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Rosenqvist clinches fourth Formula E career pole

In what was one of Formula E’s tightest qualifying sessions ever, Mahindra Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist paved his way to score his fourth pole position in the series, aiming to claim victory after a disappointing season start.

Dragon Racing’s Neel Jani was the first driver to set times on track. The Swiss was joined by Turvey, di Grassi, Lotterer, and d’Ambrosio on Group 1. The 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours winner sat in P1 during most of his qualifying group, and Lotterer later climbed up to that first position. However, it would be Turvey who clinched P1 in Group 1, with a time of 1:03.092.

Reigning champion Lucas di Grassi could not find a strong pace, and came second; while d’Ambrosio finished in P4, with a 0.757 gap to Turvey. Despite a clean and improved lap, Jani ended up last of his group; whereas his Porsche teammate Lotterer finished third.

Sébastien Buemi, Kamui Kobayashi, Maro Engel, Felix Rosenqvist, and Mitch Evans were the five drivers in Group 2. Rosenqvist was the first driver to set a complete lap time, positioning himself in P1, with a time of 1:02.878. Mitch Evans took over the Swede’s spot on the standings, after almost kissing the wall.

The Kiwi finished his Group in P1, setting a time of 1:02.577, followed by Mahindra Racing’s Rosenqvist. Maro Engel was able to finish in P5, and MS&AD Andretti’s Kamui Kobayashi ended one position behind him. Season 2 champion Buemi could not find a good pace during his qualifying lap, and ended at the bottom of the standings.

Luca Filippi, Nico Prost, Antonio Felix da Costa, Alex Lynn, and Edoardo Mortrara were Group 3 drivers. Prost was the first to set a lap time, that positioned him in P5. DS Virgin Racing’s Lynn was able to climb up to P3, with a time of 1:02.929.

Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara moved up to P2 with an astonishing pace, setting a lap time of 1:02.870. Antonio Felix da Costa was able to finish in P5 with a MS&AD Andretti car that looks faster and more reliable on qualifying this season. Luca Filippi ended up in P6, whilst Nico Prost was dropped to P9.

Group 4 saw Nelson Piquet Jr., Nick Heidfeld, Daniel Abt, Jean-Éric Vergne, and Sam Bird fighting to set a time that could allow them to make it to Super Pole. Bird quickly positioning himself in P4, while Daniel Abt climbed up to P2, with a lap time of 1:02.703.

With Abt in P2, Bird in P5, Piquet Jr. positioned in P12, Heidfeld one position ahead, and Vergne in P8; two drivers from Group 4 made it to Super Pole, where they would be joined by Mitch Evans, Edoardo Mortara, and Felix Rosenqvist.

Sam Bird was the first driver to go out on track for Super Pole. The Brit set a lap time of 1:03.109. Mahindra Racing’s Rosenqvist started his Super Pole lap by setting faster times in sectors 1 and 2, that allowed him to move up to P1, with a time of 1:02.836.

Third came Edoardo Mortara, who made it to Super Pole on his second ever Formula E race. The Venturi driver was not able to set a time faster than Rosenqvist’s, but did position himself in P2. Daniel Abt could not manage to set a time that would beat the one of Rosenqvist, and ended up in P4.

Mitch Evans was the last driver to go out for his Super Pole lap. The Kiwi had been the fastest overall in qualifying and aimed to score his first ever Formula E pole position; he finished in P2, behind Felix Rosenqvist.

The Swede scored his fourth pole position on his 14th Formula E race. The Mahindra Racing star would aim to repeat the victory obtained in Berlin Race 1 last season, starting from P1, and racing his heart out as he always does when the red lights go out.

Super Pole:

PosForenameSurnameGap
1FelixRosenqvist01:02.836
2MitchEvans0.054
3EdoardoMortara0.272
4SamBird0.273
5DanielAbt0.879

Group Classification:

PosForenameSurnameGap
1MitchEvans01:02.577
2DanielAbt0.126
3EdoardoMortara0.293
4FelixRosenqvist0.301
5SamBird0.320
6AlexLynn0.352
7Antonio Felixda Costa0.402
8Jean-EricVergne0.405
9OliverTurvey0.515
10LucaFilippi0.633
11NickHeidfeld0.699
12NelsonPiquet0.733
13LucasDi Grassi0.769
14NicolasProst0.841
15MaroEngel0.869
16KamuiKobayashi0.896
17AndréLotterer1.268
18Jérômed'Ambrosio1.272
19NeelJani2.035
20SébastienBuemi2.769

Andrea Perilli

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