The Formula E Madrid E-Prix got off to a quick start on Friday, with Qualifying taking place on Saturday. FP1 ended with Dan Ticktum on top with a strong 1:29.40. The CUPRA Kiro driver was followed by Nyck De Vries and Maximilian Günther in the top three. The next practice session took place this morning with Felipe Drugovich topping the timing sheets. After the drivers got their practice in, it was time for Qualifying at the Circuito del Jarama.
Group A out in Madrid
As conditions have changed for each session thus far, it could be hard to pin down who has the edge in Qualifying. Group A got out on the circuit with 10 minutes on the clock. Leading the pack was Pascal Wehrlein as he immediately went out on track. The rest of the first group followed quickly behind.
The drivers attempted to find grip on the slippery circuit during their build-up laps. Wehrlein was the first to go for a push lap, but his fast sectors were quickly matched by Felipe Drugovich and Nyck De Vries. Wehrlein took the top spot with a 1:44.733, but was quickly knocked down by both De Vries and Antonio Felix da Costa. Da Costa set the new benchmark of the day with a 1:43.938.
With three minutes left on the clock, the drivers continued to improve their lap times. Nyck De Vries impressed by constantly bettering his own time. As they got in their final push laps, the top spots kept changing. As Group A finished their final laps, De Vries, Da Costa, Wehrlein and Oliver Rowland completed the top four. Qualifying brought disappointment for Pepe Martí as he did not make it out of the drop zone for his home race. Others who did not make it through to the duels were Zane Maloney, Sebastian Buemi, Felipe Drugovich, Mitch Evans, and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Group B takes the track
Group B Qualifying was underway to fight for a position in the Duels of the Formula E Madrid E-Prix Qualifying. Nick Cassidy created a distance from the other cars as he went for his first build-up laps. Hoping to make the push laps without sitting in traffic, Cassidy had a solid plan.
Cassidy topped the timings for the time with a 1:42.963, half a second ahead of the pack. Shortly after, he set an improved time of 1:41.650. Meanwhile, the rest of the field continued to improve, and his time on top was brief. Norman Nato looked to have a strong pace as he attempted to set faster sectors. Nato flew a second ahead of Cassidy with a 1:40.949. Further back, Müller went wide when pushing on his lap.
As the chequered flag was waved, Nato stayed on top. Behind him were Mortara, Cassidy, and Günther. Neither of the CUPRA Kiros made it to the duels as Dan Ticktum narrowly missed out on the top four. The other drivers not making it through were Dennis, Müller, Barnard, Eriksson, and Di Grassi.
Duels
The quarter finals got underway with Wehrlein and Da Costa opening the duels. Both drivers pushed to the edge, however Da Costa looked to have the upper hand. As Wehrlein made a mistake early on, it could be his first time missing out on a Semi Final spot this season. The German’s time was 1:44.193, which was slower than his lap in the group stages.
The next duel took place between Rowland and De Vries. The duel looked to be over as soon as it started, as Rowland made a mistake and spun early on. De Vries won the duel, going several seconds quicker with a 1:39.409.
Cassidy faced Mortara in the third duel. The fight was set to be exciting. The duel was tight from the very start, but Mortara went slightly quicker in the first sector. To the last corners, the drivers were evenly matched. Cassidy came out on top to win his first duel of the season as the differences were narrow.
The last quarter-final was between Günther and Nato. While it started well, Turn 6 brought on trouble for Günther. The driver went into the gravel after a mistake in the turn. Luckily, he was able to continue his lap, however as he lost significant time with his mistake, Nato came out on top.
The first semi-final saw Da Costa and De Vries line up to fight. While the fight was tight, De Vries won. The second semi-final was between Nato and Cassidy. Nato found the gravel at Turn 7 after going deep. The mistake cost him several seconds, and he lost the spot in the final.
Final fight for pole for the Madrid E-Prix
The final fight for pole was between De Vries and Cassidy. Both drivers headed out on the Circuito del Jarama, pushing for the top spot. With the track drying up, the final was set to be interesting.
Starting their one lap, both drivers looked strong. However, De Vries had a snap that could have cost him significant time. With the gap being incredibly narrow, the fight to the chequered flag was tight. Eventually, Cassidy took pole after a strong lap, delivering the Citroen team their first pole.
