Formula E Saturday qualifying in Tokyo: Jake Dennis secures pole position, Nico Müller crashes

Jake Dennis secured pole position for Saturday’s race in Tokyo with a fastest time of 1:11.863 minutes. He thus managed to keep Edoardo Mortara, the dominant force of the weekend, behind him. Things didn’t go quite so well for the German Porsche team. Pascal Wehrlein will start from 9th on the grid, whilst his team-mate Nico Müller will start from 4th following a crash in the semi-final. Maximilian Günther will start the race from 10th on the grid.

Group A: Jake Dennis dominates

In Group A, both Nissan drivers, Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato, and both Porsche drivers, Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Müller, took to the track. Joining them in the battle to reach the duels were Nick Cassidy, Jake Dennis, Joel Eriksson, Taylor Barnard and Lucas di Grassi. Felipe Drugovich had to sit out this qualifying session following his crash in the second free practice session.

Right at the start of qualifying, all the drivers headed straight out onto the track. Oliver Rowland was the first to set a fast time. However, at 1:14.744 minutes, this was still two seconds slower than Edoardo Mortara’s best time from the second free practice session. It was noticeable that all drivers were cautious in Turn 16, as several instances of suspension damage had already occurred there during practice.

Following a slow opening lap from Rowland’, Jake Dennis in the Andretti took the lead. No other driver was able to beat his time of 1:13.719 minutes. Dennis thus went into the duels as the fastest driver. Müller followed in second place with a time of 1:13.146 minutes. Nick Cassidy goes into the duels in third place with a time of 1:13.817 minutes. Taylor Barnard secured the fourth place in the duels with a lap time of 1:13.855 minutes.

Pascal Wehrlein, Norman Nato, Joel Eriksson, Oliver Rowland and Lucas di Grassi missed out on a place in the duels.

Group B: Antonio Felix da Costa sets the fastest time

In Group B, the Jaguar duo of Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa took to the track, alongside the two Cupra Kiro drivers, Dan Ticktum and Pepe Marti. Both Mahindra drivers, Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries, were also in Group B, alongside Jean-Éric Vergne, Maximilian Günther, Sébastien Buemi and Zane Maloney.

In Group B, too, the times were still quite slow at the start. Evans set the first lap time of 1:14.062 minutes. This was quickly beaten by both Mahindras, which had already demonstrated their dominance throughout the weekend. Shortly before the end of the session, Antonio Felix da Costa moved to the top of Group B. None of the other drivers could beat his time of 1:13.652 minutes. Joining him in the duels are Mortara, Vergne and Ticktum.

Günther, de Vries, Buemi, Evans, Marti and Maloney did not manage to qualify for the next round.

Quarter-finals

VF1: Nico Müller vs. Nick Cassidy

This was a first for both drivers. Although both have been competing in Formula E for a long time, they had never faced each other before. Nico Müller managed to build up a significant lead over his rival right from the start. Nick Cassidy was unable to beat that time. Müller therefore progressed to the semi-finals with a time of 1:12.109 minutes – 0.465 seconds faster than the New Zealander.

QF2: Taylor Barnard vs. Jake Dennis

The two had already faced each other in Jakarta in 2025, with Dennis coming out on top on that occasion. Barnard took the lead at the start of the duel, but was then overtaken by Dennis. Dennis thus progressed to the semi-finals with a time of 1:12.282 minutes. Barnard completed the lap 0.070 seconds slower.

QF3: Edoardo Mortara vs. Jean-Eric Vergne

Mortara had already demonstrated his dominance throughout the weekend. In his head-to-head against Vergne, the Swiss driver was once again able to demonstrate what his Mahindra is capable of. With a time of 1:12.090 minutes, he set the fastest time of the weekend so far. Vergne was 0.432 seconds slower.

QF4: Dan Ticktum vs. Antonio Felix da Costa

When the two rivals met previously, it was Ticktum who came out on top. In this duel, however, he had to admit defeat. Despite a minor mistake by Felix da Costa, the Portuguese driver was faster and progressed to the semi-finals with a time of 1:12.321 minutes. The Portuguese driver thus beat Ticktum’s time by 0.106 seconds.

Semi-finals

SF1: Nico Müller vs. Jake Dennis

The two drivers had not faced each other before this semi-final duel. Dennis took the lead right from the start and steadily extended his advantage. For Nico Müller, the race ended in the barrier and with the second red flag of the weekend. This secured Jake Dennis a direct place in the final. To ensure fairness in the final, Jake Dennis had to complete one further lap following the red flag interruption.

SF2: Edoardo Mortara vs. Antonio Felix da Costa

At the start of the duel, Felix da Costa took the lead but was quickly caught by Mortara. Mortara was consistently a little faster throughout the lap and, with a time of 1:11.889 minutes, sent his rival down to third on the grid. He was 0.074 seconds faster than the Brit in the Andretti. With his lap time, he also topped Oliver Rowland’s lap record (1:12.007 minutes) from the previous year.

Final: Jake Dennis vs. Edoardo Mortara

Mortara went into this final duel on Saturday in Tokyo as the favourite. Jake Dennis took the lead in the duel, but his rival was already significantly faster right from the start of his duel lap. The Andretti wasn’t as well-suited to the track as Mortara’s car, but at the end of his lap he managed to step it up and put the dominant Mortara in his place. With a time of 1:11.863 minutes, Jake Dennis secured pole position in Tokyo, 0.052 seconds ahead of Mortara.

This means the top 10 for Saturday’s race in Tokyo are Jake Dennis, Edoardo Mortara, Antonio Felix da Costa, Nico Müller, Taylor Barnard, Dan Ticktum, Jean-Eric Vergne and Nick Cassidy.

The race in Tokyo takes place at 13:05 (CEST). The German broadcaster DF1 will be showing the race. e-Formel.de 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

Results & Times

Overall standings (riders, teams & manufacturers)