Qualifying in motorsport is so important. It could make or break your race before the lights have even gone out, and is a great showing of how close the competition is around you. Over Formula E’s 10 seasons, we have seen several Julius Baer Pole Positions decided by the tiniest of margins. Here is a list of the five closest fights for pole in Formula E history.
Season 3 – 0.001s (Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport)
He might have been struggling with an ankle injury at the time, but that didn’t stop Lucas di Grassi from achieving one of the closest gaps between first and second in Formula E qualifying. The Brazilian, who would later win the championship that season, claimed pole in the first of two races around the Berlin Tempelhof by just 0.001s. Di Grassi had his chance in the Super Pole first, with Jose Maria Lopez trying his best afterwards just to miss out by the slimmest of margins.
Season 10 – 0.001s (Jake Hughes, NEOM McLaren)
Formula E’s first visit to Shanghai was filled with big headlines. From a record-equalling 16th pole for Jean-Eric Vergne of DS PENSKE, to Jake Hughes nabbing his fourth career pole by just a fraction of a second. Hughes, who was up against Vergne’s teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, managed to navigate the Shanghai International Circuit with total precision to emerge on top… but only just. Only 0.001s of a second separated the two, the same time Di Grassi had to Lopez in Season 3.
Season 10 – 0.002s (Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche)
Another intense qualifying battle emerged earlier in Season 10, when Vandoorne missed out on pole again by less than a blink of an eye. This time it was Pascal Wehrlein who beat the Season 8 World Champion during the Final Qualifying Duel in São Paulo. This time the gap was 0.002s in the heavy heat, but just shows how close the competition is on the current grid.
Season 8 – 0.005s (Nyck de Vries, Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team)
The second of the Diriyah double-header in Season 8 saw Nyck de Vries clinch pole by just 0.005s. The then-reigning champion had won the race the day prior, and managed to secure the first place grid slot for the Saturday event. He went up against his current Mahindra Racing teammate Edoardo Mortara, with Mortara looking down during the first part of his qualifying lap before making up time and just missing out on pole.
Season 3 – 0.006s (Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.Dams)
Sebastien Buemi denied the home hero Jean-Eric Vergne pole in Paris by the smallest of margins in Formula E’s third season. The tight qualifying saw the Renault driver and then-reigning champion pip JEV to pole by sixth thousandths of a second in Super Pole. It was, at the time, the closest qualifying gap we had seen from first to second, until di Grassi beat it in Berlin the following race.
In addition to the top five, we have also had very close finishes in locations like Long Beach. Over both of Formula E’s visit to the American venue, quali was close with Daniel Abt emerging 0.007s ahead of Nicolas Prost in Season 1 and Sam Bird on pole by just 0.009s in Season 2.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy also features in the top ten twice, sealing pole by 0.008s in New York in Season 8 before going on to win his first race. He also started from the first place grid slot in Season 9 when he locked in pole by 0.010s in the London finale.
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The final place in the top 10 goes to Antonio Felix da Costa, who managed to rule the streets of Monaco during Season 7 to qualify 0.012s ahead of Robin Frijns. The Season 6 champ, who was racing for DS Techeetah at the time, went on to win the crazy Monaco race which is ranked as one of the best races the all-electric championship has ever seen!