It’s time to set the grid for Formula E Round 16 in London, as the drivers get ready for Qualifying at the ExCel! Who will take the first three points of the double header season finale? Championship leader Jake Dennis has a first opportunity to try and secure his second title today, by having the perfect day and winning from Pole Position.
Formula E London E-Prix Qualifying begins with Group 1
Dennis, Wehrlein, Mortara, Cassidy, de Vries, Drugovich, Vergne, Ticktum, Di Grassi and Nato exit first on the track.
Dennis and de Vries made contact on their out lap at Turn 10, with the Brit trying to overtake the Mahindra man in the narrow. At the halfway point of the session, Nato held the fastest early benchmark in 1:13.763, from Ticktum, Mortara and Cassidy. Dennis expressed his dismay on the radio.
Performance appears to be rather levelled, with the entire group in 0.250s. On the final series of flying laps, both Mahindra drivers were knocked out off the advancing top 4. Championship contender de Vries and provisional detainer of the highest number of pole Edoardo Mortara both appeared rather upset.
Dennis and de Vries were investigated for the earlier happening. The first significative lap was posted by Wehrlein, and was lowered quickly after by Dennis to 1:09.465, with three minutes left on the clock.
Replays show Mortara on his final banker having electronics issues, with his car slowing down at Turn 16 and him making contact with the wall. Dennis too had a slight touch, but still manages to improve his lap time to make the cut.
Ultimately, Porsche’s Wehrlein set again the fastest lap, and will proceed to the Duels stage with Ticktum, Dennis and Vergne.
Group B
Two more championship contenders in this group are ready to try and secure important points: Mitch Evans and Oliver Rowland.
Halfway through, Mueller led from Rowland, Da Costa and Evans in 1:09.323, with the Porsche factory driver confirming the strong pace displayed at the track by the German manufacturer in the first group already.
Da Costa’s steering wheel appears bent, as he explains on the radio that he hit the inside wall at Turn 9.
Rowland almost made contact with the wall at the exit of Turn 13, as he really aims to shave off a few more tenths of a second from his lap time. Not a lot of drivers improved on the final set of attempts, with Da Costa snatching the fourth Duels spot from Rowland. Buemi and Barnard improved, but only found their way up to P5 and P6 respectively.
Mueller, Evans, Eriksson and Da Costa will complete the Duels board, with Jaguar making a string statement in their quest to secure the Teams’ championship from Porsche and Andretti.
Quarter Finals
Dennis and Ticktum are the first to compete in a London Duel. The Cupra Kiro had a 0.200s of advantage in the first sector, reduced to 0.077s in the second. However, it was enough to end Dennis’s run, as Ticktum crossed the line with just 0.007s spare.
Wehrlein and Vergne are the next contenders. The Porsche man continued to display the strong pace shown earlier, developing a 0.197s. While he too lost a bit of time in the middle sector, Wehrlein smoothly advanced over the Citroën man.
The third duel saw Evans and Eriksson face. Evans was in command for the entirety of the lap, building over 0.400s of lead over the Swede and lowering Ticktum’s previous best lap by two tenths.
Da Costa and Mueller complete the Quarter Finals section. It was another close round, with the Porsche man developing a 0.070s gap in the early turns, the Jaguar man closing in and even developing a 0.100s advantage. Ultimately, da Costa made a small mistake at Turn 16, which was fatal to his odds of getting to the Semi Finals.
Semi-Finals
Ticktum and Werhlein will be the first to battle for Pole Position today. Ticktum began strongly, but eventually opted for letting Wehrlein through easily, slowing down and ending his lap over two and a half seconds off the German.
Evans a began his lap with a slight advantage, but Mueller developed a 0.137s lead in the middle part. Ultimately, Evans tried to close again the distance but was unsuccessful, with Müller rounding his lap 0.250s ahead in spite of going almost a bit too fast on the limit.
Final
It’s going to be a Porsche showdown as Wehrlein and Mueller will go for pole. Will team orders play an important role again like in Wehrlein’s Semi Final, or will Mueller pose more of a threat to his German teammate?
Wehrlein started his lap 0.068s behind his teammate, with Mueller’s gap increasing to 0.123s i by the end of the middle sector. Ultimately, the Swiss slowed in the final sector, as Wehrlein takes pole.
The 2023/2024 Formula E champion earns three points, which put him level on with Evans in second place of the drivers’standings, with the points also allowing Porsche to close in more to Jaguar in the teams’standings.
