Reigning ABB Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa has been promoted to pole position for the first race of the Valencia E-Prix this afternoon, after Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne was disqualified for a technical infringement.
The Belgian driver has been demoted to the back of the grid, after both his Group Qualifying and Super Pole times were cancelled. It was found that the number of the tyre mounted on his car did not match with any of those declared in the Technical Passport.
As a result, da Costa will start the race from Julius Baer Pole Position for DS Techeetah. BMW i Andretti’s Maximillian Guenther joins him on the front row after qualifying in fourth at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Vandoorne’s Mercedes team-mate Nyck de Vries originally qualified in third, but dropped to eighth due to a five-place grid penalty for his collision with Jaguar’s Sam Bird and Nissan e.dams’ Oliver Rowland during Round 4 in Rome earlier this month.
This means that two of the key championship contenders will start towards the back of the grid, after championship leader Bird could only manage 21st in the group qualifying session.
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