Pricy pressure: qualifying in Buenos Aires to be hot
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Four intriguing and competitive groups have been drawn for Buenos Aires qualifying, and it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top on the streets of the Argentine capital.
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Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing), Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Virgin Racing), Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi), Mike Conway (Venturi), and Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing) form Group 1, a competitive group on paper, especially Sarrazin, Bird and Vergne. Bird, who topped FP1 standings, will aim to make it to Super Pole, where he will be hoping to get a good result, like he did last year, qualifying in P4. Team mate Vergne was unknown to be racing this weekend, due to food poisoning. Rumours that WTCC Argentinian driver, José María López would replace him were strong earlier this morning, but the French driver himself confirmed he’d be taking part of the race. He did not set a lap time in Free Practice, however, so his performances in qualifying and the race may be hindered.
Both Venturi drivers made it to the top ten in FP2, finishing 7th (Sarrazin) and 9th (Conway). Sarrazin has proven in Formula E so far how strong a qualifier he can be, and his experience means he can perform well in the high pressure atmosphere of the Super Pole session – as proven in Putrajaya where he qualified 2nd. British driver Conway makes his Formula E debut this weekend and has already shown impressive pace in free practice. Heidfeld, who is returning from a wrist injury, couldn’t make it into the top ten in both practice sessions, and time will tell how his injury holds up. Bird is likely to top this group, as he has shown a strong pace in FP1 and FP2, and this track suits him quite well.
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Group number two includes Daniel Abt (ABT Audi Sport), Simona De Silvestro (Amlin Andretti), both Renault e.dams drivers (Nico Prost and Sébastien Buemi), and Dragon Racing’s Loïc Duval. The championship leader Buemi topped the FP2 standings, after a not very good FP1 session; he is a clear candidate to make it to Super Pole. His team mate, Nico Prost, finished FP2 in third place and has already proven to be a strong performer in qualifying, although we are yet to see a repeat of his season 1 performances so far this campaign. Buenos Aires may be just the place for him to recapture his form.
Daniel Abt was quick in sector 3 during FP1, but couldn’t make it to the FP2 top 10. Simona de Silvestro had some issues mainly during FP1, finishing 13th in FP2, and Loïc Duval was very unsatisfied with his car setup after free practice 2, as yesterday’s shakedown crash probably affected his car, and is not yet up to speed with his team-mate Jerome d’Ambrosio. The Frenchman will likely face some problems during qualifying.
This group appears as one of the most competitive ones, with Buemi and Prost showing very good results by the end of FP2. Abt may also fight for the Super Pole due to his strength in sector 3, but there’s little doubt either Prost or Buemi will make it to the final qualifying round.
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Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing), Robin Frijns (Andretti Formula E), Salvador Duran (Team Aguri) and reigning champion Nelson Piquet Jr (NEXTEV TCR) will encounter each other in group 3. Strongest of the four in FP1 was Piquet, who put in a 1:10.717 and therefore nearly a second quicker than his direct rivals in qualifying. The reigning champion has not been within the top-ten in qualifying so far this season and after problems in FP2 it seems unlikely the Brazilian will make the jump into the top-ten in Buenos Aires. Yet with the enormous challenges the track presents to the drivers, Piquet Jr might profit from mistakes from the other drivers.
Bruno Senna has always been part of the top-ten in qualifying and is therefore a force to be reckoned with. Yet his performance in Argentina so far was not up to his usual as the exceptionally tight Buenos Aires track poses a lot of dangers. Robin Frijns showed a solid performance in both FP1 and FP2 and should be able to put in a time worthy of the top-ten here in Argentina. Salvador Duran who makes his Formula E comeback in Buenos Aires after missing the first three rounds due to problems with the Trulli team had some inaugural problems with his Aguri finishing P14 and P16 respectively in FP1 and FP2.
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Group four could become the “group of death” in qualifying as with Lucas di Grassi (Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport), Antonio Felix da Costa (Team Aguri), Oliver Turvey (NEXTEV TCR) and Jerome d’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) four strong drivers will take the stage right before the battle for the Super Pole. Di Grassi – currently second in the championship – is the clear favourite in the group judging by his qualifying performance so far this year and his results in Buenos Aires today. Yet the tight track already outmanoeuvred the Brazilian as he crashed into the wall in the course of FP2.
Last year’s race winner da Costa hopes to repeat his 2015 success today and has great chances to qualify within the top-5 today after crossing the line in 5th in FP2. Turvey showed his strength in FP1, finishing the session in P4. Nevertheless in FP2, the Briton only managed to secure P14 and might not be able to match his direct rival’s qualifying performances. After battling some demons in FP1, d’Ambrosio is back to his usual strong level, finishing P6 in FP2.
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In Buenos Aires, the five drivers who make it to the Super Pole stage will need strong nerves as the incredibly tight track in Buenos Aires is difficult to master. Previous Super Pole sessions have shown that the one-lap-only format increases the pressure on drivers and makes a costly mistake more likely – which drivers will pay for even more in Buenos Aires.
Andrea Perilli and Antonia Grzelak | e-racing.net
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