A day after DS Penske’s Maximillian Günther claimed his first FE victory of the 2024 season, the German driver returned to the track, hoping to repeat Friday’s success. After showing excellent form throughout the weekend, Günther entered qualifying as a favourite to take his second pole in Jeddah.
The final FE practice session featured drier-than-expected conditions, and though rain was a concern for qualifying, it ultimately stayed away as the green flag fell. The track, however, was dusty. This had been a problem during Free Practice with some drivers struggling to keep their cars on track. Balance too had been a significant issue with several drivers complaining over their radios.
Group A
As the green flag fell, bringing Saturday’s qualifying session to a start Günther was one of 11 Group A drivers to take to the track in Jeddah. Oliver Rowland, Mitch Evans, Pascal Wehrlein, Sam Bird, Jake Dennis, Stoffel Vandoorne, Dan Ticktum, Nick Cassidy, Zane Maloney and David Beckmann joined him.
With just under half of the session complete, the drivers finally completed their preparatory laps. NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird was one of the first to put in a fast lap. However, as the clock ticked down, his competitors’ times lit up the screen.
With just over a minute, Vandoorne sat at the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:17.02, with Günther just 0.174 seconds behind. Rowland and Wehlein rounded out the top 3 with the former only 0.002 behind the DS Penske driver. Wehlein, however, dropped out of the top 4, eventually ending the Group A qualifying seventh. He was pushed out by Bird, who improved to 0.176 seconds off group leader Vandoorne. Rowland also improved, finishing second, just 0.095 seconds behind Vandoorne, while Cupra Kiro’s Ticktum and Beckmann finished the round fifth and sixth.
Group B
As the green flag was waved, bringing a start to the Group B qualifying session in Jeddah, Taylor Barnard, who finished FP3 in the top three, was joined on track by Antonio Felix Da Costa, Nych De Vries, Jean-Eric Vergne, Edoardo Mortara, Jake Hughes, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Mueller, Robin Frijins, Norman Nato and Lucas Di Grassi.
As done by the drivers of Group A, the Group B drivers spent the first minutes, running some preparatory laps, refamiliarising themselves with the track conditions.
With just under 5 minutes remaining, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Da Costa led the pack with a best time of 1:17.21. However, he fell to second after NEOM’s McLaren Barnard set a time of 1:16.92. While these were promising times, as time ticked down, the drivers continued to improve.
With only a minute left in the session, Barnard held the lead of the group, with his time of 1:16.92 giving him a decent cushion over his rivals. Maserati MSG Racing’s Jake Hughes was second, just 0.068 seconds off, with Mortara in third, despite a rough ride in his final lap, and Da Costa fourth. They held on to these positions as the checkered flag fell. Despite some challenges from the other seven drivers, the top four joined Vandoorne, Rowland, Günther and Bird in the duel stage of the Jeddah E-Prix Qualifying
Duels – Quarterfinals
With times set for both Group A and Group B drivers, the top four from each entered the duel stages of qualifying.
DS Penske’s Günther and Nissan’s Rowland were the first to face off in the quarterfinals. Günther was the first across the timing line but Rowland took and maintained the early advantage, earning his place in the semifinal.
NEOM McLaren’s Bird and Maserati MSG Racing’s Vandoorne were the second pair to compete for a place in the semifinal. However, despite the close competition, Vandoorne emerged victorious over the papaya-clad driver.
Vandoorne’s teammate, Hughes, joined Mahindra Racing’s Mortara in quarterfinal three. Hughes took an early advantage though Mortara gained some time in the final sector. Despite the close competition, Hughes joined his teammate in the semi-final.
NEOM McLaren’s Barnard and TAG Heuer Porsche’s da Costa were the final pair to compete for a place in the semifinal. While da Costa took the early lead, Barnard emerged as a fierce challenger, eventually claiming the lead going into the final sector. However, despite a shaky moment, the British driver took victory over da Costa.
Duels – Semifinal 1
After beating out Günther and Bird in the quarterfinals of the duel round, Rowland and Vandoorne took to the track to fight for a place in the final. Rowland, having set a lap time of 1:15.122 appeared to have a slight advantage over Vandoorne who had been 0.214 seconds slower.
Vandoorne was the first out of the pitlane and took the early lead. However, Rowland put in a competitive performance, narrowing Vandoorne’s earlier advantage. Rowland eventually regained the advantage, with Vandoorne unable to outqualify the Nissan driver.
Duels – Semifinal 2
After setting the fastest lap time of the qualifying round, 1:14.840, Barnard earned his place in semi-final 2, against Vandoorne’s teammate, Hughes, who had been the slowest of the four to make it into the semifinals. Both drivers had strong motivations to claim their place in the final.
Hughes led Barnard across the timing line. However, Barnard took the initial advantage, quickly widening the gap between himself and the Maserati driver. Ultimately, Barnard earned himself a place in the final, after a dominant performance. This was the NEOM McLaren driver’s first time in an FE qualifying final.
Duels – Final
This is history between Rowland and Barnard, with the former having supported the latter during his karting career. This did not matter much, however, as though Rowland was the first across the timing line, Barnard claimed the early advantage.
Despite a shaky moment, the final was a close one, and Barnard crossed the finish line over four-tenths of a second faster than Rowland to claim the Julius Baer Pole Position, becoming the youngest ever to do so.
Rowland will start the evening’s race from P2 with Maserati MSG Racing locking out the second row. However, this may change as Vandoorne is under investigation over a technical infringement.
