Nyck De Vries took a stunning pole in the final qualifying session of the London E-Prix, pushing championship leader Pascal Wehrlein to the second row.
Group A
Mitch Evans had a difficult weekend, dropping from a potential podium to the outskirts of the points positions in Race 1. However, his bad luck didn’t end there, as he had no running time in FP3 due to a car issue.
He wasn’t the only driver with issues, as Lucas Di Grassi wasn’t able to get out of the garage in Group A after having a mechanical issue after FP3.
Both Jaguar drivers were out on track, giving Evans vital track time if he hoped to close the gap to his 19-point championship deficit. The Kiwi needed to get up to speed quickly to start Race 2 as far forward as possible.
Pascal Wehrlein was also out for Group A, the German driver putting in a time that put him close behind Evans, whose time of 1:09.278s put him in the provisional lead.
Evans didn’t hold the lead for long as drivers embarked on another push lap, which shuffled the order significantly. Nyck De Vries shot to the top with a time of 1:08.659s, with Nick Cassidy, Evans and Antonio Felix Da Costa close behind.
As the chequered flag came out, Wehrlein moved into second, securing his place in the duels, while Evans sat fourth, not improving on his lap and at risk of those below knocking him out of contention for pole.
Luckily for Evans, no one improved beyond him, putting both championship rivals in the duels.
Eliminated: Da Costa, Marti, Drugovich, Eriksson, Di Grassi, Nato
Group B
Jake Dennis led the field out of the pits for Group B, eager to take three points for pole position, reducing his five-point gap to Wehrlein, who leads the championship.
The ten drivers focused on their build laps initially, with Nico Mueller among the first to try a push lap. Edo Mortara was close behind with a fastest first sector. Mortara shot to the front of the field while Mueller settled into third, but both drivers were still three to four seconds off the Group A pace.
The German went again for a more representative time, crossing the line with 1:09.043s. It was a short-lived lead for Mueller as Dennis crossed the line, breaking into the 1:08s.
Zane Maloney was having a strong session with just two minutes left, the Lola driver slipping into third as the times came down.
Maximilian Gunther and Mortara were on flying laps with the Mahindra driver shooting to the top of the order while Gunther took third. Dennis was on the edge of the duel zone, sat in fourth, but he would need another strong lap to safely keep him in.
Dennis failed to improve on his lap as the chequered flag was out, with a slew of drivers behind improving. Dan Ticktum, who had been struggling for pace all session, shot to third, and Mueller crossed the line in second.
The chequered flag came out, and Dennis did not progress to the duels stage, with the Brit forced to start the race from further back with the five-point gap looming. Just a tenth of a second split the order, making the miss all the more painful for Dennis.
Eliminated: Buemi, Gunther Vergne, Dennis, Rowland, Maloney
Quarterfinal duels
The first duel was Cassidy against Wehrlein, with the German taking the lead with three points for pole position on his mind.
Cassidy was down in the opening corners with Wehrlein pulling a 0.047s gap. Cassidy was making his way through the outside corners when the Citroen driver clipped the wall, which put the Porsche driver a whole second ahead of Cassidy as he approached the finish line.
Wehrlein’s lead pushed him into the first Semi Final slot.
Evans and De Vries were the second group, with Evans leading the charge around the London track.
The Kiwi was quick in the first sector, but the margins were close as De Vries was just 0.02 seconds behind the Jaguar driver. The Mahindra driver had a stunning final sector, though, closing the gap and pushing Evans out of qualifying.
Mueller and Ticktum were battling in the third session, but the fight was cut short as the Cupra Kiro driver ran wide into the run-off area, ending his chances at pole position as he slipped 17 seconds behind the Porsche driver.
Taylor Barnard went up against Edo Mortara in the final quarter-final, with the DS Penske driver facing his last chance to become the youngest FE race winner. However, the Mahindra driver was a tenth ahead of Barnard, with the pace and handling of the Mahindra just too much for the Penske to challenge.
Semi-final duels
De Vries led the first semi-final duel with Wehrlein close behind out of the pit lane. The Mahindra driver took the advantage initially into the lap, with Wehrlein taking a tenth advantage in the opening stage of the lap.
The Porsche driver was catching the championship leader, but the gap was too big for Wehrlein to secure his place in the Semifinals, leaving the championship gap at just five points. De Vries took the first spot in the final.
Mueller and Mortara were the second group in the duel, with Mortara taking a slight advantage into the first half of the lap. Mueller was pushing to the line, but it wasn’t enough, and Mortara made it a double Mahindra final and a definite pole position for one of the two.
Finals
The two Mahindra drivers went head to head for pole position. De Vries had the edge as he embarked on the lap, the small margin growing as he went around the track.
Mortara was close behind but didn’t have the pace to beat him, and De Vries claimed pole position and the three points that came with it with a margin of 0.195s.
Mortara will line up second for the race, and Wehrlein and Mueller will make it a Porsche second row.
READ MORE: Taylor Barnard issues ‘on the right side of things for once’ verdict of London E-Prix
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