Formula E switches off attack mode in Berlin due to battery problems

The FIA ​​has reduced the attack mode available for the Berlin E-Prix due to battery concerns.

The typical eight minutes of Attack Mode – effectively a power boost activated by riding a longer, wider line at one point on the track – will be reduced to six minutes for Saturday’s race and four minutes for Sunday’s race.

While the weather is currently clear and warm in Berlin, it is believed that the battery problems this time are not related to the temperature – unlike at the Sao Paulo E-Prix earlier this year, when high temperatures resulted in many drivers entering the country with excessive temperatures The goal was energy because they weren’t able to push too hard. Instead, similar to upcoming races on permanent tracks in Shanghai and Portland, the Berlin Tempelhof Airport circuit features a series of high-speed sections that place greater strain on the WAE-powered battery.

“The duration of Attack Mode for the Berlin E-Prix has been shortened as part of the normal and continuous process of monitoring the vehicle lifecycle,” the FIA ​​said in a statement. “The sporting regulations have been specifically designed to allow for this flexibility in format.”

NEOM McLaren team principal Ian James downplayed the significance of the change, saying there was always room for such adjustments and that they could even benefit the sporting side.

“When the new attack mode format was developed, it was done with a degree of flexibility to ensure that the attack mode profiles could be adapted to the different track characteristics,” he told RACER. “And I think we’re seeing that here in Berlin, where we don’t have the full eight minutes that we’ve seen in the past, but a reduced time for both the Saturday and Sunday races. This is of course an advantage if the sporting format of the race also benefits from it.

“We have to be careful not to do this for technical reasons. I know that the FIA, together with its suppliers, will look at how we can ensure that we always do it for the right reasons in the future.”