In sensational qualifying in Jakarta, it’s Günther who snatches the pole position away from Dennis, first ever in his single-seater career.
Its time for qualifying in Jakarta! Who will grab the pole position, and who will start in the back?
The free practice session this morning went more or less without disturbances, besides Mortara clipping the wall within the first couple of minutes of the session. Considering the Maseratis had a strong performance in yesterday’s practice, a bit of a shame. Will he return for the qualifying?
Group A consisted of Dennis, Cassidy, Bird, Fenestraz, Sette Camara, Ticktum, Frijns, Hughes, Mehri, Vergne and Vandoorne. With the green light, almost all of the drivers went out to the track immediately, all besides the DS Penske drivers. After the initial runs, it was Dennis, Cassidy, Bird and Fenestraz who would advance to the duels. Fenestraz was soon pushed down and Vandoorne got into P1, a somewhat good sign after FP2 this morning. The same goes for Cassidy, who had a tricky session this morning, but was capable of getting into Top 4 after the initial runs. With five minutes left on the clock, most of the drivers returned back to the pits. One minute left on the clock and everyone goes back on track for their final push. Who will advance into the duels from Group A? It’s Dennis, Vandoorne, Vergne and Frijns in Top 4! Cassidy gets pushed down, which means that the championship contender will not start anywhere near the front of the pack. The race will be very interesting!
Group B consisted of Wehrlein, Evans, Da Costa, Buemi, Rast, Günther, Di Grassi, Nato, Mortara, Müller and Beckmann. Green lights and away they go onto the track. The firs driver to set a time was Buemi, with the time of 1:09.304s. Most of the drivers after him were not capable of beating his time until the likes of Wehrlein, Günther and Evans joined the party and made up the Top 4. Mortara’s car was ready and he made it to the track, but since he had a limited running in Jakarta so far, it might be a difficult task for him to be able to get close to Top 4. His teammate seemed strong though, soon jumping onto P1. Four minutes of the group stage left and the drivers made it back into the pits. With one minute to go, everyone went back on track for their final push. The four drivers to advance into the duels were: Günther, Wehrlein, Rast and Mortara. Neither of the Jaguar powered cars made it into the duels!
Duels – Quarterfinals
Vergne vs Vandoorne
Winner: Vergne
Frijns vs Dennis
Winner: Dennis
Rast vs Wehrlein
Winner: Wehrlein
Mortara vs Günther
Winner: Günther
Duels – Semifinals
Vergne vs Dennis
Winner: Dennis
Wehrlein vs Gunther
Winner: Günther
Duels – Finals
Dennis vs Günther
Winner: Günther
And it’s Max Günther who takes the pole! Will he be able to stay away from errors and deliver a good result today, considering how this season has been panning out for Maserati? What a fascinating qualifying today. We have no doubt the race will be great, and it also gives us a taste of what we can expect again tomorrow. The race for the Jakarta E-Prix this Saturday will take place at 10am CET. Tune in in front of the TV and at Pitdebrief to find the summary of the whole day today! And remember: enjoy the race, wherever you are ✨
