Pascal Wehrlein topped the first qualifying session of the 2025/26 season but a three-place grid penalty saw him relinquish Formula E Sao Paulo E-Prix pole position to Jake Dennis.
The German-Mauritian driver topped the final qualifying duel with a blistering 1:09.812 to secure pole and the three championship points on offer, but his Porsche-powered precision was overshadowed by a minor wheelspin in the pit lane infraction that dropped him to fourth on the grid.
Qualifying for the 2025 Formula E Sao Paulo E-Prix kicked off with the Group Stages, a 10-minute window per group where drivers ran at 300kW power output to set their fastest laps, building on the momentum from Free Practice 2 where Wehrlein had already topped the timesheets.
Group A fired up first, with Barbados’ Zane Maloney of Lola Yamaha ABT rolling out for an initial cooldown lap of 1:17.326, but his session ended prematurely due to a driveshaft failure that forced an early pit stop.
Jake Dennis of Andretti then lit up the timing screens with a 1:12.419, quickest in Sector 1, only for Jaguar’s Antonio Felix da Costa—making his debut outing for the team—to eclipse him by three tenths with a 1:12.140, as track limits violations claimed several early laps across the field.
Da Costa held onto the top spot in Group A, advancing alongside Citroën’s Jean-Eric Vergne, Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara, and Jake Dennis, while reigning champion Oliver Rowland endured a frustrating fifth place that eliminated him from duels contention in his Nissan.
Rookies Pepe Marti of Cupra Kiro and Envision’s Joel Eriksson showed promise with competitive sectors but settled for seventh and ninth respectively, highlighting the depth of talent even among newcomers in this high-stakes opener.
Group B followed with a similarly cautious start, drivers circulating without full commitment until the final five minutes, when Andretti’s Felipe Drugovich, Citroën’s Nick Cassidy, Envision’s Sebastien Buemi, and Nissan’s Norman Nato briefly traded top spots on incomplete runs.
Chaos erupted in Group B when local hero Drugovich clipped the wall at Turn 4 with his right wheel, triggering a red flag that derailed tyre preparation plans and left scant time—barely two and a half minutes—for a frantic restart.
Drugovich’s session-ending stop saw his best lap deleted for causing the interruption, a 1:20.380 that wouldn’t have advanced anyway, and moments later di Grassi climbed out of his Lola Yamaha ABT machine, adding to the team’s woes.
In the dying embers, Nato surged to the top with a stellar 1:12.308 for Nissan, joined in progression by Wehrlein, de Vries, and Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum, setting up an intriguing Duels phase featuring four Porsche-powered entries alongside Mahindra and Jaguar machinery.
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Transitioning seamlessly into the Quarter-Finals duels, Mortara versus Vergne opened proceedings with the Mahindra driver dominating from the outset, gaining a tenth in Sector 1 and extending his lead to over half a second.
Dennis then outdueled da Costa in a tense affair, the Portuguese leading through Sectors 1 and 2 before the Briton’s razor-sharp final sector flipped the script for a 1:10.200 to da Costa’s deficit of 0.112 seconds.
Wehrlein dismantled de Vries with nearly four tenths in hand, posting the day’s fastest time en route to dominance, while Ticktum edged Nato by three tenths with a 1:10.137, quickest in Sector 1 to seal Nissan’s early exit.
Semi-Finals ramped up the intensity with Mortara rematching Dennis, the pair previously split at one duel win apiece; The Mahindra dominated Sector 1 but faltered in Sector 2, allowing the Andretti to advance by a razor-thin 0.013-second margin.
Wehrlein clashed with Ticktum in the other semi, the Cupra driver matching paces through much of the lap, yet the Porsche ace prevailed by 0.074 seconds despite the looming penalty.
Wehrlein’s wheelspin infraction in the pit lane—a breach of Season 12’s tightened sporting regs—had already been flagged, confirming his exclusion from pole even before the final showdown.
The ultimate Final duel pitted Wehrlein against Dennis as the German proceeded to unleash a clean Sector 1 two-tenths faster than his rival, who struggled in the opening corners.
Dennis managed a 1:10.114 but couldn’t close the gap as Wehrlein crafted an impeccable lap of 1:09.812 to seal his third straight Formula E Sao Paulo E-Prix pole position by 0.302 seconds.
While Pascal Wehrlein penalty relegated him down to fourth behind Ticktum and Mortara, the three championship points on offer still stand.
Post-session penalties further shuffled the grid, with Rowland dropping three places from 10th to 13th for a similar infringement.
READ MORE: Formula E 2025-26 calendar: Full Season 12 schedule, venues and dates
