Diriyah – Vandoorne takes first pole of the year

It's the novelty of the weekend. This season, the organizers of the Formula E introduce the new qualification format. End clap for the four groups and the Super Pole and place for a system divided into two pools, according to the order of the championship with the evens on one side and the odd ones on the other, and then head-to-heads between the first 4 of each group.

A new format that the 22 drivers were able to try for the first time this Friday during the first qualifications of the weekend in Diriyah in Saudi Arabia. Fastest man in both practice sessions, Oliver Rowland had no trouble getting his ticket to the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, Nyck de Vries stopped him in his tracks by stealing his ticket to the semi-finals.

It's a 100% duel Mercedes which then loomed in the last four since the Dutchman found his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne who had just eliminated Nick Cassidy. A duel won by the Belgian who qualified for the final where Jake Dennis was waiting for him.

For this first "final" of the new format, Mercedes' domination continued as Stoffell Vandoorne made short work of his opponent Andretti by taking 3 tenths from him thanks to a lap in 1'08"626 thus offering himself the first pole position of the year, the 6th of his career.

Take a look at that FINAL DUEL between @svandoorne and @ JakeDennis19 😍⚡️

What do you think of the new qualifying format? ⚔️

🇸🇦 2022 #DiriyahEPrice | @MercedesEQFE @AVAXAndrettiFE pic.twitter.com/5sFBQ4W6Vb

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 28, 2022