Vergne seals Pole for Round 5 in Rome

DS TECHEETAH's Jean-Eric Vergne heads the way for the 2022 Rome E-Prix Round 5 as he defeated Avalanche Andretti's Jake Dennis in a blistering Qualifying session on the streets of the Eternal City. 

RESULTS: Qualifying ahead of Round 5 at the 2022 Rome E-Prix

Vergne claimed his 14th Pole in Rome ahead of Round 5 as the former champion posted a 1m38.268s - 0.221s faster than Dennis, who posted the fastest lap time of the whole weekend - a 1m37.997s - in the Semi Finals. Former Rome race winner Vergne adds a further three points to his championship campaign for claiming the Julius Baer Pole Position ahead of the race at 15:00 local time. 

WAYS TO WATCH: Where and how to watch every minute of Season 8

Falling short of the final Duel was TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team's Andre Lotterer who starts in third and Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans who starts in fourth.

The Semis

Former DS TECHEETAH teammates Andre Lotterer (now TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) and Jean-Eric Vergne battled it out in a Duel, with Vergne taking the lead after Lotterer clipped the kerb. Vergne crossed the line 0.212s ahead of Lotterer, securing his place in the final. 

With the two fastest laps of the weekend, Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans found himself up against Avalanche Andretti's Jake Dennis. Posting a lap that was 0.498s faster than Evans, the British driver found himself in the finals alongside former champion Jean-Eric Vergne. 

The Quarters 

After starting second on the grid in yesterday's race, Envision Racing's Robin Frijns lined up against DS TECHEETAH's Jean-Eric Vergne as the pair went head-to-head in the first Duel of the Quarter Final. Vergne led, crossing the line 0.085s ahead of Frijns. 

TAG Heuer Porsche's Andre Lotterer lined up against yesterday's pole man Mercedes-EQ's Stoffel Vandoorne, who failed to make it past the Quarter Finals. Lotterer's dominant 1m38.422s lap sends him through to the Semis. 

Avalanche Andretti's Jake Dennis posted a blistering 1m38.225s lap, which eliminated Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein. Dennis goes through to the Semi Final. 

After a storming race for Jaguar TCS Racing yesterday, both Jag drivers went up against each other with yesterday's race winner Mitch Evans comfortably leading his teammate Sam Bird. Evans 1m38.127s lap is the quickest lap of the whole weekend and secures his place in the Semi Finals. 

The Groups 

With the sun beating down on the streets of Rome's EUR district, Envision Racing's Robin Frijns topped the Group times with a 1m39.416s lap. The Dutch driver performed well in Qualifying ahead of yesterday's race, starting second on the grid. With both TAG Heuer Porsche's Andre Lotterer and Pascal Werhlein making it through to the Quarters, the pair were joined by yesterday's Poleman Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) and yesterday's winner Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) who went up against his teammate Sam Bird. 

Notable eliminations in the Groups were standings leader Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) and also reigning champion Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ). With a three place grid drop for causing a collision in yesterday's race, de Vries will need to fight his way through the pack to make it to the points in Round 5.