Formula E

Formula E qualifying in Jeddah: Edoardo Mortara secures the 1. pole position of the weekend

Jasmin Fromm

Jasmin Fromm

FIA Formula E

On Friday afternoon, the first qualifying session of the Formula E double-header in Jeddah was on the schedule. At 3.40 pm local time in a warm 29-degree celsius air temperature, the Formula E drivers battled for the best grid positions for the first race of the weekend. Mortara prevailed against Maximilian Günther in the final and will start the race from pole position. Günther follows in third place and Pascal Wehrlein starts from third on the grid.

Group A: Mortara secures fastest lap time of the group

Nick Cassidy, Jake Dennis, Nico Müller, Edoardo Mortara, Sebastien Buemi, Nyck de Vries, Pepe Marti, Jean-Eric Vergne, Norman Nato and Lucas di Grassi lined up in the first group of the qualifying session.

At the green flag, all the drivers took to the track. At the start, Vergne complained about an error message and was told to concentrate on his top speed and tyres.

The first faster time of 1:17.785 minutes came from Porsche driver Nico Müller. This made him the first driver to set a lap time of under 1:23 minutes, which the second-placed driver had on the clock at the time. After 6 minutes, Nato and Dennis followed suit. Nato took the lead with a 1:17.514 minutes and Dennis was right behind him in second place. Müller was pushed back to third place. Mortara then followed suit and moved into second place with a time of 1:17.525 minutes.

Towards the end, Edoardo Mortara improved his time once again and moved into the lead, pushing Nato back into second place.

Mortara, Nato, Müller and Vergne secured their tickets for the duels.

For Dennis, who radioed to his team after the group stage that his car felt "like a shopping trolley", things did not continue. Qualifying also ended in the group stage for de Vries, Cassidy, Marti, di Grassi and Buemi.

Group B: Wehrlein dominates

In Group B, Pascal Wehrlein, Oliver Rowland, Mitch Evans, Joel Eriksson, Taylor Barnard, Maximilian Günther, Antonio Felix da Costa, Zane Maloney, Felipe Drugovich and Dan Ticktum battled it out to progress in the duels.

Despite the accident in the 2nd free practice session, where he hit the wall of turn 15, Oliver Rowland was able to start this qualifying session in his Nissan car.

The first driver to set the fastest time was Pascal Wehrlein, with a lap time of 1:17.541 minutes, followed by Drugovich, who also set a lap time of 1:17.954 minutes and positioned himself directly behind Wehrlein. The other drivers then followed shortly after and Drugovich suddenly found himself in last position with 2 minutes left on the clock, just five tenths of a second behind Wehrlein in the top spot. A very close affair in this group!

There was also a small slide for Rowland at the end.

Wehrlein was able to keep the fastest time, Felix da Costa also secured his place with the second fastest time, as did the two DS Penske drivers Günther and Barnard. Evans, Ticktum, Eriksson, Rowland, Drugovich and Maloney did not make it into the duels.

Overview: Formula E qualifying in Jeddah

Quarter-final

QF1: Jean-Eric Vergne vs Norman Nato

The duels started with a battle between French drivers Nato and Vergne. The Nissan driver Nato was already ahead at the start and was able to extend his lead even further as the lap progressed, finishing more than half a second faster. He therefore went on to the semi-finals.

QF2: Edoardo Mortara vs. Nico Müller

The battle of the Swiss came in the second quarter-final. Mortara won this one with confidently. He was ahead from start to finish and completed the lap 0.377 seconds faster than his compatriot in the Porsche. His ticket to the semi-final was thus secured.

QF3: Maxilian Günther vs Antonio Felix da Costa

For the winner of the first Jeddah race last year was able to assert himself again in this quarter-final in Jeddah. He was also able to confidently stay in front and secured his place in the semi-finals.

QF4: Taylor Barnard vs. Pascal Wehrlein

It was a thrilling second battle in which Porsche driver Wehrlein was able to prove his mastery of the track and leave Barnard's DS Penske behind. This meant that Wehrlein went on to the semi-finals.

Semi-final

SF1: Edoardo Mortara vs Norman Nato

It looked close at first in the race between Mortara and Nato, but then Mortara stepped up and set a lap time 0.234 seconds faster than Nato. "That was a good one" the Swiss was heard saying to his team afterwards.

SF2: Maximilian Günther vs Pascal Wehrlein

The second semi-final saw a duel between the two German racing drivers Günther and Wehrlein. It was an incredibly close battle between the two Germans. Wehrlein had his nose in front for a long time, but in the final part of the lap Günther was able to close the gap and secure his place in the final. Wehrlein was just 0.014 seconds behind DS Penske.

Final: Edoardo Mortara vs Maximilian Günther

Before the battle, Mortara was told by his team to "do his thing" against his former Maserati team-mate Günther.

It looked like a very close duel at first, until Günther made a slight mistake, from which Mortara benefited and secured victory in the battle and pole position. And he did so despite making slight contact with the wall and complaining about the grip of his tyres. This is Mortara's fourth pole in Formula E.

The first Formula E race of this "Double Header" in Jeddah takes place at 18:05 (CET). The German TV channel DF1 will broadcast the Jeddah E-Prix live on free-to-air TV and via livestream. e-Formula.news will follow the race as usual in the Formel E live ticker - ideal as a "second screen" for real fans!

Results, times & starting grid

Overall standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)

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