Miami ePrix – Qualifications: Vergne, Two Poles in Miami
For the second time since his debut in Formula E, Jean-Eric Vergne (Andretti) will start from pole position. He is ahead of Nelson Piquet (China) and Nicolas Prost (e.dams).
The fifth qualifying session of the very first Formula E season takes place on the bumpy urban circuit of Miami, under the warm Florida sun.
Group 1
The first time recorded by this first group is set by Sébastien Buemi, but immediately, Loïc Duval takes the lead, before Jarno Trulli gains the advantage for this first attempt. After a cooling lap, the drivers will be able to make another flying lap.
The second run starts with Nicolas Prost setting the best time, quite comfortably ahead of his own teammate (+0.7 sec). Heidfeld positions himself between the two e.dams while Trulli is in fourth place.
In his last lap, Sébastien Buemi under pressure makes a mistake under the highway and goes off without major consequences. Prost takes advantage to set an even faster time, securing the leadership in this first group.
Nicolas Prost (e.dams) – 1:06.167
Nick Heidfeld (Venturi) – 1:06.510
Sebastian Buemi (e.dams) – 1:07.037
Jarno Trulli (Trulli) – 1:07.163
Loïc Duval (Dragon) – 1:09.454
Group 2
An American is in this group, namely Scott Speed, former Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver. The first flying lap sees Abt leading the first wave, with a time seven-tenths off Prost’s best time. The German is just ahead of the championship leader, Sam Bird. Both men are 3rd and 4th in the overall standings. Problems for Chandhok who hit the wall, and his right rear tire doesn’t seem straight.
At the time of the second attempt, Bird falls short by just three thousandths of Prost’s time, Abt is less than a tenth behind. Di Grassi remains three-tenths behind, at a good distance. A great performance for Speed, who finishes only four-tenths behind Prost, in the provisional 6th place.
Sam Bird (Virgin) – 1:06.170
Daniel Abt (Abt) – 1:06.255
Lucas di Grassi (Abt) – 1:06.424
Scott Speed (Andretti) – 1:06.527
Karun Chandhok (Mahindra) – 1:07.223
Group 3
Three French drivers in this group, including Jean-Eric Vergne, who claimed pole position in Punta del Este. It’s also a group made up entirely of former F1 drivers, as all the drivers have competed in at least one race in the premier discipline, like Stéphane Sarrazin in the 1999 Brazilian GP.
The third Frenchman, Charles Pic, makes a straight-line mistake that immediately triggers a yellow flag. Vergne is forced to ease off. Piquet and Sarrazin set two decent times, seven-tenths off Prost. In his first real attempt, despite a major wheel lock-up at the end of the lap, JEV sets the provisional fastest time, two-tenths ahead of his compatriot.
Sarrazin closes to four-tenths off Vergne’s time and moves into the 5th provisional position. Very provisional as Piquet takes second place five hundredths off Vergne. The Brazilian brushed the wall in each of his attempts but did not damage the car. Sarrazin moves to 6th place before the last group.
Jean-Eric Vergne (Andretti) – 1:05.953
Nelson Piquet (China) – 1:06.003
Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) – 1:06.389
Vitantonio Liuzzi (Trulli) – 1:06.836
Charles Pic (China) – 1:08.243
Group 4
In this last group, it’s Duran who sets the first noteworthy time, nearly a second behind Vergne, however. D’Ambrosio does better but only takes the provisional tenth position. Senna, on the other hand, goes straight into a runoff area, without any serious consequences, causing a yellow flag. He can restart.
The Belgian from Dragon Racing improves on his second attempt but can do no better than 8th. Alguersuari is 9th.
Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dragon) – 1:06.502
Jaime Alguersuari (Virgin) – 1:06.503
Salvador Duran (Amlin) – 1:06.888
Bruno Senna (Mahindra) – 1:07.283
Antonio Felix da Costa (Amlin) – 1:07.678
This is therefore the second pole position for Jean-Eric Vergne since his debut in Formula E, after the one achieved in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The race is at 9:00 PM French time.
