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Controversy in FE qualifying, Evans comes out fastest
- GPblog.com
Qualifying for the Hyderabad ePrix took place this morning. Mitch Evans took pole position with a minimal time difference. Jean-Eric Vergne will start in second place this afternoon and Sebastien Buemi graces the third grid position.
Reigning world champion Stoffel Vandoorne failed to set a time in the first qualifying round that could take him into the quarter-finals. Current championship leader Pascal Wehrlein also failed to advance in his Porsche.
Controversy in quarter-finals
An interesting situation took place in the quarter-finals: Sam Bird, Edoardo Mortara and Rene Rast all lost their times due to track limits. This meant that Vergne did have to set a time during the semi-finals but was nevertheless allowed to advance to the final round, as he had no opponent left. In the other semi-final, Buemi still had to battle Evans.
The final battle took place between Evans and Vergne. Things got close: the New Zealander crossed the finish line with a time just 0.021s faster than the Frenchman. Evans thus took pole position. Vergne and Buemi closed in second and third on the grid.
No success for Porsche
Tag Heuer Porsche and Avalanche Andretti, both powered by Porsche powertrains, had losses in this qualifying session. The two teams proved to be very fast last couple of ePrixs, but will have to work hard today to get into the top ten with multiple cars. Wehrlein secured the best position on the grid of the two teams: P9.
Update | Penalty for Wehrlein
Wehrlein received a penalty after qualifying for obstructing Sergio Sette Camara. He has to surrender three spots and will start in 12th. This means Nick Cassidy, Oliver Rowland and Jake Dennis will move up to P9, 10 and 11 respectively. Of the Porsche teams, Dennis, in his Avalanche Andretti, now has the top grid position.
