Pascal Wehrlein edges out Mitch Evans for Shanghai Formula E pole

Pascal Wehrlein secured pole position for the opening race of Formula E's Shanghai E-Prix, defeating championship leader Mitch Evans in the final. 

The German clinching pole saw him awarded three crucial points, reducing his deficit to Evans to 24 points, keeping his hopes firmly alive. 

Andretti's Jake Dennis delivered another strong display following on from Sanya to qualify in third, ahead of Maximilian Günther.

There were two big shocks in the group stage of qualifying, as Evans' two closest title contenders in the standings, Oliver Rowland and Edoardo Mortara, were both eliminated and start towards the back.

Duels

In the final, Wehrlein was the clear favourite having been the quickest driver throughout qualifying, although Evans knew the importance of three points for pole. 

The pair were split by just 0.013s in Wehrlein's favour upon entry to the final corner, before Evans struggled to turn the car which saw the Porsche driver clinch pole by two tenths.

To reach the final, Wehrlein had to defeat Dan Ticktum in the quarter finals and then DS Penske's Günther in the semi finals. Throughout qualifying, he was the fastest driver. 

As for Evans, he comfortably beat Jean-Eric Vergne in the quarter finals and title outsider Dennis in the semi finals, to set up the final against Wehrlein. 

In the other two quarter final duels, Dennis went quicker than Sébastien Buemi and Günther beat Antonio Felix da Costa.

Group stage

With adverse weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday, it was announced on Friday afternoon that all sessions would be brought forward by three hours.

It meant an early wake-up for all the teams and drivers; however, qualifying was thankfully dry. That did not stop surprises from occurring in the group stage.

The first group was topped by Evans, who was joined in the duels by Sanya race winner Dennis, Buemi and Vergne. Mortara, who sits third in the standings, could only salvage ninth place in the group.

Group Two also featured mixed emotions for the championship contenders, with Wehrlein going quickest ahead of da Costa, Günther and Ticktum.

Like Mortara, Nyck de Vries endured a highly disappointing session and struggled for pace, while Rowland, who sits second in the standings, was also eliminated.