Formula E

Formula E qualifying in Mexico City: Sebastien Buemi secures pole position after Barnard's lap is disallowed

Jasmin Fromm

Jasmin Fromm

At the Mexico City E-Prix, Briton Taylor Barnard in the DS Penske sets the fastest lap in the final, but loses the pole position after coming off the track with all four tyres in the last corner. Sebastien Buemi therefore starts the race from pole position. While Edoardo Mortara and Mitch Evans start the race from grid row 2, Pascal Wehrlein did not make it into the duels.

Group A: Dennis proves dominant

The two Mahindra drivers Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries, the two Citroen drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Nick Cassidy, Jake Dennis, Antonio Felix da Costa, Nico Müller, Joel Eriksson and Norman Nato were the first group of drivers to battle it out in this qualifying session.

The track was quite cold, so the drivers needed time to get the tyres up to temperature. The first faster lap times came after around six minutes of driving, where Envision driver Eriksson initially took the lead with a lap time of 1:13.184 minutes, closely followed by Nato, Mortara and Felix da Costa.

Shortly before the end of the race, Barnard made his presence felt: his lap time put him in third place, while Müller also improved his time and secured second place. Nato and Felix da Costa were thus prevented from progressing into the duels shortly before the end of the group stage. Dennis, Müller, Barnard and Mortara therefore progressed to the duels.

Group B: Buemi fastest

The race continued with Group B, including the two German drivers Pascal Wehrlein in the Porsche and Maximilian Günther in the DS Penske. They were joined on the track by reigning world champion Oliver Rowland, Felipe Drugovich in the Andretti and Pepe Marti with his team-mate Dan Ticktum in the two Cupra Kiros, Mitch Evans in the Jaguar, Sebastien Buemi in the Envision and Lucas di Grassi and team-mate Zane Maloney in the Lola Yamaha Abt.

For Günther, things got off to a good start: he initially set the fastest lap time of 1:13.407 minutes, followed by Ticktum, Marti and Wehrlein. However, the DS Penske was then pushed into the pits and the tyres changed. Günther was able to return onto the track after a short time, but was unable to maintain his progress in the duels.

With two minutes left on the clock, Buemi made a statement and led the group with a lap time of 1:06.328 minutes. He thus secured his place in the duels. Ticktum, Evans and Rowland also progressed.

Günther, di Grassi, Drugovich, Maloney, Marti and, surprisingly, Wehlein, who has always liked the track in the past, did not progress. Wehrlein had already achieved four pole positions in Mexico in the past.

Overview: Formula E qualifying in Sao Paulo

Quarter-finals

VF1: Taylor Barnard vs. Nico Müller

At first, it looked like Swiss driver Müller in the Porsche was going to make it through, as he was able to stay in front at the start. Shortly before the end, however, he was overtaken by Barnard and narrowly lost out.

VF2: Mortara vs. Jake Dennis

Swiss driver Mortara made a strong start to his qualifying lap. Dennis then caught up again towards the end, but was unable to beat Mortara's time.

VF3: Mitch Evans vs. Dan Ticktum

For Evans in the Jaguar, it looked like an easy progression at first, but Cupra Kiro driver Ticktum made up a lot of ground shortly before the end. At one point, the time difference between the two drivers was 0.006 seconds, but Evans still managed to keep the fastest lap time in the end.

VF4: Oliver Rowland vs Sebastien Buemi

Rowland and Buemi fought a strong duel, but the Envision driver won the second and third sector, allowing Buemi to prevail against the reigning world champion and secure his place in the race.

Semi-final

HF1: Edoardo Mortara vs. Taylor Barnard

Mortara and Barnard fought a close duel, but in the end Barnard was able to secure a place in the qualifying final.

HF2: Mitch Evans vs Sebastien Buemi

Evans and Buemi fought a very close duel in the second semi-final: Evans looked set to progress, but Buemi was able to secure his place in the final in the final sector.

Final: Sebastien Buemi vs Taylor Barnard

The final qualifying duel pitted two drivers against each other who had never raced against each other before. Barnard, who had recently switched to DS Penske, managed to set the fastest lap time with the fastest sector times in sectors 1 and 2. However, this lap time was cancelled out in the end: Barnard had come off the track in the last corner with all four tyres. As a result, pole position in Mexico went to Buemi. The Swiss driver celebrated his 17th pole position in Formula E and now shares the record for the most poles with Vergne.

The first Formula E race in 2026 will take place tonight at 21:05 (CET). German TV channel DF1 will broadcast the Mexico 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)

Go back

0 Comments

Add a comment

Please add 5 and 6.