Formula E

Formula E in Jakarta: Jake Dennis defeats Taylor Barnard in qualifying, favourites show nerves

Timo Pape

Timo Pape

Birgit Dieryck / Spacesuit Media

Jake Dennis took pole position at the Formula E race in Jakarta. In the qualifying final, the Andretti driver prevailed over his compatriot Taylor Barnard in the McLaren. Many favourites faltered in difficult track conditions and will start the race from a long way back.

Group A: Rowland fails after contact with the wall

The track had largely dried out since the second free practice session and the sun had even come out. Instead of spray, the drivers kicked up dust again. Among the favourites in the first group were championship leader Oliver Rowland, Jake Dennis and Edo Mortara. The latter was already the fastest halfway through the twelve-minute session and improved his best time again two minutes before the end. However, a few more fast laps came with time running out.

Jean-Eric Vergne set the fastest time, while Dennis improved to second place. Mortara moved into the quarter-finals in third place and Nick Cassidy also made it into the duels. Antonio Felix da Costa, on the other hand, had to settle for fifth place. He was followed by Sam Bird, Nico Müller and Stoffel Vandoorne. The biggest surprise: Rowland the the wall and then missed the braking point - he only finished ninth! Zane Maloney and Norman Nato finished last in their group.

Group B: Identical best times & death of favourites

The favourites in the second group were Pascal Wehrlein, Taylor Barnard and Max Günther. However, with Dan Ticktum, Mitch Evans and Nyck de Vries, there were several other candidates for the quarter-finals. Wehrlein was the best in the first ten minutes, but the lap times tumbled three minutes before the end. Sebastien Buemi, de Vries, Ticktum and Evans set new best times one after the other. Then came the decisive attempts - and there were to be surprises.

Barnard and de Vries set the fastest laps with an identical time - the McLaren driver was classified first because he had set the time slightly earlier. Buemi and Ticktum also made it into the duels. Evans finished fifth ahead of the double pole-sitter from the last Jakarta E-Prix, Max Günther. World champion Wehrlein also disappointed in seventh place after getting caught up in traffic before his fast lap. David Beckmann, Jake Hughes, Lucas di Grassi and Robin Frijns completed Group B.

Overview: Formula E qualifying in Jakarta

Quarter-finals

QF1: Edo Mortara vs Jake Dennis

Dennis opened the first quarter-final with a good first sector, in which he took a good two tenths of a second off Mortara. In the second part of the track, both were almost equally fast before sector 3 went to Mortara. In the end, however, it was just about enough for Dennis.

QF2: Nick Cassidy vs Jean-Eric Vergne

Cassidy got off to the better start in the second duel and was able to significantly extend his lead in the second section of the track. A further four tenths in the final sector gave him a lead of almost nine tenths of a second in the end. Cassidy confident in the semi-final, Vergne without a chance!

QF3: Sebastien Buemi vs. Nyck de Vries

De Vries completed the fastest first sector of the duel phase. The Dutchman in the Mahindra was also better in the other two sectors and therefore beat Buemi by more than four tenths of a second.

QF4: Dan Ticktum vs Taylor Barnard

In the duel between the two Brits, both started at a very high level - and at eye level, with a slight advantage for Ticktum. It was the other way round in sector 2, where the two were separated by just two thousandths. And it was to remain that close: In the end, Barnard was five thousandths of a second faster than Ticktum and therefore qualified for the semi-finals - great performance from both of them!

Semi-finals

SF1: Jake Dennis vs Nick Cassidy

Dennis got off to the slightly better start in the first semi-final. Cassidy made a serious mistake in the second sector, which caused him to lose a lot of time. In the final section of the track, he let up even further, meaning that Dennis eventually made it safely into the qualifying final with a 2.3-second lead.

SF2: Nyck de Vries vs. Taylor Barnard

In the second semi-final, Barnard once again showed his class. Although de Vries set a decent lap time, the young Briton in the McLaren was faster in all three sectors and advanced to the final against Dennis with the fastest lap of the day so far and a lead of almost three tenths of a second.

Final: Jake Dennis vs Taylor Barnard

Barnard got off to the slightly better start in the final. Sector 2 also went to the youngster, but both Brits were still within a tenth of a second! Now it was getting exciting. In the final sector, however, Barnard made a crucial mistake in turn 13, which cost him a second! As a result, Dennis took his seventh pole position in Formula E and his first since the Berlin E-Prix a year ago! Barnard can still be proud of himself and grid position 2.

The twelfth round of the 2024/25 Formula E World Championship season will take place on Saturday morning at 10:00 am (CEST). e-Formula.news will be following the race as usual in the Formula E live ticker - ideal as a second screen for real fans!

Results, lap times & starting grid

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)

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