Group A sees out on track the Nissan, Envision and Maserati drivers, as well as Cassidy, Dennis, Vandoorne, Ticktum and De Vries. After the first set of attempts the ERT driver is leading the way with a 1:15-013s, followed by Rowland, Frijns and Fenestraz.
With seven minutes to go both Maserati drivers get into the provisional best 4, as Vandoorne lowers the best lap to 1:14.642s. Dennis and Rowland slot in P3 and 4 with five minutes to go and Frijns on the outside looking in.
Cassidy hits the curb while on a fast lap, leaving him in in provisional P11 in the group. In the final heated minutes of the session Rowland improves the DS driver’s time by 0.013s, and advances to the Duels with Cassidy and De Vries.
Biggest name not making the cut is definitely reigning champion Jake Dennis. Ticktum was on lap that would have probably been fast enough to make the cut when he cut the corner and ran over the grass at Turn 12.
Gunther and Ticktum are under investigation for impeding. However, no further action is taken.
Group B sees Da Costa, Hughes Evans and Sette Camara provisionally through with seven minutes to go, having the Porsche driver signed an impressive 1:14.629s. Former championship leader Wehrlein is in last place, reporting a lot of oversteer and returning to the pits to fix the issue.
Latest race winner Evans improves Da Costa’s time by 0.050s, but it’s short lasted as Hughes does one better and goes on top with only 0.006s over Evans.
Wehrlein’s latest effort sees him put his Porsche in provisional P4, but his oversteering troubles are far from over, as he goes over the kerb and his teammate returns in the top spot. Bird makes a short appearance in the top 4, but ultimately the drivers who advance to the next stage are Hughes, Da Costa, Evans and Nato.
Neither championship contender Wehrlein nor yesterday’s pole sitter Vergne will feature in today’s Duels.
Cassidy and Vandoorne kick off the Duels stage. The Belgian driver started ahead, but Cassidy caught up shortly after, developing a 0.0121s by the end of the first sector, Vandoorne reduced the gap in the second sector and surprisingly manages to knock out the championship leader by 0.006s
It’s De Vries’s first ever kick-off stage appearance, and he is immediately in control as he improved Rowland’s time by 0.121s.
Evans and Da Costa follow through, with the Jaguar driver in control for the first sector, but the Portuguese is able to turn his performance upside down, ending the lap 0.136s ahead of Evans.
The last Quarter Final of the day sees Nato and Hughes face. The McLaren driver has an initial 0.09s lead over his Andretti colleague, which grew to 0.2 by the end of the first sector, but he makes a small mistake, losing a big chunk of his advantage. He is ultimately able to make it through with a 0.07s lead over Nato.
Semi Final1 has Vandoorne and De Vries on track. The Mahindra driver started 0.170s behind Vandoorne, but he was unable to outqualify his former teammate in spite of him reducing his distance in the second sector.
Hughes and Da Costa face for the last front row spot. The McLaren driver had a very strong one lap performance, which allowed him to kick off the Porsche driver.
Vandoorne exits first the fast lane ahead of Hughes. Vandoorne has an initial advantage of 0.004s, increase to 0.1 at the end of the first sector, but the Brit recovers and develops a 0.2s lead in the next sector. It’s an incredibly tight round which ends in Hughes taking his second pole of 2024 by only 0.001s!
