Formula E qualifying in Madrid: Nick Cassidy secures Citroen's first pole position

On a rather grey Saturday, Formula E started qualifying for the Madrid E-Prix at the Jarama circuit on the morning of 21 March 2026. But despite the wet conditions, Nick Cassidy managed to dominate qualifying and secured his team Citroen Racing their first pole position in Formula E. Nyck de Vries had to make do with second place.

Group A: Nyck de Vries fastest of the group, Drugovich last

In the first group of the qualifying session, the two Jaguar drivers Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa were in contention to progress to the quarter-finals. They were joined on the track by Oliver Rowland, Sebastien Buemi, Pepe Marti, Nyck de Vries, Jean-Eric Vergne, Zane Maloney and Felipe Drugovich.

The group took to the track on time, which was still quite wet. The drivers needed several laps to be able to complete their fast laps. The first faster laps came after about six minutes, when Felix da Costa led the field with a lap time of 1:43.938 minutes, followed by de Vries and Wehrlein. Vergne and Rowland improved their times, but were later beaten.

De Vries, Felix da Costa and Wehrlein secured their continuation into the duels. Drugovich, who had won the 2nd free practice session shortly before, only finished last. Alongside him, Rowland, Maloney, Marti, Buemi, Evans and Vergne also finished qualifying in the group stage.

Group B: Nato almost half a second faster than the rest

Group B of qualifying saw the two DS Penske drivers Max Günther and Taylor Barnard start. Alongside them, Edo Mortara, Nick Cassidy, Nico Müller, Jake Dennis, Joel Eriksson, Dan Ticktum, Norman Nato and Lucas di Grassi were also in contention for a place in the quarter-finals.

Group B also needed a longer time to set faster laps on the equally wet race track. After six minutes of driving, Cassidy took the lead with a lap time of 1:42.963 minutes, but improvements quickly followed. Nato improved his lap time significantly shortly before the end and topped Cassidy's time by more than a second. Mortara had worked his way up to second place and pushed Cassidy into third. Nato was the fastest of the group, almost half a second behind Mortara.

Müller in the Porsche missed the chance to progress due to a braking error on the final lap. Ticktum, Dennis, Barnard, Eriksson and di Grassi also finished qualifying in the group stage.

Group B ✅

Norman Nato comes out on top, joined by Mortara, Cassidy and Günther in the Duels.#FormulaE #CupraRavalMadridEPrix pic.twitter.com/CzBRUPkThx

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 21, 2026

Quarter finals

QF1: Pascal Wehrlein vs Antonio Felix da Costa

The former Porsche team-mates were battling it out on a slippery track for a place in the semi-finals. Both drivers struggled to keep the car on the track on several occasions during the preparatory lap, which further emphasised the wetness of the track. This looked similar on the decisive lap, but Felix da Costa dominated after Wehrlein made a mistake in the first corner. The Portuguese driver in the Jaguar completed the lap 4.418 seconds faster than the Porsche driver. Wehrlein radioed to his team that he had problems with his brakes.

QF2: Oliver Rowland vs. Nyck de Vries

A big mistake cost Oliver Rowland his progress right at the start of the decisive lap. The Briton lost the rear and spun on the track. De Vries benefited from the mistake, with the Mahindra driver completing the lap almost eight seconds faster than the reigning world champion.

Rowland spins in the quarter finals meaning he won't advance to the semis🌀#FormulaE #CupraRavalMadridEPrix pic.twitter.com/cDCW0kn1nC

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 21, 2026

QF3: Nick Cassidy vs Edoardo Mortara

Kiwi driver Cassidy and Swiss driver Mortara fought a very close duel. It initially looked like a very close battle with an advantage for Mortara, but Cassidy was able to win the duel in the end. With a lead of 0.047 seconds, the New Zealander made it into the semi-finals.

QF4: Maximilian Günther vs Norman Nato

Nato had started the lap faster, then Günther additionally made a mistake that sent him into the gravel trap at turn 7. As a result, he dropped back even further and finished the lap 5.231 seconds slower. Nato was thus able to secure his ticket for the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

SF1: Antonio Felix da Costa vs Nyck de Vries

The two Formula E champions started their duel extremely close, but in the final sector, the Mahindra was able to secure his ticket to the final. De Vries completed the lap 0.346 seconds faster. He thus won the duel and progressed to the final.

SF2: Nick Cassidy vs Norman Nato

Norman Nato's lap started well and he was initially in front, but in turn 7 he also made an unintentional excursion into the gravel, which cost him a lot of time. Cassidy's Citroen was 7.261 seconds faster in the end, which put him safely in the final.

Final: Nick de Vries vs Nick Cassidy

Both drivers struggled with oversteer during their laps and de Vries was initially in front, but Cassidy gradually caught up. He completed his lap 0.266 seconds faster than the Mahindra driver and secured Citroen's first pole position in Formula E history.

Wehrlein and Müller in the Porsche race cars will start from grid positions 6 and 13. Günther will start the race from seventh position.

The race in Madrid takes place at 15:05 (CET). e-Formula.news will be following 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)