Da Costa takes Monaco Formula E pole, Mercedes falls back

Da Costa takes Monaco Formula E pole, Mercedes falls back

Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa fended off Robin Frijns and Mitch Evans to take pole for the series’ first race on the full Formula 1 version of the Monaco Grand Prix track.

A 1m31.317s superpole lap for DS Techeetah driver da Costa on a track identical to the F1 layout bar an adjusted chicane profile gave him the top spot by just 0.012s over group qualifying pacesetter Frijns’ Envision Virgin.

Evans had been fastest in practice for Jaguar and was only 0.051s off pole in third, with Jean-Eric Vergne a mere 0.008s behind him in the second DS Techeetah.

With minimal track evolution, this was a wide open session in which drivers from all four qualifying groups made it into superpole.

But that didn’t stop some of the main title contenders ending up down the order.

Championship leader Nyck de Vries attracted the ire of Sam Bird on their out-laps in group one as he held back to try to create a gap to Mercedes team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne and was hit by the following Jaguar at Portier.

Then when it came to de Vries’ flying lap, his car dropped out of the full power qualifying mode, leaving him a second and a half off the pace. He’ll line up 23rd on the grid.

Jaguar felt de Vries’ driving prevented Bird from preparing his tyres properly for the qualifying lap. Bird ended up 16th – one place behind Vandoorne.

Oliver Rowland would’ve been fifth but had his superpole lap cancelled for leaving the pitlane too late as timings were revised after a red flag in group four. He crossed the exit just after the light had gone red. He lines up sixth, losing just one place to Maximilian Guenther’s BMW.

Envision Virgin’s rookie Nick Cassidy missed superpole by just 0.003s on his first racing appearance in Monaco so starts seventh alongside Pascal Wehrlein’s Porsche.

Alex Lynn will be joined by Rene Rast on row five as 10th-fastest Norman Nato is carrying a two-place grid penalty for running into Sergio Sette Camara’s stopped car in first practice.

Dragon Penske Autosport driver Sette Camara caused his second red flag of the day in group four qualifying when he spun into the barriers at the final corner.

Unlike the controversial Diriyah qualifying session in which Sette Camara also crashed, this time a rapid red flag meant those who would’ve been disrupted by yellows for the incident – Sebastien Buemi and Tom Blomqvist – were given a chance to restart their laps. They could only manage 13th and 21st, though.

PosNameTeamCarGroup 1Group 2
1António Félix da CostaDS TecheetahDS E-Tense FE211m31.832s1m31.317s
2Robin FrijnsEnvision Virgin RacingAudi e-tron FE071m31.638s1m31.329s
3Mitch EvansJaguar RacingJaguar I-Type 51m31.772s1m31.368s
4Jean-Eric VergneDS TecheetahDS E-Tense FE211m31.839s1m31.376s
5Maximilian GüntherBMW i Andretti MotorsportBMW iFE.211m31.817s1m32.039s
6Oliver RowlandNissan e.DAMSNissan IM021m31.85s
7Nick CassidyEnvision Virgin RacingAudi e-tron FE071m31.853s
8Pascal WehrleinTAG Heuer Porsche Formula EPorsche 99X Electric1m31.9s
9Alex LynnMahinda RacingMahindra M7Electro1m31.952s
10Norman NatoRokIT Venturi RacingMercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 021m31.964s
11René RastAudi Sport ABT SchaefflerAudi e-tron FE071m32.125s
12Alexander SimsMahinda RacingMahindra M7Electro1m32.146s
13Sébastien BuemiNissan e.DAMSNissan IM021m32.209s
14Jake DennisBMW i Andretti MotorsportBMW iFE.211m32.247s
15Stoffel VandoorneMercedes-Benz EQMercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 021m32.277s
16Sam BirdJaguar RacingJaguar I-Type 51m32.281s
17Lucas Di GrassiAudi Sport ABT SchaefflerAudi e-tron FE071m32.303s
18Edoardo MortaraRokIT Venturi RacingMercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 021m32.329s
19André LottererTAG Heuer Porsche Formula EPorsche 99X Electric1m32.339s
20Nico MüllerDragon / Penske AutosportPenske EV-41m32.344s
21Tom BlomqvistNIO 333 Formula E TeamNIO 333 0011m32.63s
22Oliver TurveyNIO 333 Formula E TeamNIO 333 0011m32.633s
23Nyck de VriesMercedes-Benz EQMercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 021m33.07s
24Sérgio Sette CâmaraDragon / Penske AutosportPenske EV-4

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