In a rain-soaked final practice session at the Berlin E-Prix, changing conditions, a flying wheel, and a late red flag shaped the morning. While Buemi emerged fastest, all eyes were on da Costa after his wheel fell off without an apparent reason. With unpredictable weather and potential qualifying disruptions, the pressure was on all teams to extract the maximum performance out of the cars.
Rain eases but conditions remain tricky
Despite improved weather compared to the morning and to yesterday‘s sessions — when umbrellas were the drivers’ best friends — the Berlin track was still wet, with standing water in several turns.
The FIA decided to delay the start of FP3 by 15 minutes to ensure driver safety in the tricky conditions. As the safety car assessed the circuit, FIA updates began highlighting specific corners with the worst conditions. Ultimately the track was clear and the green flag was brought up.
Drivers search for grip
In the early laps, drivers cautiously navigated the cars through heavy spray from vehicles ahead and the wet patches. They tried to identify the driest lines and build confidence fast. Nobody pushed for fast laps initially, focusing instead on getting heat into the tyres and understanding the evolving grip levels.
Wehrlein was one of the first to attempt a quick lap, but the track quickly reminded him who was in charge. Camera caught several moments of oversteer and corrections thorough his lap. Nevertheless, he managed to clock the fastest time at that point, until the weather began improving and lap times started tumbling.
Mortara leads as times drop
As the rain fully stopped and the drying line began forming on the track, lap times dropped down. Mortara jumped to the top of the timing sheets with a time more than half a second faster than Wehrlein, who remained in P2.
With uncertainty looming over qualifying, many teams pushed hard in case FP3 results were needed to set the grid.
Da Costa loses a wheel
With just under 18 minutes remaining, a red flag was waved after da Costa lost a wheel in Turn 10. Since he was already slowing into the corner, it pointed to a likely pit crew error rather than a driving mistake. The session was stopped, and all cars returned to the pits as time continued ticking down.
Da Costa’s session was over, and he would finish last, unable to rejoin once the session resumed. On top of it, his team remains under investigation for an unsafe release.
Di Grassi’s full throttle crash
Once the session restarted, teams urged their drivers to push immediately. Everyone knew that with the unpredictable weather, these laps are cruicial. Andretti looked strong, but it was Buemi — one of Formula E’s wet-weather specialists — who stole the spotlight, setting the fastest time in the drying conditions.
That was until di Grassi crashed heavily into the barriers, bringing out another red flag with under 5 minutes remaining. With little time left and no plan for a session extension, race control confirmed FP3 would not be resumed.
Final standings and talking points
Buemi topped the timesheets, followed by Barnard and Rowland. Da Costa remained last with his only lap times on wet track conditions from the start of the session and the team remained under investigation.
With Jaguar looking strong yesterday, but Evans complained about not finishing their planned running programme today due to red flags. And finally, Wehrlein, who cut into Rowland‘s championship lead yesterday, was left looking for answers today.