Formula E qualifying in London: Pascal Wehrlein secures pole position ahead of his team-mate Nico Müller
Jasmin Fromm
Pascal Wehrlein clinched pole position in the final head-to-head against his Porsche team-mate Nico Müller! Mitch Evans secured fourth on the grid, whilst Jake Dennis will start the race from fifth. This means the battle for the Drivers’ World Championship title will not be decided until Sunday.
Group A: Wehrlein puts in a strong performance, Dennis and de Vries make contact
In the first qualifying group, the two Andretti drivers, Jake Dennis and Felipe Drugovich, along with the two Mahindra drivers, Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries, battled it out to reach the duels stage of qualifying. Joining them were Pascal Wehrlein, Nick Cassidy, Jean-Eric Vergne, Dan Ticktum, Lucas di Grassi and Norman Nato, all fighting to secure their places in the duels.
The drivers headed out straight from the start. Only the two Mahindra drivers, de Vries and Mortara, stayed in their team garage a little longer. However, de Vries and Dennis made contact in the penultimate corner: Dennis attempted to pass de Vries on the right, but de Vries didn't leave him enough room and also blocked him on the following lap. The incident was subsequently investigated by the stewards.
Dennis and de Vries collide in Qualifying 🤯@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/P9XoPQkBEN
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) August 15, 2026
The first fastest lap came from Wehrlein, who set a lap time of 1:09.649 minutes after five minutes and took the lead. Shortly afterwards, Dennis beat him, completing the lap 0.184 seconds faster. The Briton reported, however, that he did not feel comfortable in his car. Mortara made contact with the wall whilst braking for Turn 16 and damaged his suspension. He subsequently reported brake problems to his team over the radio.
Wehrlein took the lead at the end of the group. Dan Ticktum also improved his time and moved into second place. Behind them, Dennis and Vergne rounded off the group. The four drivers then progressed to the duels. De Vries, Cassidy, Mortara, Drugovich, Nato and di Grassi, however, did not make it through.
Group B: Porsche dominates once again
In the second group, the two Envision drivers, Sebastien Buemi and Joel Eriksson, along with the two Jaguars driven by Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa, battled it out with Pepe Marti, Oliver Rowland, Taylor Barnard, Nico Müller, Maximilian Günther and Zane Maloney for their places in the duels.
The drivers in the second group headed straight out onto the track to get their tyres up to temperature. Nico Müller was the first driver to set a faster time of 1:09.323 minutes – a lap time that would have seen the Porsche driver through to the next round in Group A.
Eriksson followed suit shortly afterwards and beat the Swiss driver’s time. He was 0.007 seconds faster, but Müller stepped it up again and reclaimed the lead. Evans had, in the meantime, worked his way up to third position. Felix da Costa braked too late and nearly skidded into the track barriers. His team-mate secured second place behind Müller with his improved time.
Eriksson finished Group B in third place; the last driver to secure a place in the next round was Felix da Costa. Buemi, Barnard, Rowland, Marti, Maloney and Günther ended their qualifying after the group stage. Günther had already returned to the garage beforehand and was unable to improve his time.
Quarter-finals
QF1: Jake Dennis vs. Dan Ticktum
A battle between British drivers at their home race kicked off the duels! Ticktum got off to a good start. Dennis closed the gap as the lap progressed, but was unable to catch his compatriot in the Cupra Kiro. Ticktum completed the lap a mere 0.072 seconds faster than Dennis. This secured his place in the semi-finals.
Championship leader Jake Dennis is OUT in the quarter-finals ❌@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/e9hTtGEpzZ
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) August 15, 2026
QF2: Jean-Eric Vergne vs. Pascal Wehrlein
Wehrlein got off to a good start and built up a solid lead. Although Vergne made up ground in the second sector, the German was 0.254 seconds faster at the end of the decisive lap and thus progressed to the semi-finals.
Q3: Joel Eriksson vs. Mitch Evans
Eriksson and Evans were neck and neck at the start of the lap, but Evans ultimately managed to complete all three sectors of the circuit faster. In the end, the two drivers were separated by 0.376 seconds, and Evans progressed to the semi-finals.
QF4: Antonio Felix da Costa vs. Nico Müller
Felix da Costa got off to a strong start, dominating the first two sectors. However, a mistake then allowed Müller to secure victory in this duel. The Swiss driver was 0.174 seconds faster than the Jaguar driver at the end of the lap. Müller thus progressed to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals
SF1: Pascal Wehrlein vs. Dan Ticktum
Wehrlein got off to a good start; Ticktum briefly closed the gap, but Wehrlein managed to pull away again. In the end, however, Ticktum merely crossed the finish line, 2.679 seconds behind the German in the Porsche. This saw Wehrlein progress to the final. As a Porsche customer team, Ticktum ensured that Porsche had the chance to secure pole position.
SF2: Nico Müller vs. Mitch Evans
Müller got off to a good start in the first sector. Evans made up ground in the second sector, but in the end Müller completed the lap 0.250 seconds faster than Evans. This took Müller through to the final against his team-mate.
Final: Nico Müller vs. Pascal Wehrlein
Nico Müller was first off the mark. He got off to a strong start and was faster than Wehrlein in the first two sectors, but he too deliberately slowed down in the final sector. In the end, Pascal Wehrlein secured pole position with a lead of 1.143 seconds. Wehrlein therefore goes into the penultimate race of the season level on points with Evans and just two points behind Dennis.
The top 10 for Saturday’s race in London are Wehrlein, Müller, Evans, Ticktum, Dennis, Eriksson, Felix da Costa, Vergne, de Vries and Buemi.
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