Nick Cassidy for second! The Envision driver achieved his second consecutive pole position at the Formula E race weekend in New York. In qualifying on Sunday, Cassidy once again came up trumps and gave Antonio Felix da Costa (Techeetah) no chance in the final of the knockout phase with a fabulous round. For Cassidy it was the fourth pole position in the electric racing series – and the third in New York, where Formula E is hosting the eighth of ten race weekends in the 2022 season this weekend.
But then the drama: It wasn’t until shortly after the end of qualifying that it came out that Cassidy was penalized by 30 places on the grid for today’s race. So the New Zealander has to start from 22nd and last place. According to a decision by the stewards, Cassidy’s Envision team had to replace the safety cell, the battery and the cooler after the crash on Saturday.
Because it was the fifth change of the cooler in the current season – only four are allowed without penalty – it resulted in a setback of a total of 30 (20 for battery, 10 for cooler) positions. On top of that, Cassidy still concedes a mandatory drive-through penalty in the race today because he can only compete for 21 of the 30 penalty spots on the starting grid.
For the extensive repair work, the team had to exceed the night’s rest, but did not receive any punishment. Stoffel Vandoorne’s Mercedes also received a new safety cell after Saturday’s crash, for which there was no penalty, as in Cassidy’s case.
Cassidy angry after penalty: “Extremely unfair”
Although Cassidy keeps the three additional points, he has to cede first place on the grid to Felix da Costa. “I have to be careful what I say now,” Cassidy said angrily in front of the camera, when asked about the penalty. “There was this penalty because someone else crashed into me. We had to change the battery because of the accident after Stoffel and Lucas met me while I was standing there, so I think that’s extremely unfair.”
With the subsequent penalty, Cassidy can shed his hopes for the second win in New York in today’s Sunday race (7:00 p.m. live on TV on ProSieben). On Saturday, despite an accident caused by aquaplaning, the New Zealander was classified as the winner of the prematurely canceled race – his first triumph in Formula E.
Lotterer hopes for podium – Wehrlein behind
Andre Lotterer made it into the knockout phase for the tenth time in the twelfth qualifying session. For the Porsche driver, who is contesting his last Formula E season for the works team, it was only over in the semifinals against Cassidy – third place on the grid behind Alexander Sims (Mahindra) after Cassidy had been relegated. “I misbraked in turn 6, then the lap was over and I couldn’t set a good time anymore,” said Lotterer. “Today, a podium finish is the goal.”
Porsche team-mate Pascal Wehrlein had previously finished seventh in qualifying group A (14th on the grid). The former DTM champion and Formula 1 driver subsequently had several lap times canceled due to power overuse (using more energy than permitted), which meant that he slipped to the end of the starting field without a counted time. Maximilian Günther (Nissan) also missed out on qualifying for the knockout phase in Group B, finishing just eighth behind team-mate Sebastien Buemi.
Behind pole setter Felix da Costa, Sims and Lotterer, Sergio Sette Camara (Dragon-Penske) surprisingly secured fourth place on the grid at his team’s home race.
Mercedes duo with a good starting position
Stoffel Vandoorne did the best job from the point of view of the four remaining title contenders and secured fifth place on the grid. The Belgian was knocked out by Nick Cassidy in the quarter-finals, as did his Mercedes team-mate and reigning world champion Nyck de Vries (seventh place on the grid).
“Today’s qualifying was more difficult than yesterday because of the narrow gaps. The team did a great job of repairing my car in time after the crash on Saturday,” said Vandoorne, who started the race from second place on Saturday, had an accident later and was ultimately classified fourth.
Mitch Evans also secured a hopeful starting position in the title fight with sixth place on the grid. The Jaguar driver only failed in the semi-finals – with an incredible six-thousandths of a second behind opponent Alexander Sims!
In Saturday’s race, Evans went away empty-handed. “There is no logic behind this decision by the FIA,” criticized the New Zealander after today’s qualifying. “The race would have gone on for so long (07:30 minutes; ed.). You could have sent out the safety car and checked the conditions. Those were very strange circumstances…”
Drama about Formula E title contenders
Meanwhile, championship leader Edoardo Mortara experienced a bitter setback. The Venturi pilot, who dropped from fifth to ninth place in Saturday’s race due to a subsequent penalty, was unable to complete a timed lap! Due to technical problems, the Italo-Swiss had to retire early – so the world championship leader will start from the back in today’s race.
Jean-Eric Vergne, another title contender, had little better prospects. The two-time champion, like Mortara, competed in qualifying group A and hit the wall on his final fast lap. Improving the time was not possible, Vergne returned to the pits with the steering wheel completely crooked and had to settle for eighth place in the group – hence starting position 12 in the race.
