Vergne inherits pole after controversial Punta qualifying
Formula E championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne will start the Punta del Este E-Prix from pole position after Lucas di Grassi had his Superpole laptime deleted for track limits.
Di Grassi had set a blistering 1:13.672s to claim a provisional first pole position of the 2017/2018 season, but the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver was placed under investigation for hitting a bollard at the Turn 14/15 chicane.
Formula E championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne will start the Punta del Este E-Prix from pole position after Lucas di Grassi had his Superpole laptime deleted for track limits.
Di Grassi had set a blistering 1:13.672s to claim a provisional first pole position of the 2017/2018 season, but the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler driver was placed under investigation for hitting a bollard at the Turn 14/15 chicane.
He, along with fellow bollard-clippers Alex Lynn and Oliver Turvey, who had posted the second and fourth-fastest times in Superpole respectively, had their times removed.
Meanwhile Mitch Evans, who was third quickest in the Superpole session and would have inherited pole, was disqualified from qualifying and sent towards the back of the grid due to a weight issue with his Jaguar car.
Instead, it will be Techeetah’s Vergne who starts from pole, despite setting the slowest time in Superpole after making a mistake in the first sector.
The Frenchman also receives three bonus points for taking pole position, meaning he has extended his championship lead to 15 points.
Revised grid:
- Jean-Eric Vergne FRA Techeetah
- Lucas Di Grassi BRA ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
- Alex Lynn GBR DS Virgin Racing
- Oliver Turvey GBR NIO Formula E
- Daniel Abt GER ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
- Sebastien Buemi SUI Renault e.dams
- Andre Lotterer GER Techeetah
- Maro Engel GER Venturi
- Sam Bird GBR DS Virgin Racing
- Jerome d’Ambrosio BEL Dragon Racing
- Antonio Felix da Costa POR Andretti
- Felix Rosenqvist SWE Mahindra
- Edoardo Mortara SUI Venturi
- Nelson Piquet Jr. BRA Panasonic Jaguar Racing
- Luca Filippi ITA NIO Formula E
- Mitch Evans NZL Panasonic Jaguar Racing
- Nick Heidfeld GER Mahindra
- Jose Maria Lopez ARG Dragon Racing
- Nicolas Prost FRA Renault e.dams
- Tom Blomqvist GBR Andretti
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