Valencia E-Prix: Vandoorne pips Da Costa to Mercedes' third pole
Mercedes snared its third Formula E pole of the 2021 season as Stoffel Vandoorne topped qualifying ahead of the first Valencia E-Prix, while points leader Jaguar faltered.
The Silver Arrow machine has now been on pole in Berlin, Diriyah, Rome and Valencia - the most recent four events - with Vandoorne leading the way in Spain by three hundredths of a second.
Vandoorne, winner of Rome race two, progressed through from the opening group run to book his place in the top-six superpole shootout where he set a 1m26.494s effort.
His run looked scruffy and he was marginally up against the benchmark of reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa in the second sector.
But Vandoorne, who clipped the wall on his preparation lap, delivered superbly through the final section of the Circuit Ricardo Tormo to snare his fourth Formula E pole position.
Da Costa was knocked to the outside of the front row of the grid having held on strongly from running second in superpole, the DS Techeetah driver overcoming oversteer through the high-speed opening corner to secure his place in the shootout.
Second Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries, victor in the opening race of the season, limited the damaged owed to a five-place grid penalty by bagging the third-fastest time.
But as a legacy of his final-lap collision with Sam Bird in the second Rome bout, de Vries will drop to eighth as BMW Andretti scored its best grid position of the season.
Its driver Maximilian Guenther, who set the pace in free practice, fell short of Vandoorne by some 0.449s when the top 10 in the group stages had been split by only 0.075s.
Nyck de Vries, Mercedes-Benz EQ, EQ Silver Arrow 02
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Alex Lynn could not stitch together a strong enough final sector build on the promise of the opening half of his lap for Mahindra Racing.
He posted the fifth-best time in superpole beating only the scruffy effort of Nissan e.dams racer Sebastien Buemi.
Despite beating the time set by Lynn through the opening sector of their respective group four runs, Andre Lotterer endured a slower middle sector to become the first driver to miss out on progressing into the superpole shootout and he crossed the timing line for seventh.
The permanent circuit cut back on the extreme levels of track evolution usually seen during Formula E group qualifying, which meant Venturi Racing driver Norman Nato could only run to eighth fastest - after placing second on the grid for race two in Rome last time out.
Oliver Rowland’s usual one-lap pace was replaced by a fairly subdued run to ninth for Nissan e.dams as Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein - the only driver to a score points in each race so far this season - rounded out the top 10 from his opening group one performance.
Rome polesitter Nick Cassidy looked on course for another superpole appearance after setting the fastest overall first sector, only to drop off the boil in the final part of the lap to go 11th.
Alexander Sims, fresh from a second place in Rome, ran to 12th while Jean-Eric Vergne struggled against team-mate da Costa to net 13th ahead of BMW Andretti racer Jake Dennis.
It was a tough session for Jaguar duo Bird and Mitch Evans, who sit first and second in the drivers’ points, as they were off the pace in group one.
Evans mustered 18th and Bird was a further 0.2s in arrears and will line up in 21st ahead of 2016-17 champion and Audi racer Lucas di Grassi.
Valencia E-Prix qualifying result
| Cla | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Stoffel Vandoorne |  Mercedes | 1'26.494 |
| 2 |  Antonio Felix da Costa |  Techeetah | 1'26.522 |
| 3 |  Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | 1'26.730 |
| 4 | Maximilian Gunther |  Andretti Autosport | 1'26.943 |
| 5 |  Alex Lynn |  Mahindra Racing | 1'27.022 |
| 6 |  Sébastien Buemi |  DAMS | 1'27.053 |
| 7 | Andre Lotterer | Porsche Team | 1'26.933 |
| 8 | Norman Nato |  Venturi | 1'26.979 |
| 9 | Oliver Rowland | DAMS | 1'27.002 |
| 10 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche Team | 1'27.008 |
| 11 |  Nick Cassidy | Virgin Racing | 1'27.072 |
| 12 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra Racing | 1'27.109 |
| 13 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Techeetah | 1'27.157 |
| 14 | Jake Dennis | Andretti Autosport | 1'27.177 |
| 15 | René Rast | Team Abt | 1'27.290 |
| 16 | Robin Frijns | Virgin Racing | 1'27.317 |
| 17 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi | 1'27.338 |
| 18 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar Racing | 1'27.442 |
| 19 |  Sergio Sette Camara | Dragon Racing | 1'27.456 |
| 20 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO Formula E Team | 1'27.481 |
| 21 | Sam Bird | Jaguar Racing | 1'27.619 |
| 22 | Lucas di Grassi | Team Abt | 1'27.634 |
| 23 | Nico Müller | Dragon Racing | 1'27.644 |
| 24 | Oliver Turvey | NIO Formula E Team | 1'28.524 |
| View full results | |||
Previous article
Valencia E-Prix: Gunther continues test form by topping FE practice
Next article
Vandoorne loses Valencia FE qualifying times, da Costa inherits pole
About this article
| Series | Formula E |
| Event | Valencia ePrix |
| Drivers | Stoffel Vandoorne |
| Teams | Mercedes |
| Author | Matt Kew |
How Valencia E-Prix farce left Formula E with an image problem
Formula E was under the microscope at Valencia, on its first visit to a permanent circuit. But after a mere nine drivers were left classified following Saturday's Valencia E-Prix, the electric championship once more faced criticism after rising energy deductions and miscalculations produced a farcical affair
The silver bullet signing that has launched Jaguar into title contention
It's taken a long time for Jaguar to reach the cusp of contending for championships in Formula E. But, after last season's challenge crumbled in Berlin, the team has been bolstered by a top-line arrival who has helped to end an unwanted 30-year wait
How Vergne and Vandoorne found redemption in Rome
Another Formula E double-header, another double dose of frantic action. While the form guide remains unpredictable following fightback wins for Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne in Rome, the speed and consistency of Mercedes – both on and off the track – could have its rivals worried for what is to follow
What Nissan's commitment to Gen3 reveals about Formula E's future
Formula E's Gen3 era grid continues to take shape, after Nissan opted to commit to the series for another four years. Nissan's global chief operating officer explains why it has thrown its lot in with FE while other high-profile marques have decided to call it quits
Why the new Formula E season got off to such a controversial start
With the new Formula E season belatedly getting underway in Saudi Arabia, the championship appeared to try to make up for lost time with an overspill of action and controversy on and off the track. While some talking points could have serious repercussions, it was an explosive opener for many reasons
How Andretti is planning for life after BMW
Michael Andretti's team is a Formula E ever-present and that's not about to change despite BMW's forthcoming exit. But, with both its drivers contracted to the German giant and McLaren weighing up a possible entry, some key decisions lie ahead
The eight major plotlines to watch in Formula E 2021
The delayed 2020-21 Formula E season gets underway this week with a double-header in Saudi Arabia. The testing times were too close to call a favourite, but that's not the only area of interest to follow as the championship enters a crucial year
Why Formula E's 2021 season will be a crucial litmus test
As off-track politics threatens to overshadow events on it, the upcoming Formula E season is perhaps its most important since the championship's inception. And that's a shame, given that the focus should be on what promises to be its closest title fight yet
