Nick Cassidy was once again ahead in Sunday’s Formula E qualifying in New York, but a penalty throws him to the back of the field …
Nick Cassidy was actually in control of the action at Formula E in New York again on Sunday. Once again, the Envision driver from New Zealand was not to be beaten in qualifying. But due to a battery change after Saturday’s rain chaos, he has to start the race from the back of the field.
Cassidy beat his Portuguese opponent Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah) in the final on Sunday. The New Zealander set a blistering lap of 1:08.584 – the fastest time of the Formula E weekend so far! However, the penalty means that the inferior finalist now gets the best grid spot.
Previously, Cassidy entered the knockout stage as the runner-up in Group A. Only Sergio Sette Camara was faster in his group. In the quarter-finals, Cassidy eliminated Stoffel Vandoorne, and in the semi-finals Andre Lotterer had to take his place.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Mitch Evans in the Top 6
Felix da Costa also finished second in his group, beaten only by Mitch Evans. The Portuguese then defeated reigning world champion Nyck de Vries in the quarter-finals and Alexander Sims in the semi-finals.
Sims will start from the front row alongside Felix da Costa, with third place going to Lotterer. The Porsche driver was on the losing side due to an early braking incident in his semi-final. Starting with him on the second row is Sergio Sette Camara, with Vandoorne and Evans making up row three.
While Vandoorne and Evans made it into the top 6 in qualifying, it was again a rough ride for the other title contenders. Felix da Costa’s team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne was eighth in the first group and will start from P12.
Edoardo Mortara was unable to take part in qualifying and will therefore start from P20. The race will start at 19:00 CEST as on Saturday.
