After a first race in Jakarta packed with emotions, spins and teammate drama, it’s already time for Round 11, starting with its Qualifying Session. Yesterday the first pole for Maserati since 1958 was achieved, but who will be fastest today?
Photo credit: Formula E Media Bank / Sam Bagnall
Group A sees out on track the Avalanche Andrettis, the Jaguars, the McLarens, the Nissans, Cassidy,Ticktum and Frijns.
1:08. 798s was the first timed attempt, put in by Sacha Fenestraz, and the best early attempt from Cassidy in 1:08.623 Dennis, Fenestraz and Evans round off the provisional Top 4
Ticktum spins out at Turn 8, managing to neither destroy his car neither affect another driver’s lap.
In the final heated moments of the battle for the top 4, Fenestraz is the first to go on top with his last attempt. Cassidy was kicked out of the segment by Evans’s last attempt. The Envsion driver and championship leader misses out on the duels stages once again after yesterday due to a small lock up on his final flying lap, in what might reveal to be a crucial moment in the championship fight with his rivals through.
To sum up, Dennis, Fenestraz, Evans and Hughes go through the Duels from Group A.
A really strong Group B takes the way. 1:08.577 was the early benchmark time issued by Wehrlein, but was shortly after improved by his teammate Da Costa, but with 6 minutes to go in the session Mortara goes fastest in 1:08.602. Mortara, Da Costa, Wehrlein and Vandoorne in the duels at the moment, as the fastest driver and P4 are separated by only 0.053s.
Yesterday’s poleman Maxi Gunther moves ahead of his teammate by 0.038s ahead of the final set of attempts, kicking provisionally out of the duels Wehrlein.
On his final flying attempt Da Costa had to back out due to suddenly losing balance, as his Porsche teammate takes up his Duels provisional spot. Through are Gunther, Mortara, Wehrlein and Vandoorne by only 0.001s over his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne.
The first Quarter Final of the day sees Fenestraz and Evans face. The Nissan driver starts with a small 0.032s lead on the Jaguar driver, but the two times race winner in 2023 manages to best him with an impressive gap of 0.349s for his first victory in a duel since Sao Paulo.
Hughes and Dennis are on next. Hughes is in from for 0.007s at first, but Dennis moves on with an even stronger 0.643s gap to him as the McLaren driver consistently struggled.
Mortara and Wehrlein are next, with the Swiss through ahead of the Porsche driver for 0.182s.
The final one sees Vandoorne vs Gunther, Gunther starts slightly ahead by 0.077s and the Maserati driver is through with a very impressive 1:07.09s, whereas Vandoorne’s lap, faster than Evans’s in his duels, was almost 0.300s off the winner’s pace, with the German driver set to face off once again his teammate in a duel.
Jake Dennis and Mitch Evans are out for the first round of semifinals, with the Andretti driver ahead. It was a very close one, with Evans consistently in the lead in the first two sectors but Dennis going faster in the third one, winning by a thousandth of a second.
Right on next in the Maserati teammate duel. The drivers started out close, but Guenther developed a 0.342s gap through the second and third sector. Fastest in all the practice sessions and in yesterday’s qualifying, Gunther will definitely try to go for pole again.
The decisive pole round follows, Dennis started behind by 0.170, but increases to 0.450s to the second sector and 0.585s in the final sector. The Maserati driver with back-to-back poles has been the fastest man on track in practice, group stages and duels as well for a very impressive Indonesian round.
