This week, the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team will be heading to Germany for the 13th and 14th round of Season 11.

Sam, Taylor and Team Principal Ian James are here to help us prepare for the event. As well as hearing from the team, we’ll also be explaining some key FE terminology, recapping the season so far, and catching up with a team member on their priorities this weekend.

Key info

Where	Berlin, Germany
When	Saturday, 12 July & Sunday, 13 July 2025
Lap Distance	2.345km

“Coming off the back of a positive weekend in Jakarta, I’m looking forward to returning to Tempelhof for the Berlin E-Prix double-header this weekend. I have good memories of this track from last season, as it’s where I scored my first-ever points in Formula E.

“With only a few races remaining this season, I can’t wait to get out on track and do my best to score big points for the team.”

“Since our double-points haul in Jakarta, the team have been working hard to continue our progress and competitive form. In the race, I had an issue with Attack Mode which we have now understood and learnt from and I’m confident that in Berlin we’ll be able to challenge for the podium positions.

“We have four races left this season to close in on the top three in the Teams’ Championship, so I’ll be doing everything I can to help everyone at NEOM McLaren get the results they deserve.”

“For the final quarter of the season, we return to a favourite Formula E location – Berlin. Despite a challenging race last time out in Jakarta, we sit in a strong position in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships, and we’re ready to continue the fight this weekend, ending the season on a high.

“In Berlin, we’ll also welcome our Reserve and Development driver Alex Dunne and McLaren Racing Driver Development Programme member Ella Lloyd for the annual Berlin Rookie Test. They’ve both made a strong contribution to the team’s performance with their work in the simulator, and I am thrilled we can give them further experience in GEN3 Evo machinery.

“With two double-header events that remain, both championships are still all to play for, and we’ll be looking to extract the maximum potential.”

The season so far

The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team delivered a solid weekend last time out in Jakarta. Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird produced P6 and P7 finishes, respectively, bringing home strong points for the Teams’ Championship. We’re currently fourth, 32 points off third.

FEducation: The Pit-Boost window

Our aim is to ensure everyone is as equipped as possible to follow Season 11, so whether you’re new to following Formula E or a long-time fan, we’ll be explaining some of the series’ most complicated terminology, jargon, acronyms, and technical terms to aid your understanding. This week, it’s the Pit Boost window.

The FIA sets a pre-determined window for when teams are able to use Pit Boost, based on the State-of-Charge (SoC) of their Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS). In previous races where Pit Boost has been available, this window has been open between 40% and 60% charge.

This means that teams will have Pit Boost available at different times during the race, depending on how aggressive they want to be with their energy usage.

These decisions are led by the strategy team, who will run through various permutations and determine the best course of action for each race. Cars cannot be pitted at the same time, meaning that each side of the garage will run a different Pit Boost strategy. The pre-race strategy, however, is not fixed, and it may change as the race evolves.

So far, many of the strategies have focused on getting cars into clean air, resulting in similar tactics across the grid and finger margins. This increases the importance of the driver and pit crew, whose job it is to execute the plan quickly and efficiently during the race.

Click here for a full, in-depth breakdown of Pit Boost.

What to watch out for in Berlin

Each weekend, we’ll catch up with a different member of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team and ask them what their priorities are for the upcoming E-Prix. This weekend, we’ve spoken with Chief Engineer, Albert Lau, who will be discussing the upcoming Formula E Rookie Test in Berlin.

The day will be split into two, three-hour sessions, and each team will run both their race cars with two rookie drivers on the Monday following the race weekend.

As always, pre-event preparation is massively important, and this starts well before the test. The rookies will have been well prepared in the simulator and will have trained for all the things we ask them to do during the Rookie Test. Additionally, the engineers will have written detailed testing notes, which give good visibility to everyone in terms of what we want to test and why we want to do it, as well as operational notes regarding how to execute the test.

During the test, I’ll have an overview of both cars, ensuring we’re running to plan and making any notes that may help us in the post-event analysis. Any learning that can be gleaned from track testing is incredibly valuable. So, Alex and Ella will have dedicated test items that are designed to gather more learning in an effort to add performance for the race team.  

This will be the second time Alex and Ella have driven the car, but since the last time, the software has taken quite a step, so the car will feel a bit different for them. In general, the opportunity to drive something a bit different from their normal 2025 race programmes will push their ability to adapt and mentally prepare, so it’s a good challenge.

They will look to deliver a clean execution of their individual test programmes, giving valuable driver feedback while driving clean, performant laps.

Don’t miss out on any of the action and follow the team on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.