Formula E: Vandoorne wins pole on streets of Rome

Stoffel Vandoorne produced the goods and delivered a second Julius Baer Pole Position in two race weekend for Mercedes-EQ in a drizzle-hit Super Pole ahead of the Rome E-Prix Round 3, though Oliver Rowland will rue an opportunity missed as the Nissan e.dams man looked to have it in the bag until the final corner.

Vandoorne took provisional pole with typically surgical precision around the newly-amended Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR, brushing the wall at the chicane through Sector 2, before sealing the deal with a flying final sector to post a 1m38.484s – some 0.4 seconds quicker than those that ran before him.

Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL), Mercedes Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02, leads Nyck de Vries (NLD), Mercedes Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02

Andre Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche) was next to have a go, and the experienced German – who had sealed pole last time out in Rome – looked quick and tidy, using all of the track and a bit more. Fine margins, but silky smooth as he danced through the technical final section to go second.

Andre Lotterer 2nd quick

Yorkshireman Rowland had been rapid in Diriyah and despite being saddled with Group 1 in qualifying ahead of Rounds 1 and 2, he extracted the maximum and made up ground in the races to score good points.

Rowland looked quick here, too – quickest, in fact in Group Qualifying. In Super Pole, he went fastest through Sector 1, fastest through Sector 2 and looked like he’d seal the fourth pole of his Formula E career. All he had to do was thread through the final sector but he “got to greedy” with the curb and on the power, sliding into the wall on the exit of the last turn which saw him fall to third.

A precise effort from Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) was good enough for fourth, while the man with the second-highest number of poles in Formula E – DS TECHEETAH’s Jean Eric Vergne – wound up fifth.

Maximilian Guenther’s BMW i Andretti Motorsport machine looked a handful and a couple of missed apexes and some oversteer saw him sixth.

Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing), Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ), Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) completed the top ten.

Robin Frijns (NLD), Envision Virgin Racing, Audi e-tron FE07

Qualifying Results

Pos No. Driver Team Time Behind
1 5 Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team 1m38.484s 0.000s
2 36 Andre Lotterer Porsche Team 1m38.651s 0.167s
3 22 Oliver Rowland DAMS 1m38.889s 0.405s
4 11 Lucas di Grassi Team Abt 1m38.903s 0.419s
5 25 Jean-Eric Vergne Techeetah 1m38.947s 0.463s
6 28 Maximilian Gunther Andretti Autosport 1m39.751s 1.267s
7 4 Robin Frijns Virgin Racing 1m39.081s 0.597s
8 17 Nyck de Vries Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team 1m39.162s 0.678s
9 99 Pascal Wehrlein Porsche Team 1m39.241s 0.757s
10 23 Sébastien Buemi DAMS 1m39.348s 0.864s
11 10 Sam Bird Jaguar Racing 1m39.443s 0.959s
12 20 Mitch Evans Jaguar Racing 1m39.654s 1.170s
13 94 Alex Lynn Mahindra Racing 1m39.743s 1.259s
14 71 Norman Nato Venturi 1m39.762s 1.278s
15 29 Alexander Sims Mahindra Racing 1m39.829s 1.345s
16 7 Sergio Sette Camara DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT 1m39.943s 1.459s
17 6 Nico Müller DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT 1m40.057s 1.573s
18 13 Antonio Felix da Costa Techeetah 1m40.079s 1.595s
19 88 Tom Blomqvist NIO Formula E Team 1m40.120s 1.636s
20 27 Jake Dennis Andretti Autosport 1m40.456s 1.972s
21 33 René Rast Team Abt 1m48.022s 9.538s
22 37 Nick Cassidy Virgin Racing 1m51.081s 12.597s
23 48 Edoardo Mortara Venturi No Time No Time
24 8 Oliver Turvey NIO Formula E Team No Time No Time