Formula E Sunday qualifying in Shanghai: Felipe Drugovich secures his first pole position ahead of Barnard

Felipe Drugovich secured his first Formula E pole position in Shanghai. The Brazilian, driving for Andretti, left Taylor Barnard almost half a second behind him in the final qualifying duel. Pascal Wehrlein will start the weekend’s second Shanghai race from third on the grid, whilst Nico Müller in the second Porsche has secured sixth position. Maximilian Günther will start 12th.

Group A: Nico Müller comfortably the fastest

In the first qualifying group, the two Jaguar drivers, Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa, as well as the two DS Penske drivers, Taylor Barnard and Maximilian Günther, took to the track. Joining them were Oliver Rowland, Nico Müller, Nyck de Vries, Pepe Marti, Joel Eriksson and Lucas di Grassi, all trying to progress to the duels.

As it had rained again during the third free practice session that morning, the track was still wet at the start of qualifying. There was a significant amount of spray, but the rain had stopped. Right at the start of qualifying, all the cars took to the track. The lap times were still quite slow at first. Günther led the field with a lap time of 1:18.181 minutes, closely followed by his team-mate.

Eriksson’s Envision and di Grassi’s Lola came a little closer than they would have liked, but they managed to avoid contact.

Shortly before the end, the lap times dropped and Nico Müller in the Porsche was the first to clock a lap time of 1:16 minutes. The Swiss driver led the field till the end with a time of 1:16.615 minutes, followed by Marti, Barnard and Rowland. The top four from this session progressed to the duels.

Nyck de Vries, Günther, Evans, Felix da Costa, Eriksson and di Grassi were unable to secure a place in the duel phase of qualifying.

Group B: Porsche dominates once again

Group B saw the Andretti duo of Jake Dennis and Felipe Drugovich, alongside Pascal Wehrlein, Edoardo Mortara, Nick Cassidy, Sebastien Buemi, Dan Ticktum, Jean-Eric Vergne, Norman Nato and Zane Maloney, battle it out for a place in the duels.

The session began with a contact between Drugovich and Ticktum at Turn 10, for which the Briton in the Cupra Kiro was subsequently issued with a warning. Lap times were still quite slow at the start, but as the track was already drying out, they were already faster than those in Group A.

Pascal Wehrlein had secured the fastest time a few minutes before the end of the session and managed to hold onto it. The Porsche driver also set the fastest time in Group B. Nato managed to set the second-fastest time shortly before the end, followed by Drugovich and Mortara, who also progressed to the duels.

Maloney, Dennis, Ticktum, Buemi, Cassidy and Vergne did not make it through.

Quarter-finals

QF1: Pepe Marti vs. Taylor Barnard

For Marti, this was the first head-to-head race of his still-young Formula E career in Shanghai. Barnard got off to a good start and managed to build up a slight lead. The Briton, driving for DS Penske, went on to extend this lead further as the race progressed. Barnard completed the lap half a second faster than the Spaniard, thereby progressing to the semi-finals.

QF2: Oliver Rowland vs. Nico Müller

Rowland got off to a good start in the first sector and also handled the other two sectors of the circuit with confidence. In the end, the Swiss driver in the Porsche was 0.288 seconds off the time set by the reigning world champion. This secured Rowland’s place in the semi-finals.

QF3: Felipe Drugovich vs. Norman Nato

Drugovich got off to a good start in his duel with Nato and managed to build up a significant lead over the course of the lap. The Brazilian completed the lap 0.292 seconds faster. This saw Drugovich progress to the semi-finals.

QF4: Edoardo Mortara vs. Pascal Wehrlein

Wehrlein got off to a good start and continued to extend his lead. At the end of the semi-final lap, over a second separated the two drivers. A lap time 1.320 seconds faster meant Wehrlein progressed to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

SF1: Oliver Rowland vs. Taylor Barnard

The two Britons started neck and neck. But as the lap progressed, Barnard gradually built up a lead and left his former mentor in his wake, posting faster times in every sector. By the end of the lap, the DS Penske driver was 0.647 seconds faster than the reigning world champion.

SF2: Felipe Drugovich vs. Pascal Wehrlein

Wehrlein started the decisive lap faster in the first third of the circuit. However, Drugovich built up a lead in sectors two and three. The Brazilian completed the lap almost half a second faster, securing his place in the qualifying final.

Final: Taylor Barnard vs. Felipe Drugovich

Barnard got off to a strong start in the final head-to-head, but Drugovich closed the gap in the second and third sectors to secure his first Formula E pole position. The Andretti driver was 0.497 seconds faster than Barnard.

This means the top 10 for Sunday’s race in Shanghai are Drugovich, Barnard, Wehrlein, Rowland, Nato, Müller, Marti, Mortara, Maloney and de Vries.

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

 

Results, starting grid & lap times

Results & lap times

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)