Santiago Formula E: Di Grassi disqualified, Buemi on pole (Update)

Sebastien Buemi

UPDATE Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi has been disqualified from qualifying for the Santiago E-Prix, with Sebastien Buemi inheriting pole position for Nissan e.dams.

Di Grassi performed his initial qualifying run in Group Two, ending the group qualifying stages as the third fastest runner, with Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein heading the field of 22.

In Super Pole, the Season Three champion took provisional pole, holding a 0.526s advantage over Buemi who was his nearest challenger.

Di Grassi's disqualification from qualifying comes as a result of a rule infringement of Formula E's slow in-lap procedure following a qualifying run – a rule that was changed in the run-up to this weekend.

As a result of this disqualification, di Grassi will start the Santiago E-Prix from last place, with Buemi inheriting his rival's pole position starting-spot while rookie Pascal Wehrlein will start on the front row of the grid.

By being disqualified from the final qualifying result, Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler also loses the three bonus points that are awarded to a pole sitting driver meaning that the team again drops to sixth in the Teams' Championship after momentarily gaining fifth from Nissan e.dams.

HWA Racelab's Stoffel Vandoorne was also handed a one-place grid penalty for breaking Super Pole procedure after it was found that the Belgian driver left the pit lane too late for his final qualifying run.

As a result of di Grassi's disqualification, Vandoorne will again line up in fifth on the grid – his original position at the end of qualifying.

Di Grassi

01/26/19 In the sweltering heat of the summer sun in Santiago, it was Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Lucas di Grassi who clinched the Julius Baer Pole Position and an additional three points, to start the 2019 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix at the front of the grid.

Di Grassi, who put in a solid performance in Qualifying after an uneventful start to the season came under investigation by the FIA for a technical infringement during the session with the outcome yet to be decided, which could affect his starting position for the race.

Behind the Brazilian is Nissan e.dams' Sebastien Buemi. After a shunt in the first practice session of the day, he made his way into Super Pole, posting a 1:08.816s, which is good enough to see him start the race in second.

Buemi will start the race with Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein behind him in third. After misery in Marrakesh during his Formula E debut, the start looks promising for the Formula E rookie. Audi's Daniel Abt will start in fourth with HWA Racelab's rookie Stoffel Vandoorne in fifth and Envision Virgin Racing's Sam Bird rounding off Super Pole in sixth.

Venturi's Edoardo Mortara will start the race in seventh after a clean lap, just missing out on Super Pole. Behind him is Geox Dragon's Maximilian Guenther, who will start in eighth with BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Alex Sims behind him in ninth.

Starting three places behind his teammate is Venturi's Felipe Massa, who closes off the top ten grid positions. Behind him is Geox Dragon's Jose-Maria Lopez who starts what Argentinian driver considers to be his 'home race' in 11th.

12th place on the grid goes to Panasonic Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans, who places a full eight positions ahead of his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr in 20th. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) missed out on Super Pole and will start the race in 13th, ahead of Nissan e.dams' rookie Oliver Rowland in 14th.

DS Techeetah's Andre Lotterer will start in 15th, ahead of Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing), HWA Racelab's Gary Paffet in 17th and BMW i's Antonio Felix da Costa in 18th.

For NIO's Oliver Turvey, the British driver will start the race in 19th, ahead of Piquet Jr and last races' winner Jerome d'Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing) and fellow NIO driver Tom Dillmann at the back of the grid.

Provisional Lineup