Qualifying in Long Beach: what to expect

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Following two eventful free practice sessions, the drivers are preparing for the challenge that is qualifying. The short track around the sunny streets of Long Beach does not condone the slightest mistakes and therefore the drivers need to give it their all.

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In Group 1, we find Oliver Turvey (NextEV TCR), Robin Frijns (Amlin Andretti), Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing), Jerome D’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing), and Sébastien Buemi (Renault e.dams). The championship leader showed a strong pace in both FP1 and FP2; topping the first one and coming second in FP2. As usual, he is likely to make it to Super Pole, unless the pressure gets too much as last seen in Mexico City. Dutchman Robin Frijns had good results in both practice sessions, and if he continues with this pace he can easily get to Super Pole. Sam Bird shined in FP1 finishing 2nd, and finished 6th in FP2. D’Ambrosio had a rather poor pace in the first free practice, and couldn’t improve much during FP2. Oliver Turvey had some issues on his car, not allowing him to secure a position higher than 14th.

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Group 2’s drivers all had very different results in the two practice sessions. Simona De Silvestro (Amlin Andretti) had an impressive 3rd place in FP1, but ended up 11th in FP2. Loïc Duval (Dragon Racing), finished 12th in both sessions, proving that Draong Racing lacks some performance at their home ePrix. Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) was 6th in FP1 and dominated at the beginning of FP2. Finally, Nicolas Prost (Renault e.dams) was 9th and 7th in FP1 and FP2 respectively; dominating at the beginning of both sessions. Sarrazin, who has made it to Super Pole many times, so far, is likely to do it again just as Prost did in the last few races.

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The 3rd Group consists of Nelson Piquet Jr. (NextEV TCR), who couldn’t get much on-track time today as some technical issues affected it. Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), 10th in FP1, impressively topped FP2 with a strong pace by the end of the session and is likely to make it into the Super Pole shootout. The group is completed by Jean-Éric Vergne (DS Virgin Racing), who didn’t shine much today, with some issues also affecting his car; and Salvador Durán (Team Aguri), who dominated part of FP1 but couldn’t get up to pace in FP2.

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And finally, in Group 4, we have Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing), Antonio Felix Da Costa (Team Aguri), Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing), Lucas Di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), and Mike Conway (Venturi). Heidfeld couldn’t get promising results in either FP1 nor FP2 while da Costa scored an impressive 7th position in FP1, and impressed even more with his 4th place in FP2 later on. Bruno Senna had some issues with his car in the first practice, but later had a really god pace, that pushed him towards P8 in FP2. Lucas Di Grassi, hungry for a victory, pushed really hard in both practices, finishing 8th and 3rd respectively. And finally, Mike Conway was seconds in parts of FP2, but struggled to keep up with the rest of the field as the session progressed. Di Grassi and Da Costa will surely battle to make it to Super Pole.

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Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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