Formula E – Buenos Aires ePrix – Qualifications: Pole position for Buemi

Beautiful blue sky in Buenos Aires for the qualifying session of the fourth round of the Formula E World Championship.

Group 1

The light turns green and as the drivers take to the track, the first to stand out is Sébastien Buemi. He sets a 1:09.691, while Sam Bird (Virgin) is about a second behind, and Antonio Felix da Costa (Amlin Aguri) is three-tenths behind. After the first attempt, Buemi leads over da Costa, Piquet Jr, Bird, and Tung.

For his second stint, Buemi improved again with a 1:09.134 – but he remains slower than in free practice where he had set a 1:08.933 during the first session. On his second attempt, Sam Bird fell two-tenths short of Buemi.

Buemi– 1:09.134

Bird – 1:09.388

da Costa – 1:09.658

Piquet Jr – 1:09.742

Tung- 1:11.049

Group 2

The second group includes a Frenchman, Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) and the championship leader, Lucas di Grassi (Audi Abt). The French driver is the first on the track, but di Grassi takes the lead ahead of Alguersuari and Prost on the Argentine circuit. The Brazilian driver sets a 1:09.521, which places him 3rd provisionally behind Buemi and Bird. A small spin for Michela Cerruti on her first lap, but the Italian manages to recover.

On his second attempt, Alguersuari improves and records a 1:09.161, just 27 thousandths off Buemi. Lucas di Grassi returns at a slow pace with a missing front wing and a completely damaged front-right wheel – he veers into a run-off area. With a piece of wing on the track, race control decides to neutralize the session with a red flag 3 minutes and 14 seconds before the end.

As Nicolas Prost returns to the track, he is observed by Jean Todt – President of the FIA, who is present this weekend in Argentina for this Formula E race. The Frenchman records a time of 1:09.636, 5th fastest. Michela Cerruti, on the other hand, records a 1:11.785.

Alguersuari – 1:09.161

di Grassi – 1:09.521

Prost – 1:09.636

Servia – 1:10.588

Cerruti – 1:11.785

Group 3

Daniel Abt is the first on track and he doesn’t do better than the 8th fastest time – 1:10.329 – but quickly beaten by Heidfeld for the first attempt. Sarrazin – who had an accident this morning during free practice 1 – is behind the German, as is Duran. Chandhok slots in between Heidfeld and Abt after the first round.

During the second, Heidfeld improved to take 3rd place with a lap time of 1:09.367. Chandhok improved slightly and went under the 1 minute 10 seconds mark on a lap but remained 9th, just ahead of Stéphane Sarrazin and Daniel Abt.

Heidfeld – 1:09.367

Chandhok – 1:09.875

Sarrazin – 1:10.165

Abt – 1:10.329

Duran – 1:11.331

Group 4

Spotlight on the 4th group with the presence of another Frenchman, Jean-Eric Vergne, the last poleman. Indeed, he was the fastest in qualifying during the last round held in Punta del Este, while making his debut in Formula E.

Jérôme d’Ambrosio is the first to go out, he doesn’t do better than a lap in 1:12.239. It’s still better than Vergne, Senna, and Andretti. As for Trulli, he didn’t finish his lap, hitting the wall and severely damaging his car. Race control subsequently deploys the red flag with 6 minutes and 56 seconds remaining.

The flag turns green again and the remaining four drivers take to the track, Vergne sets the 6th fastest time with a 1:09.527, Andretti the 14th, and Senna doesn’t improve, returning to the pits after contact with the wall. The two Andretti drivers have the track to themselves but do not improve.

Vergne – 1:09.527

Andretti – 1:10.713

d’Ambrosio – 1:12.239

Senna – 1:13.209

Trulli – No time

The pole position for the Buenos Aires ePrix goes to Sébastien Buemi (e.dams-Renault), ahead of Jaime Alguersuari (Virgin Racing) and Nick Heidfeld (Venturi). It should be noted, however, that several drivers are under investigation: d’Ambrosio, Vergne, Andretti, Senna, and Prost.