Cape Town E-Prix: Fenestraz secures inaugural Julius Baer Pole
25th February 2023Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz secured his maiden Formula E pole position as both Maserati Edoardo Marata and Jaguar’s Sam Bird crashed out at the end of Group qualifying.
Group A
As qualifying got underway, Avalanche Andretti’s Andre Lotterer was the first driver to venture onto the circuit. Naturally, the German driver was able to set the benchmark on the board but this was soon beaten by Envision’s Nick Cassidy who jumped to the top of the timing table ahead of Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa.
Jake Hughes found himself in a spot of bother as he grazed the advertising board with his rear-right tyre at the first corner. Fortunately, it was just a slight contact and the British McLaren driver could continue.
After the first set of qualifying runs, with just over five minutes left on the clock, all of the 10 drivers returned to the pit lane. As it stood, Da Costa topped the timing board with a 1:09.441, ahead of Wehrlein, Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) and Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) who were all eligible to progress through into the duels.
When the chequered flag fell on qualifying for Group A, Fenestraz jumped to the top of the timing boards as Cassidy popped up into second place ahead of both Wehrelin and Vergne.
Who is through to the duels:
- Sacha Fenestraz, Nissan
- Nick Cassidy, Envision
- Pascal Wehrlein, Porsche
- Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske
Group B
As the pit exit light went green, to start the qualifying session for Group B, all but the Mahindra cars were out on the circuit. Of the drivers that were out on track, Jaguar’s Mitch Evans put in the provisional best time of 1:09.327 ahead of both Maximilian Gunther (Maserati), Sebastien Buemi (Envision) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske).
Mahindra’s Lucas Di Grassi and Oliver Rowland were the only drivers yet to set a lap time on the board, with just over five minutes remaining. However, it was later reported that Mahindra and ABT Cupra had to withdraw from the Cape Town E-Prix with issues with their rear suspensions.
In the last five minutes; Evans, Buemi, Gunther and Sam Bird (Jaguar) were all occupying the spots to head off into the duels. On the other hand, Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis was just outside the duel-awarding positions in P4 – 0.240 behind Evans best lap – leading the bottom six drivers.
A red flag was brought out after the chequered flag fell on qualifying for Group B, as Maserati’s Mortara smashed into the barrier on the fast left-hander of turn nine. As the Swiss driver blasted his way through the left-hand corner, the Maserati lost grip on the rear tyres and couldn’t stop his car in time before it smashed into the barrier.
In a similar instance, Bird also lost rear-tyre grip around the same corner and crashed – backwards – onto the rear of Mortara’s wrecked Maserati.
The medical car was soon deployed out onto the circuit after both drivers crashed out. Fortunately, both drivers were seen climbing out of the car, and in okay condition.
Who is through to the duels:
- Rene Rast, McLaren
- Mitch Evans, Jaguar
- Sebastien Buemi, Envision
- Maximilian Gunther, Maserati
Shoot-out
Quarter-Finals:
Pascal Wehrlein v Nick Cassidy: Cassidy wins
Jean-Eric Vergne v Sacha Fenstraz: Fenstraz wins
Sebastien Buemi v Mitch Evans: Evans wins
Maximilian Gunther v Rene Rast: Gunther wins
Semi-finals:
Nick Cassidy v Sacha Fenestraz: Fenestraz wins
Mitch Evans v Maximilian Gunther: Gunther wins
Pole shoot-out:
Sacha Fenestraz v Maximilian Gunther
Julius Baer Pole Position winner: Fenestraz secures pole position
That’s it for the article; Cape Town E-Prix: Fenestraz secures inaugural Julius Baer Pole!
What was your favourite moment from qualifying? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula E here:
- Hyderabad E-Prix: Penske wins dramatic inaugural race
- Diriyah E-Prix Race 2: Wehrlein secures the double in Saudi Arabia
- Diriyah E-Prix: Sam Bird tops first practice
- Formula E Diriyah E-Prix Preview
- FE Mexico E-prix: Dennis secures first win of 2023
- NIO 333 take the covers off their Gen3 racer
To keep up to date with the latest news from Apex Motorsports, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! You can also support us on Patreon!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
