Felipe Drugovich suffers nightmare start as penalty costs Pascal Wehrlein São Paulo Formula E pole

Pascal Wehrlein secured pole position for Formula E's season-opening São Paulo E-Prix, although the Porsche driver will start from fourth.

Despite claiming pole and the three championship points, Wehrlein will start from fourth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for wheel spinning in the pit lane. 

As a result, Jake Dennis will start from pole, with Dan Ticktum joining him on the front row – Edoardo Mortara secured fourth, with Mahindra team-mate Nyck de Vries in fifth.

It was a disastrous first qualifying as a full-time Formula E driver for Felipe Drugovich, who triggered a red flag in the second group after crashing at Turn 4.

Reigning world champion Oliver Rowland also suffered a poor qualifying, with him being eliminated in the group stage.

Duels

Ahead of the final between Wehrlein and Dennis taking place, it was announced that the German had been handed a three-place grid penalty for wheel spinning in the pit lane. 

Despite knowing he had a penalty, Wehrlein still pushed to claim pole due to the three championship points on offer to the driver who claims it. 

Wehrlein defeated Dennis with ease after posting a 1m 09.812, with the Season 10 world champion going three-tenths quicker than Dennis.

To reach the final, Wehrlein defeated Jean-Éric Vergne in the quarter-finals before going faster than Dan Ticktum in the semi-final – Ticktum will start in second due to Wehrlein's penalty. 

As for Dennis, he progressed to the final after beating Antonio Felix da Costa and Edoardo Mortara in the quarter-final and semi-final duels, respectively.

Group stage

The group stage of qualifying begun in scorching conditions, with the heat expected to potentially cause battery-related issues in the race. 

New for the 2026 season, each group lasted only 10 minutes, featuring 10 drivers in each due to McLaren's exit from the series. 

The first group featured reigning world champion Rowland, who has a three-place grid penalty carrying over from last season's London finale. 

Unfortunately for Lola's Zane Maloney, he suffered a driveshaft issue in the opening minutes of the first group, forcing him into the pit lane and to the back of the grid.

It was disaster for Rowland, who failed to improve on his final lap and was eliminated in the group stage, with him to start from the seventh row of the grid. 

It was da Costa who went fastest on a 1m 12.140, with him being joined in the duels by Vergne, Mortara and Dennis. 

In the second group, Drugovich triggered a red flag after hitting the wall at Turn 4, whilst Lucas di Grassi suffered a similar issue to Maloney. 

At the front, it was Rowland's Nissan team-mate Nato, who was joined in the top four by Wehrlein, de Vries and Ticktum.