BERLIN (Reuters) – Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne handed Mercedes a first Formula E victory on Thursday as the all-electric series wrapped up its season in Berlin.
The ex-Formula One driver led Dutch team mate Nyck De Vries in a one-two finish from pole position at the German capital’s former Tempelhof airport.
Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi was third for Nissan e.dams.
“That was pretty much the perfect race,” said Vandoorne, who will now head to this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix to fill his role as Mercedes F1 reserve.
The title had already been won by DS Techeetah’s Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa, with Vandoorne securing the runner-up position — a point ahead of DS Techeetah’s outgoing champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
Second and sixth positions overall were separated by just 10 points.
Mercedes, the dominant force in Formula One, made their debut in the electric series this season and finished third overall in the teams’ championship.
Minutes after the end of the race, the Monaco-based Venturi team announced Brazilian former F1 driver Felipe Massa was leaving with a year remaining on his contract.
“The past two seasons have been a big learning curve for us all and unfortunately, for various reasons, we haven’t quite achieved what we hoped,” said the 39-year-old after ending the season 22nd overall.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
