Dennis takes pole in red-flagged Formula E Tokyo qualifying
- Teagan Crump
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Jake Dennis was fastest in a thrilling qualifying session, beating Edoardo in the final. Many drivers
showed that they had pace in qualifying and many close battles took place.
As it happened- Qualifying in Tokyo
Qualifying for Round 14 provided some shocking results- several of the championship finals were eliminated early in the session. Close battles and drama ensued with Nico Müller causing a red flag.
Group A
Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein and most recent race winner Lucas di Grassi were featured in Group A. Andretti's rookie Felipe Drugovich was also featured but was unable to participate in qualifying after crashing heavily in Free Practice Two.
The fastest five drivers in FP2 were Porsche powered
Oliver Rowland set an early benchmark time but faced several issues with his Nissan that continued through the session
Jake Dennis was able to set the fastest time, a 1:13.719 which no other driver was able to meet.
Through to the duels: Dennis, Müller, Cassidy, Barnard
Group B
The second group featured several of the the ten fastest drivers in FP2 as well four former champions. Championship hopeful Mitch Evans was also in Group B and he set the initial benchmark time.
Zane Maloney and Evans continued to trade fastest times before Edoardo Mortara, Jean-Éric Vergne and António Félix da Costa went faster.
da Costa set the fastest time, a 1:13.652.
Through to the duels: da Costa, Mortara, Vergne, Ticktum
Quarter Finals
Nick Cassidy took on Müller in the first quarter final.
Throughout the duel, Müller was approximately three hundredths faster before building the gap to nearly half a second, securing his place in the semi finals.
Quarter final two was very close, both Dennis and Taylor Barnard were trading the advantage. Dennis was able to set the fastest time by just 0.07s.
Vergne and Mortara were the third battle of the quarter finals. Throughout the weekend, Mortara has been one of the fastest drivers on track. He continued his dominant display, beating Vergne by over four tenths.
Two rivals, Ticktum and da Costa, battled in the last of the quarter finals. however, it was da Costa who was able to go faster and progress through to the semi finals.
Semi Finals
Dennis and Müller battled in the second of the semi-finals. The Porsche driver was fastest throughout the rest of the session but picked up understeer in Turn 4 which impacted his time. He then attempted to recover lap time and crashed into the wall at Turn 11 and 12, causing a red flag. By default, Jake Dennis progressed into the finals.
However, due to the fact the session was suspended, Dennis had to return to track and set a lap time to officially progress.
Mortara took on da Costa in the second semi final and it was one of the closest battles of the session. The drivers traded first position but ultimately it was Mortara who went fastest by just 0.074s.
Final
The battle between the fastest drivers on track was close with Mortara seemingly having the advantage. However, Dennis was able to capitalise on his experience in the battles and take pole by 0.52s.
Classification- Tokyo E-Prix qualifying (Round 14)
Jake Dennis (Andretti)
Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra Racing)
António Félix da Costa (Jaguar)
Nico Müller (Porsche)
Taylor Barnard (DS Penske)
Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro)
Jean-Éric Vergne (Citroën Racing)
Nick Cassidy (Citroën Racing)
Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche)
Max Günther (DS Penske)
Norman Nato (Nissan)
Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing)
Joel Eriksson (Envision Racing)
Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing)
Oliver Rowland (Nissan)
Mitch Evans (Jaguar)
Lucas di Grassi (Lola Yamaha ABT)
Pepe Martí (Cupra Kiro)
Zane Maloney (Lola Yamaha ABT)
Felipe Drugovich (Andretti)
Written by Teagan Crump
Comments