Mortara stuns DS Penske to snatch first Berlin E-Prix pole

Edoardo Mortara capped off his and Mahindra’s first qualifying Duel final appearance of the Formula E season by taking pole for the first race of the Berlin E-Prix.

Mortara’s lap of 1m1.741s in the final head-to-head was 0.267s quicker than the much-fancied DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

Ahead of the final, Mortara also defeated Vandoorne's teammate Jean-Eric Vergne in the semifinal, and Jehan Daruvala in the quarterfinals, although the Maserati MSG driver will be taking a 20-place grid penalty anyway due to a front gearbox change.

Vandoorne, meanwhile, beat the other Maserati driver, Maximilian Guenther, in his opening Duel, before beating ERT's Sergio Sette Camara in the semis – Sette Camara advancing that far after a surprise defeat over FP2 pacesetter Lucas di Grassi after their quarterfinal tussle.

A number of big names fell ahead of the Duels, with TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans among those that didn't advance from the first group session, and Nick Cassidy in the other Jaguar and Nissan driver Oliver Rowland in the gaggle of drivers that didn't advance from the second group.

Jake Dennis and Norman Nato finished in last place in each group session after a torrid session where neither could find any pace. In locking out the bottom two places, they hold the unenviable record of Andretti's worst-ever qualifying result in a decade in the series.

Mortara’s pole was not just his first of the season, but his first since 2022 (also at Berlin) too. Vergne will start third, a spot behind teammate Vandoorne, with Sette Camara matching his best qualifying result of the season in fourth.

Guenther will line up fifth alongside compatriot Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche, who was defeated in the first round of the Duels by Vergne. di Grassi, da Costa, Cassidy, and Evans complete the top 10, ahead of Abt Cupra stand-in Kelvin van der Linde – the highest-placed of those filling in for drivers that have a schedule clash with the 6 Hours of Spa – and Dan Ticktum.

Taylor Barnard was a fine 13th in his second-ever qualifying appearance for NEOM McLaren, outqualifying teammate Jake Hughes who was down in 17th, Mahindra’s Jordan King and the Nissans of Oliver Rowland and Sacha Fenestraz splitting the pair.

Envision Racing’s substitutes Joel Eriksson and Paul Aron will start the race 18th and 19th, with the Andretti drivers saved from a back-row lockout by Daruvala’s gearbox penalty.

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