Formula E: Buemi takes pole in heated Monaco qualifying

Sebastien Buemi

Sebastien Buemi (e.dams-Renault) will start from pole position for this afternoon’s Monaco ePrix ahead of Audi Sport ABT’s Lucas di Grassi and Dragon Racing’s Jerome D’Ambrosio.

However, it wasn’t without controversy as the top two drivers in the championship standings had a disagreement in qualifying parc ferme.

Nelson Piquet Jr (NEXTEV TCR) set the early pace in the opening qualifying group with a 53.712s. The first group on track contained some key championship contenders including di Grassi who narrowly edged in front of Piquet to steal provisional pole position.

After the session Piquet complained about being blocked by his fellow-countryman going into La Rascasse on his final attempt. The winner last time out in Long Beach will start fourth alongside Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT).

Loic Duval (Dragon Racing) qualified fifth but will drop 10 places for replacing the RESS system. Virgin Racing’s Jaime Alguersuari and Karun Chandhok (Mahindra Racing) also move back on the grid for the same infringement.

Duval’s team-mate Jerome D'Ambrosio got within two-tenths of di Grassi on his first flying lap but improved on his final attempt to beat Piquet into third place.

Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) will line-up sixth with Mahindra Racing’s Bruno Senna seventh. The Venturi pairing of Nick Heidfeld and Stephane Sarrazin ended the session in eighth and ninth with Salvador Duran (Amlin Aguri) completing the top-10.

The final qualifying group was interrupted by a red flag following a crash from Amlin Aguri’s Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese driver ran wide at Tabac and damaged the rear of his car.

Traditionally in motorsport pole position in Monaco is crucial with limited overtaking opportunities but this is Formula E’s first visit to the Principality so only time will tell if that notion remains the same.

Results

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time Gap
01 9 Sebastien Buemi e.dams-Renault 6 53.478s +0.000s
02 11 Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT 7 53.669s +0.191s
03 7 Jerome d'Ambrosio Dragon Racing 8 53.702s +0.224s
04 99 Nelson Piquet NEXTEV TCR 6 53.712s +0.234s
05 66 Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT 7 53.891s +0.412s
06 8 Nicolas Prost e.dams-Renault 6 53.909s +0.431s
07 21 Bruno Senna Mahindra Racing 6 54.035s +0.557s
08 23 Nick Heidfeld Venturi 9 54.129s +0.651s
09 30 Stephane Sarrazin Venturi 6 54.133s +0.655s
10 77 Salvador Duran Amlin Aguri 5 54.175s +0.697s
11 2 Sam Bird Virgin Racing 6 54.253s +0.775s
12 27 Jean-Eric Vergne Andretti 6 54.260s +0.782s
13 10 Jarno Trulli Trulli 9 54.339s +0.861s
14 28 Scott Speed Andretti 7 54.347s +0.869s
15 6 Loic Duval Dragon Racing 6 53.804s +0.326s
16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi Trulli 7 54.462s +0.984s
17 88 Charles Pic NEXTEV TCR 6 54.652s +1.174s
18 3 Jaime Alguersuari Virgin Racing 6 54.021s +0.543s
19 55 Antonio Felix da Costa Amlin Aguri 2 56.938s +3.460s
20 5 Karun Chandhok Mahindra Racing 5 54.858s +1.380s