Formula E Hot News

Formula E: Oriol Servia on pole

From left, Servia, Prost and D'Ambrosio

Oriol Servia will start the second-ever Formula E race from pole position but Nicolas Prost actually turned the fastest lap. The e.dams-Renault driver clocked a 1:21.779s ahead of Dragon Racing's Oriol Servia but the Frenchman will move back on the grid after picking up a grid penalty for the last-lap crash with Nick Heidfeld in Beijing.

Prost said: "My goal was just to stick it on pole so I could start 11th and that's what we did. The Beijing pole was a bit of a surprise but here felt really good. We'll have to see how the race goes, fastest lap would be great too but overall I'm really happy with the result and my performance."

Both Dragon Racing drivers put in a strong performance to lockout the front row of the grid but following a post-qualifying investigation Jerome d'Ambrosio was sent to the back of the grid for exceeding the maximum power usage.

Speaking straight after qualifying the Belgian said: "This is a great result on a difficult track which is very bumpy. I thought I only had an ok lap and clipped the wall slightly which damaged my suspension – almost finished on three wheels. It's a great result for the team, especially with Oriol on pole."

Servia said: "That was a fantastic job by the team, they worked really hard. Obviously this is the best starting position and we're very excited ahead of the race. Having plenty of street circuit experience certainly paid off, and being able to play to my strengths. Hopefully we'll get a good start for the race and be able to manage the battery well."

Virgin Racing's Sam Bird will line-up second with Daniel Abt in third. The Audi Sport ABT driver set the initial pace in the opening qualifying group with a 1:22.342s and remained fastest for a long period until Prost and Servia lowered the benchmark.

Abt's team-mate and race-winner in Beijing Lucas di Grassi will start from 18th after clipping the wall at turn five and was unable to set a time. As di Grassi crawled back to the pits he appeared to cause Virgin Racing's Jaime Alguersuari to run wide and hit the wall.

Karun Chandhok and Nelson Piquet Jr start from the third row with Nick Heidfeld, Bruno Senna, Matthew Brabham and Antonio Felix da Costa completing the top-10.

FIA Formula E Championship – Putrajaya ePrix – Qualifying

  1. Oriol Servia, Dragon, 1:22.010s
  2. Sam Bird, Virgin Racing, 1:22.235s
  3. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT, 1:22.342s
  4. Jarno Trulli, Trulli, 1:22.347s
  5. Karun Chandhok, Mahindra Racing, 1:22.612
  6. Nelson Piquet Jr, China Racing, 1:22.620
  7. Nick Heidfeld, Venturi, 1:22.720
  8. Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, 1:22.816s
  9. Matthew Brabham, Andretti, 1:22.941s
  10. Antonio Felix da Costa, Amlin Aguri, 1:23.194s
  11. Nicolas Prost, e.dams-Renault, 1:21.779s (penalty)
  12. Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, 1:23.240s
  13. Franck Montagny, Andretti, 1:23.697s
  14. Michela Cerruti, Trulli, 1:23.857s
  15. Ho-Pin Tung, China Racing, 1:23.894
  16. Katherine Legge, Amlin Aguri, 1:25.823
  17. Jaime Alguersuari, Virgin Racing, no time set
  18. Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT, no time set
  19. Sebastien Buemi, e.dams-Renault, no time set (penalty)
  20. Jerome d'Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, no time set (penalty)