On the ‘cheap places’, Mortara meets his teammate Lucas di Grassi, who was still on the podium in Saturday’s race. The Brazilian had set the fastest time in Group B, but was subsequently stripped of his two best laps for an infringement during qualifying. That dropped the former Formula E Champion to tenth in the group and the penultimate row of the grid for the race.
Formula E in New York: This is how qualifying went on Sunday
Qualifying-Gruppe A: Edoardo Mortara, Jean-Eric Vergne, Robin Frijns, Nyck de Vries, Pascal Wehrlein, Nick Cassidy, Sam Bird, Oliver Rowland, Oliver Askew, Alexander Sims, Sergio Sette Camara
Dramatic group qualifying and a big surprise! Sergio Sette Camara gave the US racing team Dragon the best time of 1:09.566 minutes. The Brazilian took the lead in the closing minutes of the 12-minute session after the alarm went off again! All drivers tried to start their last lap as late as possible – some drivers were late again.
Together with Sette Camara, Saturday’s winner Nick Cassidy, Nyck de Vries and Alexander Sims qualified as top 4 in the knockout phase. Pascal Wehrlein (under the supervision of race officials due to power overuse) did not get past P7 in the group, while title contender Jean-Eric Vergne did not get past eighth place after a wall contact. The three-time New York winner Sam Bird also experienced a debacle, having to settle for the penultimate place.
More drama behind! Championship leader Edoardo Mortara had to return to the pit lane after just one aborted lap, apparently due to a technical problem with his Venturi car. The Italo-Swiss had to retire a few minutes before the end of the session, was unable to set a timed lap and therefore has to start the race from the very back.
Qualifying-Gruppe B: Stoffel Vandoorne, Mitch Evans, Lucas di Grassi, Antonio Felix da Costa, Andre Lotterer, Jake Dennis, Sebastien Buemi, Oliver Turvey, Maximilian Günther, Dan Ticktum, Antonio Giovinazzi
In the second qualifying group, Lucas di Grassi (1:09.353) initially set the best time, but the Venturi driver’s fastest lap was subsequently canceled – only tenth place! Mitch Evans took the lead with a personal best of 1:09.371 minutes. Antonio Felix da Costa, Stoffel Vandoorne and Andre Lotterer followed the Jaguar driver into the quarter-finals. Less than a tenth of a second separated the top 4!
Jake Dennis missed entering the next lap by a few hundredths of a second, behind him Antonio Giovinazzi at least managed a respectable win with P6. Maximilian Günther was almost three tenths short of the top 4 in the Nissan. That meant eighth place for the man from the Allgäu, right behind his teammate Sebastien Buemi.
Formel-E-Qualifying in New York: So lief die K.o.-Phase
The Quarterfinals
In the first quarterfinals with the full power of 250 kW sat down Other Lotteries narrowly against Sergio Sette Camara. The Porsche driver advanced into the semi-finals with a 1:08.685 and around half a tenth of a second.
Saturday Winner Nick Cassidy continued in the second quarterfinals on his so far strong performances and threw opponent Stoffel Vandoorne out. The New Zealander maneuvered his Envision car over the course in just 1:08.657 minutes – Vandoorne (1:08.765) had to admit defeat despite a similarly good performance.
It was clearer in the third quarterfinals, in which Antonio Felix daCosta made short work of Nyck de Vries. The reigning world champion made a small driving error and, with a deficit of a good one and a half tenths of a second, lost to the strong Felix da Costa (1:08.721 minutes).
As the last driver succeeded Alexander Sims the entry into the semi-finals – with an incredible six-thousandths of a second ahead of title contender Mitch Evans! Sims managed a personal best of 1:08.796 minutes, distance opponent Evans needed only a blink of an eye at 1:08.802 minutes.
The semifinals
Nick Cassidy Andre Lotterer didn’t give a chance in the first semi-final and made it easily into the final with a time of 1:08.795. Meanwhile, his Porsche opponent couldn’t complete the lap at all and had to say goodbye early with a 1:10 lap including a braking error.
It was much tighter in the second semi-final, where Antonio Felix daCosta just kept his nose ahead of Alexander Sims. The Techeetah pilot prevailed with a strong lap in 1:08.681 and had a 0.19 second lead over the Briton, who had done well in New York so far.
The final
Again Nick Cassidy! The New Zealander scored his second straight pole in New York. In the final against Antonio Felix da Costa, Cassidy pulled off a fabulous lap: 1:08.584 minutes and the best time in all three sectors. Opponent Felix da Costa also shot clean, but couldn’t keep up with his 1:08.751.
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