Before today’s Formula E qualifying session, Sébastien Buemi (Renault e.dams) had been the fastest driver during the first free practice session, with Lucas di Grassi taking his spot on the second free practice session with a provisional record of 1:14.536. It was a sign of the things to come, as the Brazilian would score a much celebrated pole position.
The Audi driver was on the first qualifying group and he soon surprised everyone with the fastest time, a new record of 1:14.032. He was the fastest driver at that point in qualifying, and certainly fastest of the first group.
The second group saw Alex Lynn (DS Virgin Racing) get close to the champion but the Brit was left a tenth behind. The third group had Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing) just 0.061 seconds behind. The chase saw an end with championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne (Techeetah) beating the record with an astonishing 1:13.672. He would later say this was one of his best laps ever in a Formula E car.
The qualifying session left us with three crashes. It was Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing), Nelson Piquet (Panasonic Jaguar Racing) and Nicolas Prost (Renault e.dams), who made a trifecta of crashes against the wall. Fortunately, none of them saw any injury.
The super pole had a hard fight between Vergne, Di Grassi, Evans, Lynn and Oliver Turvey (NIO). The pole was to be owned by Di Grassi, who was ‘saved’ by a slower lap than expected by hot favourite Vergne, who had to settle for fifth.
Despite that, Di Grassi, Lynn and Turvey are being investigated for violation of track limits during their respective laps.
Fórmula E – Qualifying Results – Punta del Este
| Pos | Nr | Driver | Team | Lap Time |
| 1 | 1 | Lucas Di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 1:13.948 |
| 2 | 36 | Alex Lynn | DS Virgin Racing | 1:14.189 |
| 3 | 20 | Mitch Evans | Panasonic Jaguar Racing | 1:14.640 |
| 4 | 16 | Oliver Turvey | NIO Formula E Team | 1:14.978 |
| 5 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Techeetah | 1:16.806 |
| 6 | 66 | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 1:14.224 |
| 7 | 9 | Sébastien Buemi | Renault e.dams | 1:14.320 |
| 8 | 18 | André Lotterer | Techeetah | 1:14.442 |
| 9 | 5 | Maro Engel | Venturi Formula E Team | 1:14.523 |
| 10 | 2 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 1:14.552 |
| 11 | 6 | Jose Maria López | Dragon | 1:14.605 |
| 12 | 7 | Jérome d’Ambrosio | Dragon | 1:14.673 |
| 13 | 28 | António Felix da Costa | Andretti Autosport | 1:14.973 |
| 14 | 19 | Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra Racing | 1:15.104 |
| 15 | 68 | Luca Filippi | NIO Formula E Team | 1:15.444 |
| 16 | 4 | Edoardo Mortara | Venturi Formula E Team | 1:15.493 |
| 17 | 27 | Tom Blomqvist | Andretti Autosport | 1:16.424 |
| 18 | 23 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra Racing | 1:31.701 |
| 19 | 3 | Nelson Piquet | Panasonic Jaguar Racing | 1:42.656 |
| 20 | 8 | Nicolas Prost | Renault e.dams | 1:53.358 |