FE | Portland E-Prix | Qualifying | Mitch Evans took pole position and set the new fastest average speed with a 1:08.664

Chiara Martin011 mins
Photo Credit: Formula E | Simon Galloway
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The first Qualifying session of the Portland E-Prix was underway, where the drivers had the chance to earn the first points of the day. The pace was quick during FP2, as António Félix Da Costa set a record-breaking benchmark lap of 1:08.78s. However, Sam Bird, Norman Nato and Lucas Di Grassi were unlucky because they were handed penalties that will lead to grid drops.

Bird of NEOM McLaren will serve a five-place grid penalty for “causing a collision” with Mahindra driver Nyck DeVries in Shanghai. Di Grassi was given two sanctions for separate incidents in Shanghai, ending with a 3-place grid drop, for “forcing” Jehan Daruvala and Dan Ticktum off the track.

The final and biggest penalty went to Nato, as he reached three reprimands over the season, resulting in a 10-place grid drop.

DS PENSKE also faced consequences for a rule violation. The team incurred a financial penalty of €5,000 and lost the privilege of a yellow pass. These sanctions were imposed after officials discovered that one of their guests, who possessed only a bronze pass, had been documenting the tire strategies of rival teams.

Group A kicks the session off

As group A headed out, Buemi was the first who set a time on the board, with a 1:10.603, that was topped by both ABT Cupras – Taking the top two slots, with Müller leading. That did not stop Buemi because he just needed one lap to take the lead again with a time of 1:10.

Jake Hughes, who was the pole-sitter in Shanghai, was the next on top. Nick Cassidy slid into a comfortable P4. Meanwhile, Jaguar driver Mitch Evans seemed to deliver under pressure, as his lap led him to the top of Group A.

Jean-Éric Vergne had an incident, where he took action to avoid Sérgio Sette Câmara and ran off track, putting an end to his Qualifying session.

The current championship leader Nick Cassidy did not improve his time and will not be a part of the Duels, missing out but just a tenth.

After the incident between Sette Câmara and JEV, Sette Câmara is under investigation for impeding and overpower in release.

Group B is ready to go

With Pascal Wehrlein in Group B, all eyes were on him because he is considered Season 10s best qualifier. He made it through to the Duels, 10 out of 12 times so far.

ERT driver Dan Ticktum was the first to top the timesheets for Group B, with a time of 1:09.776. Ticktum hoped to make it through to the Duels, being the only ERT driver who hasn’t made it through yet.

Wehrlein improved to third fastest, but he was not safe just yet. He sat in the top four with Ticktum still in the lead, Da Costa in second and Nato in fourth.

Robin Frijns moved up to third, putting Wehrlein in danger. Nato was briefly knocked out but found his pace and pushed to fourth, ultimately ending Wehrleins’ fight for the Duels.

The session ended with Ticktum keeping his top spot, moving on to the Duels with Da Costa, Frijns and Nato.

Time for the Duels

As Wehrlein and Cassidy were knocked out of the Duels, Evans, was the only driver in contention for the title to make it through.

It was not a good day for Sette Câmara. His times from Group A were deleted, promoting Edoardo Mortara into the Duels. This will be his third time in the Duels stage this season. Sette Câmara was the fourth driver to fall victim to grid drop penalties, for impeding JEV in Group A.

The first round of the Duels saw eight different teams in the battle for pole. Mitch Evans had a big opportunity to fight for a championship title, as he duelled with Di Grassi.

Evans took this round with a clean lap, going up a tenth over Di Grassi in each sector.

Hughes and Mortara were the next in line, but it was an easy win for the NEOM McLaren driver, as Mortara lost the rear with a mistake at the Turn 10/11 chicane, ultimately handing the win to Hughes.

Frijns also kept a clean round, with Da Costa nearly catching up. However, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver went wide in the final sector, losing two-tenths of a second to Frijns.

The final driver to make it into the semi-final was Norman Nato, also producing a clean lap. Ticktum pulled back and missed out by a tenth.

Semi-Finals

The semi-finals saw Evans versus Hughes and Nato versus Frijns.

The first round started with Evans and Hughes, both of whom are strong qualifiers. Evans has lost his last three semi-finals, while Hughes came off his maiden podium in Shanghai.

Having an advantage in the first sector, Evans moved on to the finals with a record-breaking lap of 1.08.664. Hughes caught up in sector two, but Evans delivered under pressure with the best lap of the session.

With a snap of oversteer for Frijns in the first corner, Nato was able to take all the advantage, setting the fastest first sector. Frijns was unable to catch up, putting the Andretti into the Final in their home race.

Finals

The final stage of the first qualifying session had Mitch Evans up against Norman Nato. If Nato managed to get pole, he would still get the +3 points, but will serve a 10-place grid penalty. The points are still important for Andretti in the Teams’ standings because it would have put them ahead of DS Penske.

With an even start to the lap, it looked as if Nato would take pole, but Evans pushed hard and tool the lead into the second sector, beating Nato and taking his second pole of the season!

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