Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport’s Lucas di Grassi out-qualified Jean-Eric Vergne and Sebastien Buemi to take his first pole position in Formula E.
Group One:
Jaguar’s Mitch Evans delivered a shock provisional pole position ahead of Sam Bird and Robin Frijns, both of whom had been looking quick so far this weekend.
FP2 timesheet-topper Bird was the first to concede that his lap was “scruffy” over the radio, seemingly un-optimistic about his chances of securing a place in the top five shootout.
Top five after group one:
- Evans – Jaguar – 1:09.505
- Bird – DS Virgin Racing +0.334
- Frijns – Andretti +0.667
- Carroll – Jaguar +1.441
- Engel – Venturi +34.734
Group 2:
Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and Nelson Piquet all managed to overhaul Evans’ time, whilst Jerome D’Ambrosio missed out by a couple of tenths to slot into a provisional sixth place.
Vergne’s time was one-quarter of a second faster than the championship leader, who was less than a tenth ahead of di Grassi.
Top five after group two:
- Jean-Eric Vergne – Techeetah – 1:08.751
- Sebastien Buemi – Renault e.Dams +0.267
- Lucas di Grassi – Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport +0.333
- Nelson Piquet – NextEV NIO +0.632
- Evans – Jaguar – 1:09.505
Group 3:
All eyes were on local favourite Jose-Maria Lopez in the third group. But having been on course for second place at the second sector, he lost the rear of the car at turn seven, damaging the rear suspension.
A crash for Andretti’s Antonio Felix da Costa prior to his flying lap prevented the Portuguese pilot from setting a competitive lap time.
No drivers were able to challenge for a top five position, with Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist being the highest group three qualifier in sixth.
Top five after group three:
- Jean-Eric Vergne – Techeetah – 1:08.751
- Sebastien Buemi – Renault e.Dams +0.267
- Lucas di Grassi – Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport +0.333
- Nelson Piquet – NextEV NIO +0.632
- Evans – Jaguar – 1:09.505
Group 4:
Both Oliver Turvey (NextEV NIO) and Nico Prost (Renault e.Dams) prevented a fairytale top-five result for Evans and the Jaguar team. Turvey narrowly claimed fourth place ahead of his team-mate whilst Prost could only manage sixth.
Daniel Abt and Ma Qing Hua, meanwhile, clattered the wall at turn four, putting them well down the order.
Top five after group four:
- Jean-Eric Vergne – Techeetah – 1:08.751
- Sebastien Buemi – Renault e.Dams +0.267
- Lucas di Grassi – Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport +0.333
- Oliver Turvey – NextEV NIO +0.563
- Nelson Piquet – NextEV NIO +0.632
Super Pole Shootout:
A low-grip Super Pole Shootout saw messy opening efforts from the NextEV NIO duo of Nelson Piquet and Oliver Turvey, with mistakes being made primarily at turn seven.
Lucas di Grassi was the first man to set a ‘tidy’ lap, which was enough for a 1:09.404, whilst a mistake in the first sector for Buemi meant the championship leader failed to beat the Brazilian’s time.
Jean-Eric Vergne’s lap was quick, a slower final sector meant the Frenchman had to settle for second place, giving Lucas di Grassi is first pole position in Formula E.
To view the full result of the session, click here.
