Time to set the grid for the first Formula E race of the year! Will reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein score his second pole of the current season at a track where he has always performed well? Or will Mitch Evans build up on his Brazilian win from the inaugural round in Sao Paulo instead? They will definitely have to steer away strong competitors while on their quest for the top starting spot.
Group A
Group A will feature both Lola drivers as well as Evans, Barnard, Mortara, Buemi, Wehrlein, Vandoorne, Rowland, Beckmann and Muller. Buemi has the fastest lap after the first set of attempts in 1:22.850s followed by Mortara Beckmann and Vandoorne.
The times are still quite a bit slower compared to the 1:10s recorded in earlier practise sessions. However, they are quickly dropping down with a 1:9.910s from Di Grassi.
Halfway through the session Mortara leads with a 1:17.960s from Vandoorne, Barnard and Di Grassi. Evans has a brief stint ta the top of the tables,
Beckmann hits the wall with two minutes to go. Wehrlein leads in 1:15.09s from Muller, Rowland and Buemi, half a second ahead of Maloney.
Maloney and Mortara both get blocked on their final attempts by Di Grassi who suffered from lockup, with the Swiss driver complaining about his behaviour on the radio.
Ultimately, Wehrlein ends on top in 1:14.610s ahead of Rowland, Buemi and Evans, all in less than 0.200s. Mortara was on the outside looking in from P5, but the biggest surprise of the day is definitely Sao Paulo podium sitter Taylor Barnard in last place.
But drama ensures as Buemi is under investigation for a technical infringement, which could see the Mahindra driver advance to the Duels in spite of the interfering. The Mortara- Di Grassi impeding is also investigated as well as Group B drivers get out on track.
Group B
The Envision driver has officially lost his lap time due to a tyre pressure illegality, with Team Principal Sylvian Filippi not satisfied by the outcome.
After the first set of attempts Bird leads from Frijns, De Vries and Ticktum, but it’s set to be a much faster group as with 5 minutes to go the times are nearing the ones from the end of the previous group.
Frijns now leads with a 1:14.130s, ahead of Bird and the DS Penske drivers, but with two minutes to go there’s still time for a number of attempts, with now Cassidy leading in 1:13.471s.
Ultimately the best effort was put in on his final flyer by Gunther in 1:13.352s and will advance to the Duels with Dennis, the Jaguar driver and Da Costa.
Bird and De Vries are under investigation for impeding at the Peraltada, with the McLaren driver getting stuck behind the Mahindra drove by the former AlphaTauri F1 driver.
No further action will be taken on the matter of impeding from Group A concerning Mortara and Di Grassi as the sky darkens on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Cassidy has had a lap time deleted for technical infringement.
Quarter Finals
Rowland and Evans face in the first Duel of the day. The Jaguar driver was 0.275s ahead of the Brit by the end of the first sector, with Rowland recovering in the following sector and building over a two tenths long gap.
The second Quarter Final sees Mortara and Wehrlein face. The reigning champion began almost a 1s ahead of the Swiss and swiftly built on that. This was caused by a mistake made by Mortara: too much speed through the first corner had him run off track.
Da Costa will compete with Dennis. It was an incredibly close one, with Da Costa ahead by less than a tenth by the first section. His lead never faltered, growing to three tenths by the end of the lap.
Finally the DS Penske drivers will duel for the last available spot. Vergne, promoted due to Cassidy’s deletion starts ahead by 0.189s, and doubles his lead by the final corners.
Semi Finals and Pole
The first Semi Final features Wehrlein and Rowland. It was an incredibly tight round, with the drivers constantly swapping their lead. Ultimately it’s the Porsche driver to come out on top by only 0.014s
Vergne and Da Costa are on next. The Porsche driver started out with a 0.273s lead, but the Frenchman closed up the gap in the second sector. The Portuguese’s 1:10.700s was at the end the best time signed in the Duel.
It’ll be a Porsche front row lockout, but who will win the three points awarded for pole? The reigning champion started out with a two tenths lead, which increased to 0.324s by the middle sector. The former DS driver tried to reduce his distance, however he is unsuccessful. Wehrlein makes history as the first driver to score four poles at the same track here in Mexico.
De Vries has recived a three places grid penalty for impeding Bird during Group B
