Tag Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein took his second Pole Position of the season to put himself into winning contention for this afternoon’s Sao Paulo E-Prix.
The pace of the Porsche powertrain appeared to be in a position to challenge in qualifying, and Wehrlein did not disappoint, overcoming the challenge of DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne by just two thousandths of a second in the final, after what was yet another strong showing from the Penske team. Maserati MSG Racing’s Max Guenther qualified a strong third but will start at the back after a hefty 40-place grid penalty for changing gearbox prior to FP2. This will elevate the second Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne to third, with last year’s winner Mitch Evans lining-up fourth, the evergreen Sam Bird fifth, and Edoardo Mortara sixth.
A strong showing by APT Cupra’s Nico Muller in group stage sees him line-up seventh, but his team will be scrambling to ensure his car is race-ready after Muller clipped the wall after his final run. Antonio Felix da Costa lines-up eighth in the sister Porsche, with title leader Nick Cassidy down in ninth. Reigning Champion Jake Dennis only managed 11th on the road, but will be elevated to 10th.
There will be disappointment felt by Envision Racing, with Robin Frijns and Sebastien Buemi only managing 18th and 19th respectively, with the second Avalanche Andretti of Norman Nato at the very back of the grid.
Group Stages
The session began in bizarre fashion when the red flag was waved after just 45 seconds when what appeared to be a failed fire lantern landed onto the back straight between turns six and seven, but action would soon resume after the marshals cleared the offending object.
In what is technical guru Phil Charles’ first race with DS Penske, the team’s pairing of Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne took first and second in Group A, but it was mixed fortunes for Charles’ former team, Jaguar, with Mitch Evans recovering from a driveshaft problem in FP2 to take third, but title leader Nick Cassidy was left angered from being knocked-out after a stunning lap from Muller.
In Group B, Guenther stormed into first place, but will be hampered by a hefty 40-place grid penalty [with a time penalty replacing the grid places that are impossible to be relegated to] after a gearbox change prior to FP2. Wehrlein and Mortara were next, with Bird edging out da Costa and reigning World Champion Dennis, who may once again feel disappointed with another sub-par qualifying as he did in Diriyah.
Quarter-Finals
A repeat of last season’s dominant display by Jaguar looks unlikely, as last year’s winner Evans was beaten in his head-to-head with Vergne by over a tenth of a second, showing further progress for the Penske team. After the duel, Evans said his lack of track time in FP2 left him “on the back foot”.
Muller was unable to face Vergne in his duel due to sustaining damage to the front right suspension after clipping the wall after his barnstorming lap in Group B. Vergne set a time of 1:12.917, nearly a tenth faster than his team-mate, which would see him come up against his team-mate in the Semis.
Wehrlein asserted his dominance over Mortara, with a time around half-a-second faster than the Swiss, who can still be pleased with reaching the duels after a car glitch in FP2.
Guenther, determined to limit the damage of his grid penalty, overcame the challenge of Bird in their duel, showing once again that the Maserati looks far more balanced and consistent in Season 10.
Semi-Finals
The all-Penske Semi saw Vandoorne overcome the challenge of his team-mate, clocking a time of 1:12.566, seven tenths quicker than Vergne.
The Wehrlein-Guenther Semi-Final saw the Porsche fend-off the prominent Maserati challenge by three tenths with a time of 1:12.764, setting-up a titan final dual.
Final
Vandoorne was looking to take a second consecutive Sao Paulo Pole Position to further cement Penske’s reputation as a team very much on the up in 2024, but the giant steps Porsche have taken into improving their qualifying performance compared to last season were in evidence again, as Wehrlein stole the top spot by just two thousandths with a lap of 1:12.789, giving the German another three points, with the prospects of a competitive race very high indeed.
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