Formula E qualifying in Shanghai: Pascal Wehrlein takes pole position and moves up to third in the championship standings

Pascal Wehrlein secured pole position for Saturday’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The German came out on top in the final duel against Mitch Evans. Maximilian Güntehr will start the race from fourth on the grid, whilst Nico Müller in the second Porsche finished qualifying in 14th place.

Group A: Evans shines in the group stage

In Group A of qualifying, Mitch Evans, Edoardo Mortara, Jake Dennis, Nico Müller, Sébastien Buemi, Pepe Martí, Joel Eriksson, Taylor Barnard, Jean-Éric Vergne and Lucas di Grassi were all vying for a place in the duels. The ten drivers took to the track punctually at 8.00 am local time.

First, the tyres had to be brought up to temperature over several laps. After around six minutes of driving, Pepe Marti set the first fast lap time of 1:10.413 minutes. Dennis and Buemi followed suit shortly afterwards, pushing the Cupra Kiro driver behind them. Two minutes later, Mitch Evans set a faster lap time and took the lead with a time of 1:10.175 minutes, five hundredths of a second faster than Dennis in second place.

Vergne had, in the meantime, secured fourth place and progressed to the duels, alongside Buemi, Dennis and Evans ahead of him in the standings.

Barnard, Marti, Müller, Eriksson, Mortara and di Grassi were eliminated in the group stage.

Group B: Pascal Wehrlein sets the fastest time

Reigning world champion Oliver Rowland battled in Group B to secure a place in the duels. Joining him on the track were Pascal Wehrlein, Antonio Felix da Costa, Nick Cassidy, Nyck de Vries, Felipe Drugovich, Dan Ticktum, Maximilian Güntehr, Norman Nato and Zane Maloney.

Günther, Cassidy and Maloney had waited a long time to set their first timed laps. Wehrlein was the first to make his mark, setting the fastest time of 1:10.125 minutes – a time that even beat Evans’ time from Group A.

Three minutes before the end of the session, Norman Nato got out of his car. The Frenchman in the Nissan appeared to be following a strategy of conserving resources, as it was already known that the Nissan driver would be starting the race from the back of the grid due to a 60-place grid penalty.

Even towards the end, no one was able to beat Wehrlein’s time. The Porsche driver thus topped Group B, followed by Felix da Costa, Günther and Ticktum.

Drugovich, Cassidy, Rowland, Maloney, de Vries and Nato failed to make it through to the duels.

Quarter-finals

QF1: Sebastien Buemi vs. Jake Dennis

Dennis got off to a good start and completed the first sector faster than the Swiss driver in the Envision. Buemi tried to make up ground in the second sector, but was beaten by the Andretti driver again in the third sector. Dennis thus secured his place in the semi-finals. The two drivers were separated by 0.237 seconds in the end.

QF2: Jean-Eric Vergne vs. Mitch Evans

Evans got off to a better start in the lap and was also able to dominate the other sectors. The New Zealander completed the lap around the Shanghai International Circuit 0.335 seconds faster than the Frenchman in the Citroen. This saw Evans progress to the semi-finals.

Q3: Maximilian Günther vs. Antonio Felix da Costa

Both drivers started the lap neck and neck, and for a long time Felix da Costa held a slight lead. However, a mistake in the final sector ensured Günther’s progression. The German completed the lap 0.174 minutes faster, securing his place in the semi-finals.

QF4: Dan Ticktum vs. Pascal Wehrlein

Wehrlein confidently secured his place in the next round in his head-to-head battle against Ticktum. The German, in his Porsche, managed to complete all sectors faster than the Cupra Kiro driver. A gap of 0.192 seconds separated the two drivers in the end. This secured Wehrlein’s place in the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

SF1: Mitch Evans vs. Jake Dennis

Evans got off to a good start in the first sector. This was followed by a slightly weaker second sector for the New Zealander, during which Dennis tried once again to catch up, but with a strong third sector Evans secured his place in the final. Evans was 0.174 seconds faster than Dennis.

SF2: Maximilian Günther vs. Pascal Wehrlein

Wehrlein got off to a flying start and left his compatriot in the DS Penske far behind. At the end of the decisive lap, Günther was 0.377 seconds behind the Porsche driver. The DS Penske driver explained that he had lost control of his front axle in Turn 6, causing him to lose time. This saw Wehrlein progress to the final of qualifying.

Final: Mitch Evans vs. Pascal Wehrlein

The two drivers started the decisive lap very close to one another. However, despite a better second sector, Wehrlein managed to secure victory in this battle. The German ultimately beat the New Zealander by 0.203 seconds to secure pole position.

The race in Shanghai takes place at 6.05 am (CEST). The German broadcaster DF1 will be showing the race. e-Formula.news will be covering the race as usual via the Formula E live ticker – perfect as a ‘second screen’ for true fans!

Results, starting grid & Times

Overall standings (riders, teams & manufacturers)