It’s time for the first qualifying session of the year, as the grid is split into Group A and B, each featuring a driver per team. Group A sees out on track Vandoorne, Frijns, Bird, Di Grassi, Nato, Daruvala, Fenestraz, Ticktum, Cassidy, Mortara and Wehrlein.
The DS Penske driver sets the first benchmark in 1:14.769s, and is temporarily joined in moving forward to the Duels by Mortara, DiGrassi and Nato after the first full set of attempts. The new Andretti driver moved up to the top spot with a later attempt, almost brushing the wall in order to be on the best racing line.
At the halfway point in the session, one of the top performers in Mexico has the best time in 1:14.208s, Pascal Wehrlein, with Bird, Cassidy and Nato rounding off the top four as everyone heads back to the pits for fresh rubber.
Vandoorne and Cassidy have a moment as the first finds himself on the Kiwi driver’s trajectory while on a slower lap, leaving Jaguar’s Team Principal very unsatisfied. Wehrlein is slightly blocked by Fenestraz while on a flying lap.
Vandoorne is the first driver to go into the 1:13s in qualifying, but his effort is improved by Frijns in 1:13.852s. In the final, heated moments of the session Nato and Fenestraz are kicked from the Duels stage as Cassidy and Wehrlein slot into P3 and P4. The gap between Frijns in P1 and Werlein is of only 0.070s!
Photo credits: Formula E | Simon Galloway
A yellow flag was issued due to 2023’s Mexico City pole sitter Lucas Di Grassi in his first race weekend as an ABT driver hitting the wall.
The Brazilian was able to restart but he brought debris on track that the drivers behind him, Ticktum and Mortara, had to avoid, affecting their last attempt. A very disappointed Bird, who had led the session for a long time, makes his way back to the pits.
On to the Duels: Frijns, Vandoorne, Cassidy, Wehrlein
The first lap time in Group B is set by Vergne in 1:14.679s, still leading after the first set of attempts, followed by Gunther, Hughes and Rowland.
But nothing is set in stone, as reigning champion Jake Dennis, Evans, Sette Camara and Hughes all improve the Frenchman’s previous best time.
Dennis is the first driver of his group to sign a lap in the 1:13s, as the top performing drivers head back to the pits at the halfway point of the session to swap tyres. With two minutes to go Buemi, Vergne and Gunther all cycle at the top of the provisional standings.
Last is Nyck de Vries four seconds off the leader’s pace, with the Dutch driver still coming to terms with the Gen3 car he’s driving for the first time after his Formula 1 stint.
After the final round of flaying laps Gunther leads from Hughes, Buemi and Evans, with the reigning champion not through to the duels.
Da Costa was slowed while on a final attempt by Rowland, having to settle for P7 in the group, whereas Dennis ran wide off track after setting the best Sector 1.
On to the Duels: Gunther, Hughes, Buemi, Evans
Cassidy and Vandoorne face in the first Quarter Final, with the Jaguar driver out first. Cassidy started out with a 0.110s advantage on Vandoorne, which dropped to half a second by the half of the lap. Vandoorne recovered some speed but it was not enough to secure the win.
Up next are Wehrlein and Frijns, with Envision the only team alongside Jaguar with two drivers to the Duels stage. The Dutch driver however ran wide at Turn 1, and was unable to make up for his early mistake as the Porsche driver advances to the next turn.
The third duel sees Buemi and Hughes face. The McLaren driver had a great first sector, with Buemi catching up in the third for the closest duel of the day so far. Ultimately the Envision driver caught up with Hughes and won the fight by two tenths of a second.
Evans and Gunther face in the last quarter final of the weekend. The Kiwi driver developed a 0.273s advantage in the first sector, increased to half a second by Sector 2. The German driver tried to catch up but his better third sector didn’t allow him to recover all the time lost earlier, as Evans signs the fastest time of the weekend in 1:13.103s.
Up next is the first Semi Final, with Cassidy and Wehrlein on track. At first the new Jaguar driver was slighting ahead, but Wehrlein recovered and improved the Kiwi’s time in the second and third sectors.
Buemi and Evans face for the second Final spot, with Buemi leading in the early stages by less than an hundredth of a second, increasing his gap to the Jaguar driver to over, with two out of two Jaguar drivers out at the Semis.
Wehrlein’s Halo message of the day “Change your look not your style” appears to be forecasting, as the German driver began the 2024 season with the same dominant pace he had shown at the beginning of the previous season.
But will it be sufficient to score the first pole of Season 10 against one of the most experienced drivers in the field, Sebastien Buemi?
The Porsche driver had a 0.143s early advantage on the Swiss, which he doubled by the second sector. Buemi closed up a bit of the gap, but ultimately he concluded his run with a 0.251s distance to Wehrlein.
