Dakar Rally News: Mortara Secures Maiden Pole Position in Dramatic Formula E Qualifying
Berlin, Germany
In a thrilling Formula E qualifying session, Edoardo Mortara of Mahindra Racing secured his and the team’s first pole position of the 2023 season at the Berlin E-Prix. The Swiss-Italian driver posted a blistering lap time of 1m01.741s, the fastest time of the entire qualifying session, to claim the top spot in the final duel.
Mortara’s performance was particularly impressive as he has endured a difficult campaign so far. He edged out championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne of DS Penske by a margin of 0.267s, with the Belgian driver setting a time of 1m01.844s in the semi-final.
“It’s been a tough season for us, so to get our first pole position is a great result,” said Mortara. “The team has worked hard, and I’m delighted to reward their efforts with this result. Now we need to focus on converting it into a strong race result tomorrow.”
Sergio Sette Camara of ERT finished third, 0.167s behind Vandoorne in the semi-finals, while Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Penske was fourth, losing out to Mortara by a tenth of a second.
Championship protagonist Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche was eliminated in the quarter-finals, losing out to Vergne by just 0.082s, while Vandoorne progressed at the expense of Maximilian Guenther of Maserati MSG.
The second Maserati of Jehan Daruvala, who faces a 20-place grid penalty, also failed to advance, losing to Mortara by more than two tenths. Lucas di Grassi of Abt made it through to the duels for the first time this season but fell short against Sette Camara.
The qualifying session was not without its drama, with both Mortara and Guenther brushing the wall at the final corner, but the Mahindra driver was able to recover and claim a well-deserved pole position.
The Berlin E-Prix is set to be a thrilling race, with Mortara looking to convert his pole position into a much-needed victory for Mahindra and himself in the 2023 Formula E championship.
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