Group A saw out on track the Nissan, Envision, McLaren drivers as well as Dennis, Ticktum, Wehrlein, Cassidy and Daruvala.
Three drivers are still in contention for the title, with two of them in this first group. Cassidy, who appears to have recovered from his earlier issues, sets the early benchmark in 1:11.04s, but Wehrlein and Hughes are quick to improve it, setting laps in the 1:10.8s
At the halfway point of the session both Nissans are provisionally through to the Duels, with Rowland leading in 1:10.68s in spite of strong understeer during the lap and Fenestraz in fourth. Wehrlein, provisional third, runs over the kerbs.
All the drivers pit, opting to return on track in different moments to avoid traffic. With three minutes to go, yesterday’s podium sitter and Cassidy return in the top four, with Cassidy lowering the best time so far to 1:10.323s.
After the final set of flying laps, Cassidy is still the leader of the group, moving to the next stage with Wehrlein, Bird and Frijns. The Dutch driver knocked out at the last chance Rowland.
Vandoorne leads in 1:10.632 from Da Costa, Sette Camara and Di Grassi, with yesterday podium finisher Evans having issues with the front of his car.
After a mid session pit the issues appear to be solved, with Evans bolting to the top spot. Gunther, in last, does not improve as he runs wide at Turn 16, however the Maserati driver is able to improve on his final run, signing a 1:10.395s.
Evans and the DS PENSKE drivers move on to the Duels stage as well, with Da Costa stuck in P5 of the group just like yesterday.
The first Quarter Final of the day features Wehrlein and Bird. The championship leader began in control with a 0.240s advantage, which almost doubled over the final sector.
Frijns will face Cassidy next. The Jaguar driver started with a 0.160s gap to the Dutchie, improved to 0.250s over the second sector. The Jaguar driver tried to make his own life more difficult for himself, overexerting the limits of his can and running wide over the kerbs, but ultimately is successful in advancing to the next stage.
Final title contender Mitch Evans will duel with Vandoorne. The two of them were pretty close in the first turns, but the gap increased to 0.322s over the span of the lap, losing a couple tenths in the final corners but still enough to keep fighting for pole.
Gunther and Vergne compete for the final spot, with the Frenchman suffering from strong oversteer at the beginning of his lap. At first the DS PENSKE driver was still on top, with Gunther taking the lead in the first sector and JEV catching up in the second. It was the tightest duel of the day, with the Maserati driver advancing by only 0.074s.
Title contenders Wehrlein and Cassidy face off in the first Semi Final. The Jaguar started in front, with Wehrlein having to recorrect his racing line. The German missed the apex at Turn 16, with ultimately Cassidy getting the win by 0.152s.
The other Semi Final features Gunther and Evans. Gunther began with over three tenths of advantage over the Jaguar driver, but Evans caught up to 0.072 by the halfway point of the lap. Evans lowered the distance to 0.046s, but it’s not enough as Gunther will be battling for the first three points of the day.
The German driver began the Final leading by 0.070s, dropping behind Cassidy at the halfway point by only 0.03s. It was the closest Duel of the past two days as they swap multiple times over the last sector. However, the former championship leader wanted it more and was ultimately able to secure the top starting spot for the last race of the season and the additional three points, which leave him only one point away from his teammate Mitch Evans in P2 and four from Wehrlein leader of the drivers ‘standings.
