Pascal Wehrlein took Pole Position for the Mexico City E-Prix, heading-up a first-ever Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E front row, ahead of team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa.
The German outfit’s cars looked in scintillating form throughout the whole qualifying period, and confirmed it by locking out the first two places on the grid, with da Costa narrowly missing-out on Wehrlein’s time in the final duel.
Jean-Eric Vergne was third for DS Penske, with Oliver Rowland fourth for Nissan.
Row three will be occupied by Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans and the second DS of Maximilian Guenther, with Jake Dennis and Edoardo Mortara on row four.
Lola-Yamaha-ABT’s Zane Maloney, in only his second E-Prix, was a superb ninth, with Sam Bird rounding-up the top 10.
How qualifying unfolded
GROUP A
Wehrlein and Evans were the early pace-setters as a dry line formed along the surface. Rowland was the first to unseat them, followed by Mortara and Zane Maloney. Wehrlein got himself back into the top four, as David Beckmann’s Kiro skidded unto the run-off area in turn one, reminding the drivers of the slipperiness that remained.
With fifteen seconds remaining, Evans was back and on top, with Mortara going into third with enough time to complete one more lap, but ultimately it would not be enough for the Swiss.
His countryman Buemi’s final lap was his best, going top but with Rowland displacing him quickly. Wehrlein eventually set the fastest time, 1:14.610, with Rowland, Buemi and Evans narrowly following the reigning World Champion into the duels.
Buemi was swiftly placed under investigation for a technical infraction and the Envision was removed from the order, promoting Mortara, the cause being irregular tyre pressure.
GROUP B
The track was drying rapidly, as Robin Frijns went fasted midway through the second group session with a time five tenths quicker than Wehrlein’s.
Cassidy was able to put in a banker time that put him top as bottlenecks began to appear at the end of the lap, with drivers being impeded by others.
Sam Bird was looking good for progress, but was impeded by Nyck de Vries as he completed his lap, and was then forced to back out of his final run in order to allow Frijns through, but he would also miss out, completing a miserable afternoon for Envision.
Guenther would make it through with a 1:13.352m, to go P1. Dennis, despite a seemingly poor track positioning amid the traffic, was second, with Cassidy third, and da Costa fourth.
Just before the duels were to begin, race control deleted Cassidy’s time, condemning him to the wrong end of the grid, promoting Vergne to the head-to-head phase.
DUELS
The first duel was a mouthwatering prospect, pitting São Paulo victor Evans up against Rowland.
Evans would go first but would go wide into turn five, but Rowland was initially two tenths adrift.
As Evans entered the stadium complex, Rowland was saw through the Jaguar’s advantage. Evans crossed the lune with a 1:11.338, but Rowland’s neater lap placed him into the semi-finals by almost three tenths.
Duel number two was Mortara against Wehrlein, and the Mahindra man slid wide into turn one, already placing him at a disadvantage, and after just the first sector, the Porsche was half-a-second clear.
The rest of Mortara’s lap was far neater, but clawing back the defect was nigh-on impossible. Wehrlein went through with an advantage of nine tenths, but a lap still slower than Rowland’s.
The third duel was da Costa vs. Dennis, and the Englishman was down by a tenth in the first sector, but quickly started to match the Portuguese, setting up for a close final part of the lap. Da Costa would set a 1:11.252, and Dennis’ end of the lap was a poor one, and da Costa would see himself through to the semis.
It would be an all-DS Penske affair in the fourth duel, with Guenther against Vergne.
The Frenchman would go first, his first part of the lap looking slightly ragged, with the German two tenths slower.
The two-time champion’s lap was a blistering one, a 1:11.190, giving his team-mate no chance, Guenther finishing his lap three tenths adrift.
SEMI-FINALS
The first semi-final was a repeat of the last round’s final, Wehrlein against Rowland.
Wehrlein expertly navigated the early part of the lap, ensuring he was clear of Rowland by a tenth at this stage of the lap.
The Porsche looked like he was owning the circuit, taking a 1:11.040, the fastest lap of the day so far, leaving Rowland with no answer, finishing two-tenths behind. Afterwards Rowland said he “let the team down” with his lap, after a messy final few corners.
The second semi placed da Costa against Vergne, a man who had a history of good one-lap pace in qualifying across Season 10.
Da Costa took a wide line into turn five, with Vergne now a fraction ahead, but da Costa would grab the top spot, ensuring an all-Porsche front-row, with a 1:10.739, with Vergne, like Rowland, around two tenths behind.
FINAL
Wehrlein began his lap leaving no inch of tarmac unused, but da Costa was narrowly ahead in the early stages of his lap and would set it up for a close finish.
The German set a 1:10.984, with da Costa short by a tenth of a second after a dodgy final sector of his lap.
Wehrlein as a result grabbed his second pole position in as many races to grab three extra points, setting up an exciting race with the threat of rain still looming large in Mexico City, with Porsche looking strong favourites for the win.
