Nico Müller storms to first Formula E pole as title favourites suffer Miami slip

Nico Müller defeated Andretti's Felipe Drugovich to secure his first Formula E pole position, ahead of the Miami E-Prix. 

It was a bizarre qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome which saw several title favourites slip up, creating a surprising grid for the third round of the season.

Both Müller and Drugovich were chasing a first pole in the championship in the final, with the former setting a 55.455 to secure pole and three points for himself and Porsche.

Qualifying featured several huge shocks as Nick Cassidy was the only driver in the top four of the standings to make the group stage. 

Remarkably, reigning world champion Oliver Rowland, Jake Dennis and Pascal Wehrlein were all eliminated and start in the midfield. 

Duels

Drugovich entered the final duel as the favourite for pole, having set a 55.393 in the semi finals. However, several mistakes were made by the Brazilian, costing him a first pole. 

Behind Müller and Drugovich on the front row, Antonio Felix da Costa and Nyck de Vries start third and fourth, with Taylor Barnard completing the top five.

To make it into the final, Drugovich first defeated Taylor Barnard by just 0.001s in the quarter finals, before getting the better of Antonio Felix da Costa at the semi-final stage. 

As for Müller, the Porsche driver knocked-out Nato in the quarter finals and then went quicker than Nyck de Vries in the semi finals.

In the other two quarter-final duels, de Vries defeated Cassidy and da Costa eliminated Envision's Eriksson.

Group stage

Qualifying got underway in chilly conditions in Miami, with rain a genuine possibility for the race. Both groups featured huge shocks, playing a major role in the unexpected grid.

In the opening group, Nato went quickest on a 56.765 and was joined in the top four by championship leader Cassidy, de Vries and Müller. 

The first group was an action-packed one which saw Edoardo Mortara and Sebastien Buemi collide at the last corner, resulting in a three-place grid penalty for the latter. 

While Nato topped the group, reigning world champion Rowland was eliminated and starts on the sixth row.

Group B saw further shocks, as a furious Dan Ticktum and Wehrlein were both eliminated, as was Dennis who sits second in the standings.

It was a surprising top four, with Barnard posting a 56.562 to go fastest, ahead of da Costa, Eriksson and Drugovich.