Mitch Evans managed to secure his first Julius Baer Pole Position of the year over a rain-soaked qualifying session in Berlin, with the Jaguar TCS Racing driver setting the best time of the two group sessions.
After a delayed start due to inclement weather, qualifying got underway at 12:00 local time. The wet weather made for challenging conditions, and the format was tweaked slightly with the Duels cancelled as part of the session. Instead, the rules were changed and the fastest drivers in their respective groups would sort the grid.
Mitch Evans was the fastest man across the field of 22 drivers, locking in and setting a lap time almost a second quicker than anyone else in his group. Lining up on the second row of the grid is Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns who is a beast in these wet weather conditions – setting his last Formula E pole here during similar conditions in Season 9.
Oliver Rowland will be third for Nissan, a solid starting position for a race where he could mathematically seal the deal for the drivers’ World Championship. He will line up with fellow countryman Jake Hughes (Maserati MSG Racing) in fourth, with Maximilian Guenther fifth for DS PENSKE.
RESULTS: Qualifying for 2025 Hankook Berlin E-Prix, Round 13
Group A
Cars made their way onto the track at midday local time, the rain continued to fall. The tricky conditions were clear, with cars slipping and sliding around the former airport in the damp. One man looked comfortable from the outset though: Mitch Evans.
The Kiwi was flying on his lap, banking purple sectors every time his Jaguar was on track and finding more and more time in the wet. This continued, and Evans finished his final lap improving in the second and third sectors to stay top with a time of 1m11.021s.
His nearest threat was Oliver Rowland, but was almost a second down on Evans. Rowland did also complain that he suffered from a power cut on his final lap, as he fights to wrap up the drivers’ title in Berlin this weekend.
Third was Maximilian Guenther for DS PENSKE, with Antonio Felix da Costa making a mistake on his final lap to prevent him from bettering a fourth place. CUPRA KIRO’s Dan Ticktum was fifth in his group, with Edoardo Mortara and Nico Mueller behind.
Sam Bird was eighth, with Jake Dennis only managing ninth and Zane Maloney in his Superman-themed Lola Yamaha ABT rounding out the top 10. Sergio Sette Camara was 11th upon his return, almost three seconds off Evans in his first race with Nissan in Formula E.
Group B
Next up was Group B, with the track conditions improving as expected. Robin Frijns loves these wet conditions, and it showed with him setting purple sectors to go top of the group – just off the time of Evans. Behind him was Jake Hughes for Maserati MSG Racing, with the Brit looking at home in the rainy conditions.
Pascal Wehrlein has a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with da Costa yesterday, and finished third in the session which demotes him to ninth ahead of today’s race where his rival Oliver Rowland could wrap up the drivers’ World Championship. Nick Cassidy was commenting that he had technical problems with his brakes during the group session and finished ninth but also has a 20-place grid-drop after exceeding his number of MCUs this season.
With a 40-place penalty Sebastien Buemi didn’t participate in the session, and he would line up at the back of the grid no matter where he qualified.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2025 Hankook Berlin E-Prix Rounds 13 & 14
Qualifying: 11:20 (09:20 UTC), Saturday 12 July
Round 13: 16:00 (14:00 UTC), Saturday 12 July
Free Practice 3: 09:00, (07:00 UTC) Sunday 13 July
Qualifying: 11:20 (09:20 UTC), Sunday 13 July
Round 14: 16:00 (14:00 UTC), Sunday 13 July
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