go. With the amount of energy these cars save in a slipstream, often the leader doesn’t want to be in the lead which pushes the pack together, making contact extremely likely. Unfortunately, I was caught up in the back of someone else’s accident, resulting in another car hitting the back of me. This caused a lot of damage and ended my race.

"Despite the incident, the pace isn’t where we want it to be. With the double header weekend, we’ll look at the data and see where we can make improvements. Thanks to the team in the garage for the work they’re putting in to turn my car around ahead of Round 8."

"It’s been a tough day for the team here in Berlin. We struggled to unlock the necessary pace throughout the practice sessions, and this trend continued into qualifying where we weren’t able to progress beyond the group stages, with Jake starting in P12 and René in P14.

"As we have seen before, starting in the midfield of a Formula E race puts you at a higher risk of being involved in an incident. This was especially true today, where the racing itself was about as chaotic as we have experienced. This resulted in both René and Jake being involved in crashes which effectively ended both their respective races.

"We need to work on ensuring that we can unlock the performance which puts us in a better position from the start. This remains the focus of the team. We have another opportunity tomorrow to redress the balance – and the work is already well underway.

"On a lighter note, Berlin has yet again been a great event for all the fans. The atmosphere was fantastic and it was a pleasure to see so many papaya fans and host our partners here in Germany."

Standings after Round 7

Round 8

"It’s been a very difficult weekend, particularly today. I missed FP3 and then went straight into a wet qualifying session without any laps done to prepare, so I was on the back foot. Whilst I moved forward during the race as our conservative strategy paid off, we were just not quick enough this weekend. We now just need to keep working and come back stronger in Monaco."

"It’s been a tricky day and weekend overall. We came into the weekend with a bit of a handicap and the track provides a certain style of racing which doesn’t suit us. I think I was also guilty of trying to race faster cars today which I ended up paying for massively in energy. Not trying to race them felt a bit defeatist, so I tried, but sadly it didn’t pay off. 

"We know the limitation we have at the moment and we’re trying to solve it. I'm proud of all the team in the garage, in Bicester and in Woking for all the work they’re doing. We now go to a few tracks which should be a bit better for us so hopefully we can get back to scoring points."

"This has been a particularly tough weekend for the team. The performance has fallen well short of our expectations and this is reflected in the fact that we are leaving Berlin without any points.

"The day started with a setback - an issue beyond our control resulted in René stopping on track immediately after leaving the pitlane. This cost him the entire FP3 session, losing valuable learning for qualifying and the race. We didn't have the performance to progress beyond the group stages, with Jake starting P14 and René P17.

"During the race, both drivers - together with the support of the team - executed their respective strategies well. However, this was not enough to see either driver finish in the points.

"We know we’ve got to use the frustration from this weekend to energise us for the work ahead. Although we don't expect any silver bullets, we know that we can find solutions to the current challenges. In order to do this effectively, we will have draw a line under this event and look forwards. We will push for improvements in the overall package that will enable us to close the gaps to competition.  As a team, we relish a challenge - so will approach this one with the necessary determination. Now, on to Monaco!"

Standings after Round 8