Formula E: Vandoorne on pole for 2nd Berlin race

With rumors that Mercedes is quitting Formula E, it’s ironic that Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne will start the BMW i Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium Round 15 from Julius Baer Pole Position with Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams) joining him on the front row while Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) lines up third and in the box seat – a real boost to his title chances.

Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) was left best of the rest of those right at the sharp end in the battle for the Drivers’ crown but found himself outside of the Super Pole cut-off.

The Brit starts a workable ninth, ahead of current standings leader Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ), who’ll line up 13th and Edo Mortara starts 11th with reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) the next real protagonist down in 15th and Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), who missed out on Super Pole by only 0.120 seconds, remarkably, starts 17th.
Vandoorne’s lap was clean and clinical, with the Belgian happy to recover from some procedural mistakes in qualifying yesterday. He feels they got the maximum out of the Silver Arrow 02 here.

Rowland joins the Belgian on the front row, just ahead of Evans, while Mahindra Racing’s Alex Sims produced a storming lap, steering his M7Electro to fourth with an ultra-precise lap.

NIO 333’s Tom Blomqvist pulled the rabbit out of the hat in Group Qualifying to go fifth fastest. He doubled down on that impressive Group Qualifying lap with a tidy run to fifth in Super Pole.

Norman Nato (ROKiT Venturi Racing) had done exceptionally in Group Qualifying and had made the top six shootout, but a technical issue put paid to his chances of pole. He’ll start sixth.

Qualifying Results

Pos No. Driver Team Time Gap
1 5 Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes 1m06.794s  0.000s
2 22 Oliver Rowland DAMS 1m06.925s 0.131
3 20 Mitch Evans Jaguar Racing 1m07.010s 0.216
4 29 Alexander Sims Mahindra Racing 1m07.041s 0.247
5 88 Tom Blomqvist NIO Formula E Team 1m07.106s 0.312
6 71 Norman Nato Venturi  No Time  –
Super Pole Cutoff
7 36 Andre Lotterer Porsche Team 1m07.088s 0.410
8 23 Sébastien Buemi DAMS 1m07.100s 0.422
9 27 Jake Dennis Andretti Autosport 1m07.106s 0.428
10 99 Pascal Wehrlein Porsche Team 1m07.114s 0.436
11 48 Edoardo Mortara Venturi 1m07.139s 0.461
12 7 Sergio Sette Camara Dragon Racing 1m07.150s 0.472
13 17 Nyck de Vries Mercedes 1m07.162s 0.484
14 94 Alex Lynn Mahindra Racing 1m07.164s 0.486
15 13 Antonio Felix da Costa Techeetah 1m07.177s 0.499
16 25 Jean-Eric Vergne Techeetah 1m07.190s 0.512
17 11 Lucas di Grassi Team Abt 1m07.209s 0.531
18 28 Maximilian Gunther Andretti Autosport 1m07.227s 0.549
19 33 René Rast Team Abt 1m07.268s 0.590
20 8 Oliver Turvey NIO Formula E Team 1m07.300s 0.622
21 4 Robin Frijns Virgin Racing 1m07.325s 0.647
22 10 Sam Bird Jaguar Racing 1m07.365s 0.687
23 6 Joel Eriksson Dragon Racing 1m07.461s 0.783
24 37 Nick Cassidy Virgin Racing 1m07.980s 1.302