Cassidy takes Citroen’s first Formula E pole in Madrid

Nick Cassidy secured Citroen’s first Formula E pole position by defeating Nyck de Vries in the qualifying Duels final for the Madrid E-Prix at Jarama.

After a damp second practice earlier in the morning, qualifying took place in drying conditions with grip levels still low throughout the session. Cassidy’s 1m 37.141s lap was 0.266s quicker than Nyck de Vries, with the Mahindra driver having a snap of oversteer on the approach to Turn 7 which derailed his hopes of snatching pole.

Cassidy's qualifying started with him going third-quickest in Group B behind Nissan's Norman Nato – who set two laps good enough to top the group – and Mahindra driver Edoardo Mortara, and ahead of DS Penske's Maximilian Guenther, whose final lap moved him up to a transfer spot. He then defeated Mortara in his first Duel by a narrow 0.047s, before taking advantage of Nato going off in their Semifinal to advance to the pole decider.

De Vries started qualifying by topping Group A ahead of Jaguar TCS Racing's Antonio Felix da Costa, Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein, and Nissan's Oliver Rowland. He had an easy route through his first Duel when Rowland spun at Turn 3, but went off on his out-lap for his Semifinal. It didn’t hinder him, though, and he was able to defeat da Costa to set up the Final head-to-head with Cassidy.

Behind the front row of Cassidy and and de Vries, da Costa will start third with Nato fourth, Mortara fifth, Wehrlein sixth – after a torrid time in his Duel with da Costa where he ended up four-and-a-half seconds off the pace as he struggled with grip throughout his lap – and Guenther and Rowland completing the top eight places of drivers who advanced into the Duels.

Curpa Kiro driver Dan Ticktum will start ninth after his final Group Stage lap wasn't enough to move him into a transfer spot. Zane Maloney will start 10th for Lola Yamaha Abt, ahead of Andretti's Jake Dennis, with home hero Pepe Marti 12th in the other Kiro entry.

Nico Mueller will start 13th after running wide on his final Group stage lap in his Porsche. Sebastien Buemi will start 14th for Envision Racing, ahead of DS Penske's Taylor Barnard, Jaguar's Mitch Evans, Joel Eriksson in the other Envision, and Jean-Eric Vergne of Citroen, with Lola's Lucas di Grassi and Felipe Drugovich completing the grid. After topping FP2, Andretti driver Drugovich couldn't budge from the bottom of his group, despite improving on his final lap.

As well as being Citroen’s first pole in Formula E, it is also the French brand’s first front-row appearance, while the result – and the three points that come with it – moves Cassidy up to third in the drivers’ standings before the race later today.

The 23-lap race will start at 3:05 local time (10:05am ET) and will feature Pit Boost fast charging pit stops despite there only being one race this weekend. Pit Boost is usually reserved for the first race of a doubleheader weekend.

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