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report season 11

QUALI REPORT: Guenther secures Shanghai pole after Barnard battle for Round 10

REPORT 31 May 2025 4 Mins

Maximilian Guenther clinched the Julius Baer Pole Position ahead of the Round 10 of the 2025 Hankook Shanghai E-Prix.

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report season 11

It was a lovely lap for Maximilian Guenther in Shanghai, who secured his second Julius Baer Pole Position of the season for DS PENSKE. The German already has a race victory under his belt from Jeddah, and will line up alongside Taylor Barnard (NEOM McLaren) on the front row of the grid.

Just behind is Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) who will start today's race from third, with Nick Cassidy completing his best qualifying of the season so far to qualify fourth. Nyck de Vries will try his best from fifth for Mahindra Racing, with Oliver Rowland only managing sixth in his Nissan.

RESULTS: Qualifying for Round 10 of the Hankook Shanghai E-Prix

There's a long race ahead this afternoon with PIT BOOST too, as lights go out just after 15:00 local time.

Final

The last battle on track was the fight for pole between Maximilian Guenther and Taylor Barnard. It was a Duel final between Formula E’s youngest-ever winner in Guenther and youngest-ever polesitter in Barnard, and it was Guenther who took his second pole of the season.

The three points pushed Guenther three places up in the championship from 11th to 8th, ahead of teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi and Stoffel Vandoorne. It has also put DS PENSKE ahead of NEOM-McLaren for fourth in the Teams’ Championship.

Semi

Maximilian Guenther got the better of Nick Cassidy in the Semi Finals, but the DS PENSKE was unstoppable having beaten Rowland the round before.

Then it was the turn of Taylor Barnard, who put in a fantastic lap to beat Pascal Wehrlein.

Quarter Final

First up was Nick Cassidy, who went up against Jake Dennis. It was the first Duels appearance for the Kiwi this season, and he was able to progress up to the Semis. Cassidy has also been reunited with his former race engineer Phil Ingram this weekend, as Geoff Lenfant has not travelled.

Next up it was Maximilian Guenther, who beat Oliver Rowland by three tenths of a second. This was the eighth time in nine sessions that championship leader Rowland has been in the Duels, but it was the DS PENSKE who got the better of him.

Pascal Wehrlein was up against Nyck de Vries next, and it was the reigning champ who took the spot in the semis with the fastest time of the Duels so far.

The final Quarter Final was Taylor Barnard versus David Beckmann – a battle of the rookies. Although the CUPRA KIRO of Beckmann gave it his best shot, Barnard was the better of the two and went through to the next stage.

Group A

There was a big shock during the first group session when Antonio Felix da Costa found himself unable to proceed to the Duels, despite dropping every session of the weekend so far. He finished the session in ninth, and will start 17th for today’s race.

Maximilian Guenther was the quickest of the 11 drivers in Group A, topping the times for DS PENSKE. Jake Dennis was able to secure second for Andretti, with Nick Cassidy making his first Duels appearance of the GEN3 Evo era. The final Duels spot went to our championship standings leader Oliver Rowland in his Nissan.

Jake Hughes just missed out on a chance to make it another pole in Shanghai, after managing the feat for NEOM McLaren last year. Now racing for Maserati MSG Racing, he’s one to keep an eye on over this weekend in Shanghai after earning his first Formula E podium here last year.

Group B

Barnard continued his quick pace, going quickest in his group. He was joined with Nyck de Vries who was a tenth off his time, as well as reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein and David Beckmann getting the fourth place slot.

Two-time Formula E champ Jean-Eric Vergne settled for fifth, with Barnard’s McLaren teammate Sam Bird sixth.

There was a stunning save from the Lola Yamaha ABT of Lucas di Grassi, but he was forced to settle for 10th at the chequered flag.

SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2025 Hankook Shanghai E-Prix Round 11

In 2014, Formula E broke onto the racing scene with a historic first race in Beijing. Since then, the all-electric series has raced in four locations across China, with races in Hong Kong, Sanya, and Shanghai joining the calendar.

Next up is Round 11, and the second of our two races in Shanghai. However, inclement weather conditions forecast means a change to our normal schedule. Make sure you don’t miss a moment!

The amended sporting schedule for Round 11 of the 2025 Hankook Shanghai E-Prix is as follows. All times local (UTC+8hrs).

07:00: Free Practice 3
09:00: Qualifying
13:00: Round 11

View the full schedule in your time zone and check the broadcaster listings or tap the Ways to Watch button in the menu to find out where to watch all the racing action where you live.