2019 Swiss ePrix

2019 Swiss ePrix
Race 11 of 13 of the 2018–19 Formula E season ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	22 June 2019 (2019-06-22)
Official name	2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix
Location	Bern Street Circuit, Bern
Course	Street circuit
Course length	2.668 kilometres (1.658 mi)
Distance	31 laps, 82.708 kilometres (51.392 mi)
Weather	Sunny to light rain
Pole position
Driver	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS
Time	1:18.813
Fastest lap
Driver	António Félix da Costa	Andretti-BMW
Time	1:21.240 on lap 27
Podium
First	Jean-Éric Vergne	Techeetah-DS
Second	Mitch Evans	Jaguar
Third	Sébastien Buemi	e.Dams-Nissan
Lap leaders

The 2019 Swiss ePrix (formally the 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race on the streets of Bern, Switzerland, on 22 June 2019. It was the eleventh round of the 2018–19 Formula E Championship, and was the first and only running of the Swiss ePrix, which was the second Formula E race held in Switzerland, after the Zürich ePrix in 2018.^[1] The race was won by Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne^[2] after starting from pole position and leading all 31-laps. Jaguar driver Mitch Evans finished a close second, ahead of Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi who finished third for the Nissan e.Dams team.

The race was halted by a red flag on the first lap following a collision involving several cars that blocked the track. After a 40-minute delay, the race was restarted with drivers reordered back to their starting positions. These position changes led to complaints by several of the drivers who had gained positions during the first lap. Envision Virgin Racing driver Robin Frijns was the only driver who was unable to restart the race due to car damage suffered in the first lap crash.^[3]

The majority of the race was held under dry conditions until the final two laps, when a heavy rain shower brought treacherous conditions to the circuit. The change in weather allowed Evans to close the gap to Vergne and stay with him to the checkered flag, but Vergne was able to hold on, ultimately crossing the line just 0.160 seconds ahead of Evans.^[4]

The consequence of the final positions meant that Jean-Éric Vergne was able to expand his lead in the Drivers' Championship by 32-points over championship rival Lucas di Grassi who finished ninth.^[5] The strong result for Mitch Evans moved him from sixth to third in the standings. Techeetahs' victory meant that they were able to extend their lead in the Teams' Championship by 43 points over Audi, while Virgin maintained third place with two races remaining at the double-header in New York.