Andrea PerilliStoffel Vandoorne set another pole position in the opening round of the Valencia E-Prix.
The Mercedes duo dominated Group 1, with Vandoorne topping the standings followed by teammate Nyck de Vries. Pascal Wehrlein finished in third position, while Robin Frijns and Mitch Evans completed the Top 5. Championship leader Sam Bird ended last of his group.
Nissan’s Oliver Rowland was the first Group 2 driver to set a time. The Brit finished his stint in P4. Antonio Felix Da Costa was able to move up to P2. Alexander Sims, Jean-Eric Vergne, Rene Rast, and Edoardo Mortara also part of this qualifying group, were not able to enter the Top 5.
As Group 3 came next, Maximillian Guenther climbed up to second position, while Sebastien Buemi was able to move up to fourth. There was different luck for the rest of the group drivers, as they finished the session in the bottom places of the standings.
When Group 4 time’s arrived, Alex Lynn climbed up to P1. Andre Lotterer and Norman Nato were able to sneak in within the Top 10, while Nick Cassidy, Jake Dennis, and Tom Blomqvist could not set a challenging time.
De Vries, Buemi, da Costa, Guenther, Vandoorne, and Lynn were able to reach Super Pole. De Vries, the first driver to complete his Super Pole lap, set a time of 1:26.730 seconds. Buemi could not match him, finishing behind the Dutchman.
Da Costa moved up to the first position after his lap. After his Super Pole stint, Guenther finished in P4, while Vandoorne displaced the reigning champion from the top of the standings. Lynn could not match him, finishing in P5.
This meant that Vandoorne was able to clinch yet another pole position in this Formula E season. He would be joined by da Costa in the front row, followed by de Vries and Guenther in the second row, and Lynn and Buemi completing the third one. However, de Vries is carrying a five-place grid penalty from Rome and thus, will start from eighth.
Bethonie Waring
