Mortara storms to pole position for Jeddah E-Prix
- Teagan Crump
- 50 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Written by Teagan Crump
After a red flag in FP2 for an incident involving reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland, nobody knew what to expect ahead of qualifying. Several notable names were eliminated in the group stages of qualifying, sending shockwaves and anticipation through the paddock and fans alike.
Mahindra Racing's Edoardo Mortara remained a strong competitor, claiming pole for the Jeddah E-Prix.
Notable names out in group stages
The first group featured three former world champions who seemed to struggle massively- Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi could only manage 19th and 20th positions respectively. Jake Dennis managed to set the fifth fastest time, but decribed his Porsche 99X Electric as a "shopping trolley".
Advanced to Quarter Finals (Group A):
Edoardo Mortara (1:17.378)
Norman Nato (+0.136)
Nico Müller (+0.218)
Jean-Éric Vergne (+0.235)
Group B seemed to struggle with a lot of traffic, meaning that early on there were several mixed timings. Rowland and Wehrlein emerged as early contenders, but the former seemingly dropped his pace and finished in 8th in his group. The DS Penske duo of Taylor Barnard and Maximilian Günther also looked strong, with them both advancing to the Quarter Finals.
Advanced to Quarter Finals (Group B):
Pascal Wehrlein (1:17.426)
António Félix Da Costa (+0.014)
Maximilian Günther (+0.047)
Taylor Barnard (+0.170)
Ever-close Quarter Finals
In the qualifying quarter finals, Formula E cars are boosted from 300 kW to 350 kW and converted to all-wheel drive.
The first head-to-head was between Jean-Éric Vergne and Norman Nato. From the start, Nato established himself as the stronger driver. He went on to win the duel and advance to the semi-finals.
Quarter final two saw a battle between Müller and Mortara, immediately the battle between the drivers was evident- the two seemed to almost match each other's pace. Eventually, Mortara beat Müller by over two tenths.
Günther and Da Costa were the drivers battling in quarter final three, and the DS Pesnke driver looked to be stronger. Günther beat Da Costa to advance into the semi-finals.
The last session of the quarter finals saw Taylor Barnard battle Pascal Wehrlein. The two drivers were very close immediately, but Wehrlein had a slight advantage that allowed for him to beat the Briton.
Advanced to Semi-Finals:
Norman Nato
Edoardo Mortara
Maximilian Günther
Pascal Wehrlein
Shocking results in the semi-finals
During the semi-finals, the first battle was between Mortara and Nato, and immediately the Mahindra driver showed his strength and pace, before going on to beat Nato to advance into the finals.
The other battle of the semi-finals was between Günther and Wehrlein. It was an immense battle, with both drivers eager to advance for a chance at pole position. Ultimately, Günther beat the Season 10 champion to advance.
Advanced to final:
Edoardo Mortara
Maximilian Günther
The final promised to deliver a thrilling battle between two drivers who were yet to claim their maiden pole positions in Season 12. Both had shown pace and potential, earning their rightful spots but only one could emerge on top.
Mortara initially had more pace and, despite clipping the wall into Turn 13, went on to claim pole for the Jeddah E-Prix. It was also his and Mahindra Racing's first pole position since the 2024 Berlin E-Prix.
