After a mostly uneventful FP3, the Formula E grid was ready for Qualifying 2 of the Berlin E-Prix. Topping the timing sheets of FP3 were Edoardo Mortara, Maximilian Günther, and Taylor Barnard. As FP3 had the top three drivers separated by only 0.008s, the excitement was on for Qualifying.
Group A
Group A began to trickle onto the track as the clock counted down from ten minutes. Norman Nato was the first to set a lap time. His first lap time of the session was 1:04.080, which he soon improved.
With a few minutes left of the first outing, the gaps were tight. Only one-tenth separated the top four drivers in the group.
The drivers who made it through to the duels were Nick Cassidy, Taylor Barnard, Felipe Drugovich, and Jean-Éric Vergne. Surprisingly, Mortara, who has been strong all weekend, did not make it through. Still, the driver was extremely close, only two thousandths of a second away from JEV. The rest of the drivers who did not make it to the duels were Race 1 winner Nico Müller, Sébastien Buemi, Norman Nato, Oliver Rowland, and Dan Ticktum.
Group B on track at the Berlin E-Prix
After Group A finished their laps, it was time for Group B to shine. As the drivers went out on track, the fight to reach the duels was tough. With tiny margins, the grid continued to get closer and closer.
With only two minutes left on the clock, Pepe Martí had only done one warm-up lap. As the time counted down, he made another attempt, but it was not enough to be competitive.
Nyck De Vries had a big slide in the final sector of his final lap, which made the tiny difference, placing him fifth instead of fourth by 0.014 seconds. Da Costa led the group with a lap time of 58.439, putting him just a thousandth ahead of Cassidy’s time in Group A.
The drivers who made it through Group B were Da Costa, Eriksson, Maloney, and Wehrlein. Not making it out of the group stages were De Vries, Günther, Dennis, Di Grassi, Evans, and Martí.
Close margins in the duels
The first quarter-final duel was between Drugovich and Barnard. Both drivers missed the Turn 2 exit, making it crucial to make up time later in the lap. Barnard came out on top, 0.413 ahead of Drugovich. Jean-Éric Vergne and Cassidy were set for the next duel. While they looked close during most of the lap, Cassidy made the difference to reach the duels.
The third duel was between Maloney and Eriksson. Maloney had looked strong this weekend, but Eriksson managed to find an edge in the second sector. With only 0.140 s separating them, Eriksson took the spot to reach the semi-finals. Wehrlein and Da Costa battled for the final spot in the semi-finals. The two drivers looked matched in the first sector before Wehrlein built an advantage in the second sector. Wehrlein made it through to the semi-finals of Porsche’s home race.
Barnard and Cassidy went out on track for the first semi-final. Barnard had an edge early in the lap, but Cassidy looked to be closing in. After an impressive lap, the DS Penske driver made it to the final.
The last semi-final was between Wehrlein and Eriksson. Eriksson went wide at the first corner, which put him on the back pedal. The lap looked to fall away from the Swede as Wehrlein put on a superb performance to make it to the finals.
Battle for pole at race 2 of the Berlin E-Prix
As the end of the Berlin E-Prix Qualifying 2 was near, the finals duel was set to be exciting. Barnard and Wehrlein were the top two fighting for pole. Barnard was pushing early on in the lap. The two drivers looked to be closely matched through every sector. While Barnard had an early edge, Wehrlein caught up quickly. The German driver’s strong performance put him on pole for his home race.
