After an exciting Qualifying session at the Jeddah E-Prix, NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard took home pole position, making him the youngest driver to start at the front row, in Formula E history!
It was time for the final Qualifying round at the Jeddah E-Prix and all eyes were on Maximilian Günther after a dominant Free Practice 3. Can the DS Penske driver replicate his performance from last night and during Practice to secure another pole position?
Group A
Group A kicked off and the drivers made their way for some opening laps. Sam Bird of NEOM McLaren showed pace and set the first fastest time of the session, but it was only the beginning and some banking times were about to come in. Günther was now on a fast last and hit the top of the leaderboard but Stoffel Vandoorne was faster in his Maserati MSG car and dropped a 1:17.200.
Jake Dennis was seemingly struggling all weekend. The season 9 champion complained that he is “completely stuck” and having issues with his rear locking everywhere. His teammate Nico Müller will hopefully bounce back in Group B. Dan Tickum of Cupra KIRO looked much better after a team fumble in last night’s race.
With the chequered flag out, Bird improved to fourth, knocking out Pascal Wehrlein. This is the first time the German driver has been eliminated from the Duels in a long time. Vandoorne’s time held out, and he was followed by Oliver Rowland and Günther.
Both Jaguars were having a hard time, just finishing in eighth and ninth.
Group B
Taylor Barnard, who won third place yesterday, got Group B going, setting the chasing time. The young rookie found great pace in Jeddah, but António Félix da Costa snagged the top spot from him. Fans were intrigued to see if Barnard can be the youngest driver to start at the front today.
NEOM McLaren and DS Penske aren’t the only teams who looked strong this weekend. Both Mahindra drivers found themselves in contention for the Duels, a much better start to the day for Edoardo Mortara after technical issues yesterday. Jake Hughes also improved and was just six hundredths behind Barnard, while Da Costa and Norman Nato look to progress to the Semi-Finals.
Once again, Barnard led Group B into the chequered flag. He was joined by Hughes, Mortara and Da Costa.
Duels
The Duels were decided and the first pair to battle it out was Günther and Rowland, who were now headed on to the track. Unfortunately, one of them would be knocked out and fans were enjoying the racing between the two drivers. The two went head-to-head and were very close in time, but Rowland was improving. The German driver was knocked out of the Duels by three tenths.
Bird and Vandoorne were up next. With Bird pulling back, Vandoorne had enough time to hold off the NEOM McLaren driver. Vandoorne progressed to the Semi-Final by a tenth of a second.
Adding a new highlight for Maserati MSG was Jake Hughes, who pulled an advantage over the first sector and gradually went faster. Mortara put up a fight and lost out to Hughes by just eight thousandths of a second.
The final duo to battle it out was Barnard and Da Costa. Was the rookie able to beat the veteran?
Barnard put down one of the best laps of the day. The British driver clocked a time of 1:14.840, almost six tenths quicker than Bird. He made it through to the Semi-Finals.
Semi-Finals
The Semi-Finals were set, and it was Vandoorne against Rowland and Hughes against Barnard. First up was Vandoorne and Rowland. Both drivers went head-to-head. While it looked like Rowland was faster, Vandoorne caught up slightly. However, Rowland was not going to let the Maserati driver get the best of him and out qualifies Vandoorne.
Hughes and Barnard immediately got on with work and went in with flying laps. Barnard was quick, with tenths over Hughes in the first two sectors. It looked as if Hughes were catching up, but Barnard was too fast and eliminated the Maserati driver.
Finals
Fighting for pole position were Oliver Rowland and Taylor Barnard. Both drivers have a unique history with each other, as Barnard used to race for Rowland’s karting team back in the day. Now they were ready to face off in the Final.
It was very close, as Rowland took the advantage in the early sectors. But Barnard was brave and built up a gap over the Nissan to take home his very first pole position in Formula E. This made him the youngest front-row starter in Formula E history.
Semi-Final 2: Hughes 🆚 Barnard
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 15, 2025
Barnard will advance to the Finals for the first time in his Formula E career. #JeddahEPrix pic.twitter.com/r33mbIJSlM
Feature Image Credit: FIA Formula E | Simon Galloway
