FE | Monaco: Wehrlein takes pole, Vandoorne on the front row

Formula E picks up right where it left off, with Pascal Wehrlein leading the standings. After the victory in the second stage in Misano, the German starts the weekend in Monte Carlo in the best possible way, taking his Porsche to pole position, an aspect which also allows him to score three additional points and extend his lead in the world championship.

A qualification dominated by the German duo, from the group stage up to the final stage of the final, who managed to beat Stoffel Vandoorne's DS with an advantage of around four and a half tenths in the final. The changes made before the official tests were fundamental, because in the first free practices Wehrlein was not at all happy with the behavior of his 99X Electric: the changes to the setup gave the desired results, putting the German in a position to be able to achieve pole. A result that also confirms the Stuttgart manufacturer's progress in qualifying, an aspect on which he worked intensely during the last winter break.

Even though the pole position was not achieved, it was still an excellent front row for Vandoorne, continuing DS's positive streak on the flying lap which often saw it reach the decisive phase of the duels. Among other things, this is the third consecutive front row, given that the French manufacturer was also able to achieve second position on the grid in both events of the weekend at Misano. The Belgian driver admitted to having paid for the preparation of the tires in the final, from which he was not able to extract the desired grip, so much so that he paid the price in all three sectors that make up the Principality's track. Curiously, this is the same final as Sao Paulo and, even in that case, Wehrlein managed to prevail, but with a much smaller gap.

Second row all Jaguar for Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. Evans was beaten in the first semi-final by Wehrlein, paying for a gap of almost half a second accumulated in the second and third sectors: it should however be underlined that, in any case, Evans' time was canceled for having crossed the chicane in the central split time after missing the braking point. After dominating free practice, the New Zealander was therefore unable to repeat himself, having to settle for fourth position.

The second semi-final was much more competitive and unpredictable, the one between Cassidy and Vandoorne. The Jaguar driver almost seemed to have the passage of the round in hand after the Belgian of the DS had, in spite of himself, been the author of a large oversteer exiting the Sainte Devote, which clearly had an impact not only on the running of that stretch, but also of the climb that leads to the closure of the first sector. However, an excellent second sector and a mistake by Cassidy in the third and final split then reversed the situation: the New Zealander actually ended the lap with the steering wheel crooked, almost half a second behind Vandoorne.

Max Guenther will start eighth, in what is a second home race for Maserati, given that MSG has its roots here when it was still called Venturi. Despite the elimination against Wehrlein, it was another good qualifying for the Trident driver, in which he once again managed to bring his Tipo Folgore to the duels: a significant continuity.

Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The last quarter-final saw a duel at DS Penske, with Stoffel Vandoorne able to beat his teammate with an advantage of more than three tenths. A gap that Jean-Eric Vergne accumulated entirely in the second sector, given that the partials in the other two split times were in line with those of the Belgian: the Frenchman will therefore start from fifth position, next to Sebastien Buemi.

The other two quarters went without appeal: Evans beat Antonio Felix da Costa by more than half a second, while Cassidy was able to overcome the stumbling block Sebastien Buemi with an advantage of around three tenths. As in the case of Guenther, even if the Portuguese was not able to reach the final phase of qualifying, it is another step in that growth process that he is laboriously pursuing, in the hope of keeping his seat in Porsche also for the next season.

Groups: Rowland and Dennis eliminated

Group A has reserved few surprises, with the great protagonists of the world championship capable of passing the preliminary phase: the only exception is that of Oliver Rowland, leader of the world championship after the first stage in Misano, who was unable to go beyond the ninth position, an aspect that will force him to start from the ninth row on the starting grid. It will therefore be an uphill race for the British driver.

Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

Another excellent elimination from group A is Robin Frijns with the Jaguar customer of the Envision team, who had to give way to Evans, Wehrlein, Guenther and Da Costa: the Dutchman achieved fifth place, just two thousandths of a second from the recorded time from Porsche's Portuguese, but his time was clearly not enough to avoid exclusion.

Also out in group A are Sergio Sette Camara with the ERT, who nevertheless achieved a good qualifying which will lead him to start from the sixth row, the two Abt Cupras of Nico Mueller and Lucas di Grassi, Nick de Vries with the Mahindra and Norman Nato with the Porsche customers of Andretti. Undoubtedly there cannot be a hint of bitterness for Abt Cupra, who saw this appointment as an opportunity to score important points. Given the good performances in qualifying in the rest of the world championship and the characteristics of the Monegasque track, where energy management is not so critical, the hope was to be able to access the duels: however, pay attention to the race, because Monaco knows how to offer surprises despite starting from the center of the group.

If the first group saw the elimination of Rowland, group B also saw the elimination of another title contender, Jake Dennis. As in Misano, the Briton did not shine on the flying lap, being excluded already in the first part of qualifying, an aspect which will force him to start from the ninth row, right next to his compatriot from Nissan. For the rivals, in particular Wehrlein, it will therefore be an important opportunity to gain points and attempt to move up in the standings.

Jake Dennis, Andretti Global, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Also in group B, it is worth mentioning the good fifth place of Jehan Daruvala, who will therefore start the race from the fifth row: despite the elimination, for the Indian it is the second best result of the season during qualifying, which the first points finish of the year in Misano also follows. Among the others excluded from the second qualifying round are Edoardo Mortara with the Mahindra, Sacha Fenestraz in the second Nissan, Dan Ticktum and the two McLarens of Jake Hughes and Taylor Barnard.

The young driver from the Woking team will close the starting grid together with Norman Nato, although it is important to point out that this is his absolute debut in a Formula E weekend. Although he had the opportunity to complete some test sessions for the rookies and to run in the simulator as a McLaren reserve, Barnard was thrown into the fray in Monaco at the last minute, having to replace Sam Bird, who during the first free practice session suffered a fractured hand after contact with the barriers at the Saint Devote.