The Formula E Championship arrived in Miami today for an action-packed qualifying Saturday that delivered drama, collisions, and a first-time polesitter. In colder weather, the drivers battled for small seconds on the track.
Barnard Leads the Way
As usual, qualifying began with the group phases. Group A featured a star-studded line-up: Oliver Rowland, Pepe Martí, Mitch Evans, Lucas di Grassi, Sébastien Buemi, Nyck de Vries, Norman Nato, Nick Cassidy, Edoardo Mortara, and Nico Müller. The group included the entire podium from the previous race—Cassidy, Mortara, and Rowland—plus Buemi, the pole sitter in Mexico.
Early laps were cautious, with drivers prioritising warm-up laps in the cool conditions. Lucas di Grassi carried a three-place grid penalty for his collision with Evans in Free Practice 2. A collision between Mortara and Buemi punctuated the session, damaging Mortara’s Mahindra and ending his qualifying.
In the final moments of Group A, Norman Nato edged out Cassidy by just eight hundredths of a second to take the top spot. Cassidy, Nyck de Vries, and Nico Müller also advanced, while Rowland was left sixth, outperformed by his teammate.
Group B proved equally eventful, as Jake Dennis, Pascal Wehrlein, Taylor Barnard, Maximilian Günther, Joel Eriksson, Jean-Éric Vergne, Zane Maloney, Antonio Félix da Costa, Felipe Drugovich, and Dan Ticktum battled for four spots. After aggressive final laps, Barnard led the group, followed by da Costa, Eriksson, and Drugovich. Porsche-powered cars struggled again, with Wehrlein eliminated.
Duels Deliver Edge-of-Seat Action
The duels phase brought more excitement. Drugovich and Eriksson triumphed over their teammates, while Nick de Vries narrowly beat Cassidy. Nico Müller defeated Norman Nato, and Antonio Félix da Costa overcame Joel Eriksson. In a nail-biting round, Drugovich edged Barnard by just 0.001 seconds, setting up the semi-finals: Müller vs. de Vries and Drugovich vs. da Costa. Both Müller and Drugovich emerged victorious, creating a final showdown between two Porsche-powered cars.
Müller Secures First Pole
In the final round for pole position, Müller and Drugovich pushed hard. Drugovich almost lost control on the warm-up lap but recovered. Then Müller set a 55.455, narrowly outpacing Drugovich by one-tenth.Thus Nico Müller claims his first Formula E pole position in his third race with the factory Porsche team. Therefore, delivering Porsche’s 11th pole overall and second of the season, elevating them to second in the standings. Müller described,
“It does feel great; thanks to the team for having trust in me. Super pleased. Even though it’s probably the track where starting position matters the least, it’s still nice.”
For Drugovich, it was an impressive debut in the duels format, narrowly missing out but signalling a bright future in Formula E. Meanwhile, drivers like Wehrlein and Dennis will face an uphill battle from the back of the grid, while Porsche enjoys a front-row lockout. The Miami E-Prix promises another thrilling chapter later today, with a grid featuring duel heroes and a first-time polesitter ready to lead the pack.