Sao Paulo E-Prix: Pascal Wehrlein pips Stoffel Vandoorne to seal dramatic pole position after close finish

Pascal Wehrlein took pole in Sao Paulo in Brazilian E-Prix qualifying in Brazil on Saturday afternoon.

Group A qualifying was almost immediately held up by what appeared to be a billowing bag or balloon, with a red flag coming out.

The street circuit meant that ideal breaking points were not as consistent across the sessions, and at the end of the first session, a top four of Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske), his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS), and Nico Muller (ABT Cupra) - despite clipping a wall - got through to the duels, with Championship leader Nick Cassidy a surprising exclusion.

There was no hold-up in the runout for Group B, with a top four of Max Gunther (Maserati) - with a 14-place grid penalty to come in the race - Pascal Wehrlein (Tag Heuer Porsche), Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) and Sam Bird (McLaren) through.

In the first duel, 1:13.184 was not enough for Evans as he set the challenge for Vandoorne, with the latter through to the semis.

Vergne was given a bye as a result of Muller’s crash, meaning he was unable to get out for a duel, but he still took the chance for a lap to stay sharp for his upcoming semi, recording the first 1:12 lap of the weekend.

Wehrlein then went quickest to knock out Mortara, leaving Bird to come up against Gunther, with the German a third of a second quicker.

Vandoorne then claimed the final spot up against his stablemate, before Gunther took on Wehrlein, as he teed up a final duel against the DS Penske driver.

The pair were neck-and-neck right into turn 11, but Vandoorne was 0.04 seconds behind with a couple of turns to go, and ended two-thousandths of a second behind, giving Wehrlein his second pole of the season.

The race will take place later on Saturday live on TNT Sports and discovery+, with Wehrlein and Vergne - second and third respectively in the championship - looking to cut into Cassidy’s lead at the top.

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