De Vries crowned 2021 Formula E champion as Nato takes maiden win in Berlin
De Vries went into the final leading the championship but had a lot of work to do from 13th on the grid.
Mitch Evans looked set to be the favourite given that he was starting from third on the grid with Jake Dennis the outsider from ninth.
There was drama from the off as Evans stalled at the start, several cars avoided his stricken Jaguar except for Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara.
With both Evans and Mortara out of the race at the start, the race was red-flagged due to the amount of debris left out on track.
Once the race restarted, Dennis was eighth putting him in likely title contention with de Vries out of the points.
The drama continued as Dennis lost control of his BMW into Turn 1, clattering the barriers.
From then on, the destiny of the title was in de Vries’ hands with his three main rivals out of the race.
De Vries held on to finish eighth to secure the 2021 Formula E crown.
It was double-delight for Mercedes as Stoffel Vandoorne’s podium ensured Mercedes took the teams’ championship.
Vandoorne led the race from pole but lost out to eventual race winner Nato and Nissan’s Oliver Rowland.
Nato had to defend hard from Rowland at the Safety Car restart, caused by Antonio Felix da Costa’s stricken Techeetah.
The Frenchman won by 2.2s ahead of Rowland, with Vandoorne completing the podium.
Andre Lotterer fought hard to finish fourth ahead of Mahindra’s Alexander Sims.
Pascal Wehrlein finished sixth ahead of Sam Bird, who got past de Vries on the final lap.
Rene Rast started from the pit lane but recovered to finish ninth, while Tom Blomqvist picked up a rare point for the NIO outfit.
Click here for the full FIA Formula E results from the season finale in Berlin
