di Grassi pips Lopez to pole in Berlin

10/06/2017 Berlin ePrix, ePrix, Formula E, News

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Lucas di Grassi scored his second Formula E pole position at the iconic Tempelhof Airport, with an impressively small gap of 0.001 seconds to José María López, who secored P2 in a qualifying session against all odds.

The ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport driver qualified fifth in the group stages, which allowed him to enter Super Pole. The Brazilian shone in this session, and secured pole position with an impressive time no one could beat, despite being the first of the five drivers to set their Super Pole lap. Daniel Abt starts his home race from P8, aiming to score a podium like he did in last year’s Berlin ePrix.

Argentinian DS Virgin Racing driver José María López positioned himself second, with an incredibly close gap of 0.001 seconds. With a fantastic performance in the series so far, the three-time WTCC champion aims to win his first ever Formula E race, after scoring his first podium in the last round held in Paris.

His team-mate Sam Bird made it to Super Pole but was unable match di Grassi’s time, finishing the session in P5. The Brit was part of Group 1 and showed strong pace, after struggling in the past races after being part of Group 1 as well.

Mahindra Racing saw both drivers enter Super Pole. Felix Rosenqvist positioned himself in P1 following the group stages and qualified P3 in Super Pole, whilst teammate Nick Heidfeld managed to obtain P4 in home soil. This proves to be one of the team’s strongest weekends so far.

Reigning champion Sébastien Buemi was part of Group 4 in qualifying. The Swiss driver struggled to find good pace and ended up qualifying in P14, a result that he will try to overcome in order to keep scoring points for his championship run. Nico Prost qualified ninth, after some struggles in qualifying in the past few races.

Jean-Eric Vergne will start the race from P6. The Frenchman did struggle during the session, and will aim to make the best out of the race. His new team-mate Stéphane Sarrazin will start from P12, after losing some time in one of the sectors.

Oliver Turvey is back in the top ten after a couple of races. The Brit will see the red lights go out from seventh position on the grid, meanwhile his team-mate and season one champion Nelson Piquet Jr starts in P13.

Faraday Future Dragon Racing’s Jérôme d’Ambrosio managed to position himself in P10 and aims to be back in the points. His teammate Loïc Duval will start the race from P19 after struggling with his pace in Group 2.

The Panasonic Jaguar Racing drivers did not have the qualifying session they expected, as Evans starts in P16 and Carroll in P18. MS Amlin Andretti drivers Robin Frijns and Antonio Felix da Costa expressed their disappointment, after qualifying in P17 and P20, respectively.

Local driver Maro Engel is showing great adaptation to the Venturi car, and despite qualifying in P11 the German showed impressive pace that could allow him to be in the points. Tom Dillmann, in his second race for the Monegasque outfit, will start in P15.

di Grassi aims to secure a win at a track that saw him victorious, but later being disqualified in 2015. A win will bring significant points to continue his championship run against Renault e.dams’ Sébastien Buemi.

Group stages