The Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit is a street circuit located at the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport in Germany. It is home to the Formula E Berlin ePrix. It hosted its first race as round 8 of the 2014–15 Formula E season. After not holding a race in 2016, the venue has been used again since 2017.[1]
 Formula E Circuit (2024) | |
| Location | Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany |
|---|---|
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) CEST (DST) |
| Coordinates | 52°28′25″N 13°24′06″E / 52.47361°N 13.40167°E |
| FIA Grade | 3E |
| Opened | 23 May 2015 |
| Major events | Current: Formula E Berlin ePrix (2015, 2017–present) Former: Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy (2019–2020) |
| Website | https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/128065/formula-e-to-return-to-berlin-tempelhof, https://www.fia.com/news/fia-formula-e-returns-racing-six-races-row-berlin |
| Formula E Circuit (2024) | |
| Length | 2.343 km (1.460 miles) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Race lap record | 1:02.972 ( Norman Nato, Porsche 99X Electric, 2024, F-E) |
| Formula E Circuit (2017–2023) | |
| Length | 2.355 km (1.463 miles) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Race lap record | 1:06.604 ( Jake Dennis, Porsche 99X Electric, 2023, F-E) |
| Reverse Formula E Circuit (2020–2022) | |
| Length | 2.355 km (1.463 miles) |
| Turns | 10 |
| Race lap record | 1:07.849 ( Nick Cassidy, Audi e-Tron FE07, 2022, F-E) |
| Extended Formula E Circuit (2020) | |
| Length | 2.505 km (1.557 miles) |
| Turns | 16 |
| Race lap record | 1:17.232 ( Lucas di Grassi, Audi e-tron FE06, 2020, F-E) |
| Original Formula E Circuit (2015) | |
| Length | 2.469 km (1.534 miles) |
| Turns | 17 |
| Race lap record | 1:24.435 ( Nelson Piquet Jr., Spark-Renault SRT 01E, 2015, F-E) |
History
editDevelopment
edit
The 2.469 km (1.534 mi) anti-clockwise original track featured 17 turns and was designed by Rodrigo Nunes.[2] Venturi driver Nick Heidfeld described the circuit as follows: "It looks like it’s going to be a very twisty and challenging circuit with 17 turns in under 2.5 km, and I think the fans are going to have great visibility wherever they are. Many corners are just followed by the next which also partly shows that overtaking will not be easy, on the other hand, with so many corners followed by each other it’s easier to mess up and make a small mistake and then maybe the driver behind can capitalise on this. The two longer straights will be best for overtaking and using the FanBoost. It will be crucial to get into a good rhythm to get plenty of laps in and to learn the track quickly. It will also be interesting to see how the circuit is built up as normally on a street circuit there is no run-off so and no room for mistakes but in Berlin it could be more open allowing a little more margin for error."[2] The course runs under the canopy roof of the historic Tempelhof Airport terminal from turn 13 to turn 14 and then again during turn 17.
2015 Berlin ePrix
editThe circuit first took place on 23 May 2015. It was initially won by Lucas di Grassi. However, a technical infringement discovered in post-race checks led to his disqualification, with the win being awarded to Dragon Racing driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio.
Temporary absence
editOwing to the Tempelhof airport building's usage as a temporary refugee shelter, the Berlin ePrix was moved to the Berlin Street Circuit, a layout created specifically for Formula E along the Karl-Marx-Allee to the west of Alexanderplatz.[3] The 2016-17 season calendar listed Berlin as a host city, but did not specify which circuit was to be used. In January 2017, it was confirmed that the race would return to Tempelhof.[1]
2017 Berlin ePrix
editIn March 2017, it was announced that the circuit layout was completely revamped.[4] The circuit hosted the 2017 Berlin ePrix, which became a doubleheader round after the cancellation of the Brussels ePrix, which took place on the 10–11 June. The two races were won by Mahindra driver Felix Rosenqvist, his first in the series, and Renault-e.Dams driver Sébastien Buemi.
2020 Berlin ePrix
editAfter the 2019-20 season was temporarily suspended and several rounds were cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,[5] the FIA announced that the season would conclude in early August with three double-header events in Tempelhof, using a different configuration of the circuit for each event. The first two races were held on August 5–6, 2020, on a reverse configuration of the track.[6] The next two races took place on August 8–9, with the normal circuit being used. The third and final double header was held on August 12–13, on an extended version of the track featuring several more turns.
Layout history
edit-
Original Formula E Circuit (2015) -
Formula E Circuit (2017–2023) -
Reverse Formula E Circuit (2020–2022) -
Extended Formula E Circuit (2020) -
Formula E Circuit (2024–)
Lap records
editAs of May 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event | Circuit Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula E Circuit: 2.343 km (2024) | |||||
| Formula E | 1:02.972[7] | Norman Nato | Porsche 99X Electric | 2024 Berlin ePrix |
|
| Formula E Circuit: 2.355 km (2017–2023) | |||||
| Formula E | 1:06.604[8] | Jake Dennis | Porsche 99X Electric | 2023 Berlin ePrix | 
|
| Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | 1:24.551 | Gregory Segers | Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | 2020 4th Berlin Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy round | |
| Reverse Formula E Circuit: 2.355 km (2020–2022) | |||||
| Formula E | 1:07.849[9] | Nick Cassidy | Audi e-Tron FE07 | 2022 Berlin ePrix | 
|
| Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | 1:24.367 | Oliver Webb | Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | 2020 2nd Berlin Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy round | |
| Extended Formula E Circuit: 2.505 km (2020) | |||||
| Formula E | 1:17.232 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi e-tron FE06 | 2020 Berlin ePrix | 
|
| Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | 1:35.107 | Simon Evans | Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy (racecar) | 2020 7th Berlin Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy round | |
| Original Formula E Circuit: 2.469 km (2015) | |||||
| Formula E | 1:24.435 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Spark-Renault SRT_01E | 2015 Berlin ePrix | 
|
References
edit- ^ a b "Formula E's Berlin round returning to Tempelhof Airport". autosport.com. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Berlin Circuit". fiaformulae.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Formula E finds alternative to Berlin refugee shelter venue". bbc.co.uk. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ "Formula E reveals revised Berlin Tempelhof track layout". Autosport. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "Formula E and FIA take decision to temporarily suspend season". FIA Formula E. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "FIA Formula E returns to racing with six races in a row in Berlin". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "2024 FIA Formula E World Championship Berlin ePrix/1 Race - Fastest Laps". 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "2023 FIA Formula E World Championship Berlin ePrix/1 Race - Fastest Laps". 22 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "2022 Berlin ePrix Race 2 Statistics". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.