Andretti BMW’s Alexander Sims storms to pole in Diriyah

Alexander Sims beats the Mercedes drivers for pole

Despite difficult track conditions, it was BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Alexander Sims who scooped the Julius Baer Pole Position ahead of the 2019/20 season opener in Saudi Arabia with a time of 1:14.563s. Behind Sims will be both Mercedes-Benz EQ drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and rookie Nyck de Vries as they rounding off the top three grid positions respectively.

Following on is Rokit Venturi Racing's Edoardo Mortara in fourth, followed by Envision Virgin Racing's Sam Bird, who also locks in an early point for setting the fastest lap in Qualifying. Behind the British driver will be Mahindra Racing's Jerome d'Ambrosio, who rounds off the Super Pole six.

With the desert dust causing chaos on the track, the first group – made up of the top finishers from the 2018/19 season – bore the brunt of the testing conditions. None of the drivers first out made it into Super Pole.

Missing out on the Super Pole shoot out was TAG Heuer Porsche's Andre Lotterer, who will start the race in seventh ahead of Nissan e.dams' Oliver Rowland and BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Max Guenther in ninth. Rounding off the top ten was NIO 333's Oliver Turvey in front of reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne who will need to battle through the pack after starting from 11th.

Sims collects his pole award

Starting from 12th, will be Envision Virgin Racing's Robin Frijns who set the fastest time during Practice 1. The Dutchman will be followed by Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein, Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams) and Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Daniel Abt in 15th.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans will start the race in 16th, in front of Rokit Venturi Racing's Felipe Massa, newcomer Brendon Hartley (Geox Dragon) and former champ Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) and Porsche's Neel Jani, who rounds off the top 20 drivers.

Making up the remaining four is DS Techeetah's Antonio Felix da Costa after miss-timing his lap in Qualifying and NIO's Quinghua Ma, while Dragon's Nico Mueller and Jaguar's James Calado make up the back row after failing to set a time following a collision with the wall.

Starting Lineup