Oliver Rowland’s overtake on Pascal Wehrlein, which appeared to at least start under a yellow flag situation, during Sunday's Berlin E-Prix stoked up an array of talking points post-race.

The move for second place, with Rowland taking advantage of his 350kW attack mode offset to Wehrlein on lap 34, was made as a yellow flag was deployed for a sizeable piece of debris on the start-and-finish straight.

In the commentary box co-commentators James Rossiter and Sam Bird were initially adamant that Rowland had overtaken under yellow and expected an investigation. It never came.

The rationalisation for that was the move had actually been completed under a slippery surface flag and not a straight yellow. This is where the incident got confusing.

Frame-by-frame on replay several things seem clear. The initial ‘yellow’ status is visible from Rowland’s onboard camera on the digital display panel at the finish line, as he starts the manoeuvre. Then it switches to ‘yellow-and-red’ as the pass is being completed.

The official FIA timestamp, available on the timing coverage of the race, states a yellow, then slippery surface (yellow-and-red) and then yellow again. Turn 0 references the start-and-finish straight:

Initial message: 16.39pm Yellow at Turn 0
16.39pm Slippery Surface at Turn 0
16.39pm Track clear at Turn 0
16.39pm Slippery Surface at Turn 0

The yellow-and-red striped flag can be shown for pieces of debris on the circuit and drivers are required to adjust their driving accordingly and be cautious. However, overtaking is not forbidden under this status, while under a yellow flag it is.

According to Article 2.5.5 in Appendix H of the International Sporting Code the yellow-and-red striped flag warning is to "inform drivers that there is a deterioration of grip due to oil or water on the track in the area beyond the flag. This flag should be displayed for at least (depending on the circumstances) 4 laps unless the surface returns to normal beforehand".

Rowland wasn't even aware there was any contention about the move until post-race. He told The Race that his engineer Richard Monin “didn't tell me anything. But I saw in my dash that it was the 'YR', the yellow-and-red, so I didn't even consider until told afterwards. And then I was like, I didn't see a yellow flag".

Porsche was believed to be unhappy that a sanction was not applied to Rowland, although it was powerless to exercise a protest as the incident was not officially logged and investigated, meaning a review or a potential petition for review could not be started. Porsche is understood by The Race to be disappointed that the incident was not officially investigated.

From Wehrlein’s standpoint he was largely unaware until post-race that it could be a flashpoint, telling The Race that he “didn't even see a flag” and that he had “no opinion on those things".

"You know, on things I cannot control, I just take it as they come, I don't mind,” said Wehrlein, who has reinstated himself as championship leader by three points and has 18 points in hand over Rowland.