Taylor Barnard became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula E history with a barnstorming display in Jeddah, obliterating all opposition with consummate style.
The 20-year-old defeated Oliver Rowland in the final duel by nearly half-a-second, to give NEOM McLaren its first pole since Shanghai last season.
Stoffel Vandoorne thought he headed-up an all-Maserati MSG Racing second row, but was disqualified and relegated to the back of the grid for a technical infringement, meaning Jake Hughes lines-up third with Antonio Felix da Costa fourth.
Edoardo Mortara will line-up fifth, with Race 1 winner Maximilian Guenther sixth and Sam Bird seventh.
Nyck de Vries was eighth, with Dan Ticktum ninth, and Norman Nato 10th.
For Barnard, it was further confirmation that Formula E has one of the UK’s hottest properties in motor racing on its hands.
How qualifying unfolded
GROUP A
The first group would see Rowland, Wehrlein, Guenther and both Jaguars in the mix, with Vandoorne looking strong, further underlining the Maserati’s progress over the weekend.
Evans was sat in fourth, nearly four tenths adrift of Vandoorne, with Guenther and Rowland keeping tabs between.
With seconds to go, Werhrlein got himself into the top four, knocking Evans out, and when the Kiwi tried to better his time, he failed, eliminating him.
Bird sneaked into fourth, with Wehrlein’s 100 percent front row record for this season ended. Rowland went second,, but Guenther third and Vandoorne unchallenged.
After the contentious switching-off of his team radio, Cassidy’s day continued to look as grey as the clouds overhead, ninth with Evans eighth.
GROUP B
Attention will have been focused on Taylor Barnard after his brilliant display in qualifying on Friday, and he set the early benchmark with a 1:17.587, five tenths ahead of Robin Frijns in second.
Da Costa went quickest, nearly four tenths ahead of the McLaren, with di Grassi also breaking into the 1:17.000s, with Mortara getting in on the act, a tenth off the Porsche.
De Vries was next, pushing Barnard to fourth and in danger, but then went into the 1:16.000s to go back on top, as Vergne crept into the top four.
Nato was next to get into contention, with Jake Hughes looking like he would try and leave it late, as he was rooted to the bottom of the pack.
And on cue, Hughes went second, half-a-tenth off Barnard. Now just over a second covering all 11, Mortara went into third place.
Both Envisions were out of contention, as all drivers failed to improve as the chequered flag fell, meaning Barnard, Hughes, Mortara and da Costa would all qualify into the duels.
QUARTER-FINALS
The first quarter-final put together first and second from Race 1 – Guenther and Rowland.
In sector one, Rowland was already a tenth up, and two tenths by the second sector. Guenther crossed the line with a 1:15.402, but Rowland would emerge fastest, nearly three tenths ahead.
The second duel paired Bird with Vandoorne, the Maserati was a tenth up early on, and that advantaged stuck into the second sector, and went through with a 1:15.335, just under a tenth quicker than the McLaren.
Quarter-final number three was Mortara against Hughes, carrying Maserati’s hopes of a double appearance in the semis. The Brit had a tenth-and-a-half edge in sector one, but lost ground in second two. By the merest advantage, Hughes went through, 0.008 faster.
The fourth quarter-final put the mesmeric Barnard against the old hand da Costa. The Porsche was marginally ahead in sector one, with Barnard then ahead by a tenth in the second. In the final sector, the McLaren sailed ahead, Barnard securing a second straight semi-final appearance with a 1:14.840, two tenths ahead of da Costa.
It was by far Porsche’s worst qualifying of the campaign, with three British drivers making-up the four now vying for pole position.
SEMI-FINALS
The first semi-final placed Vandoorne against Rowland, with Vandoorne just 0.016 ahead in the first sector. The gap came down to 0.004 in the second, but Rowland went nearly two tenths ahead on the final sector, taking a final spot with a 1:15.071.
The second semi-final was Hughes against Barnard, and the youngster was already nearly four tenths ahead in sector one, but Hughes halved the gap in the second, but went back up to four tenths in the third, and across the line, Barnard set a 1:15.029, 0.431.
FINAL
The final placed together a Formula E veteran in Rowland against rookie in Barnard, who had been a member of Rowland’s go-karting academy as a boy.
Rowland was a fraction up in the first sector, but by sector two, Barnard was two tenths up, and across the line, he would take pole by 1:14.804, four tenths ahead of Rowland. A wonderful performance by Barnard confirms his credentials as a future star, setting a second record in Formula E of youngest-ever pole-sitter alongside youngest-ever points-scorer.
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