Formula E has seen its highs and lows this past weekend; this qualifying session appeared to either prolong the fast pace or derail the drivers’ session entirely. Berlin fulfilled the promise of speed and chaos, as is the case with many race weekends.
Group A Qualifying
Group A, which included Mortara, Muller, Cassidy, Rowland, Buemi, Barnard, Drugovitch, Ticktum, Vergne, and Nato, started qualifying. While the other drivers started the session, Ticktum and Cassidy stayed in the pits for around two minutes when they did join, Ticktum began the session with old tires.
Although Mortara had a minor brush with the wall, Muller and Mortara failed to live up to expectations shown in earlier sessions. Barnard outpaced Drugovich with a lap time of 58.466. Nato and Ticktum ended the session early, going into the pits, while Cassidy took the lead at 58.440 with one minute left.
As Group A’s session came to an end, the 1/10th-second difference prevented some expected drivers from participating in the duels. Of Group A, Vergne, Drugovich, Barnard, and Cassidy advanced to duels.
Group B Qualifying
Wehrlein, Evans, Da Costa, Dennis, Marti, Di Grassi, Eriksson, De Vries, Gunther, and Maloney made up Group B. Once more, the session began immediately for all but two drivers, with Marti and Evans remaining in the pits for a full three minutes, cutting it very close. Maloney, Di Grassi, Eriksson, and Da Costa were swapping the lead.
With two minutes left, Da Costa led with a time of 58.439, while Marti and Evans had just one lap attempt remaining. Dennis followed De Vries, who has a small slide that prevented him from improving.
Evans only slightly improved his lap time by one place, which may have been Jaguar’s planned strategy. Wehrlein, Eriksson, Maloney, and Da Costa advance to the duels. Dennis and Gunther are being investigated for impeding.
Head-to-Head Duels
Drugovich vs. Barnard: Barnard won the duel with a 57.235 after making similar errors to Drugovich and going wide in some places.
Vergne vs. Cassidy: The first-ever head-to-head match between teammates, Cassidy was able to outpace Vergne with a lap time of 57.217.
Eriksson vs. Maloney: Even though Maloney was flying across the track, Eriksson was too strong for him. With 57.290, the Envision driver advances.
Da Costa vs. Wehrlein: Da Costa began to lose a few tenths of a second to Wehrlein’s lap in a close fight between ex-teammates, Porsche and Jaguar. With a lap of 57.373, Wehrlein guaranteed his spot in the semifinals.
Semi-Final Battles
Barnard vs. Cassidy: Despite Cassidy catching, Barnard’s lap time of 57.326 was close but he managed to stay ahead of Cassidy. Barnard advanced to the final.
Wehrlein vs. Vergne: Eriksson struggled with oversteering and running wide, which caused the distance between the two to widen. Regrettably for him, Wehrlein’s lap time of 57.296 increased by half a second as he advanced to the finals.
Last Fight for Pole
Wehrlein vs. Barnard: Wehrlein caught up to Barnard, who was leading the Berlin E-Prix with a fast pace as his car flew around every corner. Wehlrein, with a lap time of 57.292 takes pole position following the close battle with Barnard. In a couple hours’ time the race will begin and it could be a fight of energy management and skills; stay tuned.