Mexico – Qualifying: Wehrlein first pole-sitter of the season, Jaguar impresses

• The first pole-sitter of this Season 10 is him: Pascal Wehrlein was the fastest for the first qualifying session of the year. Two years after his last pole position in Formula E – again in Mexico – the German will regain the benefit of first place on the grid. The pilot Porsche beaten down Sébastien Buemi (Envision) in the final, and pockets the three points offered to the pole sitter.
• As expected, the Jaguar powertrain is certainly the most efficient in the field. Dominators since the start of the weekend – and even since the pre-season tests in Valencia (Spain), last October – the two Jaguars have long acted as favorites… but the New Zealand duo had to be content with the places of honor. Beaten in the semi-final, Nick Cassidy (4th) and Mitch Evans (5th) failed in their quest for pole position, but will be ones to watch for the race this Saturday. The two Kiwis, penalized one place each for non-compliance with the red flag procedure during FP1, allowed Maximilian Günther (Maserati) to take 3rd place on the grid.
• The three French people present in Formula E this season were all eliminated in the group stage. In Group A, Norman Nato (Andretti) and Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) failed to reach the Top 4, almost a tenth from reaching the final stages. In the other group, Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Penske) also came very close to qualifying for the duels... but the Ile-de-France rider was 48 thousandths short of entering the Top 4. On the starting grid, Fenestraz will be placed in 9th place, Vergne 10th and Nato 13th.
• First qualification, and first surprises, notably with the reigning world champion, Jake Dennis (Andretti), eliminated in the group phase! The Briton, seventh in Group B after missing his last attempt with poor braking, will start only 14th, one line ahead of Antonio Félix da Costa (Porsche, 16th), another disappointment of this qualifying session.
• For his return to Formula E, Nyck de Vries (Mahindra) was not at ease with the Gen3: the Dutchman set the last time in his group and will start his first E-Prix in two years... in last position. He will have Lucas di Grassi (ABT Cupra) in front of him, who finished his last flying lap by hitting the wall. The Brazilian, author of pole in Mexico in 2023, will start 19th for his return to the ABT team.

Di Grassi into the barrier at Turn 9! 💥@Hankook_Sport #MexicoCityEPrice pic.twitter.com/txVhOsEt8X

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 13, 2024

group A

group B

Final stages

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