It’s time to set the grid for the second Formula E race of the 20025-2026 Season, the Mexico City E-Prix, with Qualifying! Who will manage to start the first race of the new solar year from pole position? Pascal Wehrlein, who topped FP2 and holds the highest number of pole positions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (4), is definitely a driver to watch today. However, winner of the inaugural Brazilian round Jake Dennis can’t be counted out, as he too displayed a strong pace throughout the past practice sessions.
Group A
The first Group of drivers taking on the challenge of Qualifying for the Formula E Mexico City E-Prix include Dennis, Cassidy, Mueller, Eriksson, De Vries, Da Costa, Barnard, Vergne, Nato and Mortara. All of them immediately rushed out on track. Due to the lower temperatures, the drivers are completing multiple low-speed laps around the Mexican track, so as to secure the best tyre conditions for their final attempt. Dennis is the early lead in this phase of the Qualifying segment with a lap in the 1:15s.
At the halfway point in the session, Eriksson leads in 1:13.184 from Nato, Mortara and Da Costa. With two minutes left on the clock, the drivers begin to increase their speed. Nissan’s Nato, Da Costa and then Dennis cycled at the lead, with the Brit retaining the top spot. Mueller, in his first outing at the track as a Porsche factory driver, jumped up to P2.
Ultimately, Dennis lowered the benchmark to 1:06.490s, advancing to the Duels alongside Mueller, Barnard, who was the only driver to change tyres in between his fast lap attempts, and Mortara. Among the most notable names out in this first segment, there definitely are Jaguar’s Da Costa, on the podium last year but suffering from mechanical issues in the earlier FP2, and Nato, consistently among the top 4 throughout the entire session. Ultimately, it was an incredibly close session, with only tenths of a second in between the top 6 drivers.
Out in Group A:
5. Da Costa
6. Nato
7. Cassidy
8. Vergne
9. Eriksson
10. De Vries
Group B
After suffering from mechanical problems, Marti is finally able to sign his first laps of the day.
Five minutes into the session, Gunther goes on top of the timings and is then immediately wheeled back into the pits for a tyre change. Ticktum, Marti and Di Grassi complete the provisional top 4. Porsche’s Wehrlein jumps up to P1 with a 1:11.213, still far off the best time of the previous group in spite of including some of the drivers faster this morning.
Immediately afterwards Ticktum, then Buemi correct me, by signing laps in the 1:06s. Unfortunately, the Brit’s final lap attempt goes astray at its start as he runs wide in Sector 1. However, his previous 1:06.538 was enough to advance to the Duels in P2. Buemi, Evans and reigning champion Rowland all are through as well.
Unlike in the previous session, overheating hindered the potential of some drivers, including very successful at this track Wehrlein. Rowland mentions an issue with his steering wheel, apparently too tough to turn, requesting also ice to recover his arms ahead of the upcoming Duels.
Out in Group B:
5. Guenther
6. Wehrlein
7. Di Grassi
8. Drugovich
9. Maloney
10. Marti
Quarter Finals
The first Duel sees Barnard and Mueller face for a chance of continuing their pole fight. Barnard had a challenging moment at Turn 1, slightly missing the apex, with the Porsche driver consequently taking the lead at the end of the first sector. The DS Penske driver recovered in the following sectors, signing a very strong lap in the low 1:05s
Mortara and Denis are on next. Mortara began very strongly, but Dennis closed the gap to the Swiss to only 0.081s in the middle part of the track. It was a very close fight, however ultimately Dennis failed to match the Mahindra driver’s performance, who advances.
Evans and Ticktum are the stars of the third duel of the day. The Cupra Kiro driver began in the front, but the Kiwi was quick enough to build a 0.200s lead by the end of Sector 1. The former Red Bull Academy driver gave his everything in the rest of the lap, almost hitting the wall at Turn 9, however misses out on a Semi Final spot by only 0.071s.
Last contenders are Buemi and Rowland. The Nissan driver overcorrects a lot, however is 0.300s ahead of the Swiss, who even in the previous sessions was faster in the other parts on the track. In fact, Buemi recovers two hundreds in Sector 2 and other two in the final corners, ultimately knocking out the reigning Formula E Champion of Qualifying for the Mexico City E-Prix.
Results
P5. Mueller
P6 Ticktum
P7 Dennis
P8 Rowland
Semi Finals
Barnard and Mortara contend for a Final spot. The DS Penske young talent began in slight advantage, with the Mahindra veteran recovering in the Second Sector up to 0.184s. Ultimately, Barnard lost quite a bit of time as he suffered from severe oversteer, however it appears to be enough to pass as Mortara too went too wide in the final corner with a 0.021s advantage. It was extremely close as replays show Barnard touching the track limits line with only one tyre.
Evans and Buemi are on next. The factory Jaguar driver started out strong, but Buemi was once again fastest in the other two sectors, in spite of a oversteer snap at the Peraltada, bringing Envision back in the fight for pole position for the first time since the last race of Season 11 in London.
Results
P3 Mortara
P4 Evans
Final
Barnard suffered from severe oversteer at the end of sector 1, but still ended the first corners with a significant advantage of 0.180s, the only ones where the Swiss has been less performant throughout the weekend. Barnard manages to keep his advantage over Buemi throughout the next two sectors, however he suffers again from too much oversteer at the final straight. Consequently, he ends up running with all four wheels out of the track limits, this time around causing the cancellation of his lap, which had been 0.114s faster than the actual pole lap signed by the Swiss driver.
Envision’s Sebastien Buemi takes Pole Position no. 17 of his Formula E career after a well-fought Qualifying for the Mexico City E-Prix, confirming the strong pace and great car feeling he had in the inaugural Brazilian round. Tune in in a couple of hours for the Race!
