World champion denied Formula E record in thrilling Jeddah pole fight

Maximilian Günther claimed Jeddah E-Prix pole and denied reigning world champion Pascal Wehrlein the joint-most consecutive pole positions in Formula E history.

The DS Penske driver looked excellent throughout qualifying, although his final duel against his German counterpart went down to the final few corners. 

Nevertheless, it was Günther who came out on top after setting a 1:14.911 – the best time of the event so far and claimed three world championship points.

Nissan's Oliver Rowland will start at the front of the second row in third, with McLaren rookie Taylor Barnard alongside him in fourth.

There was a shock prior to the duels in the group stage, as championship leader Antonio Felix da Costa failed to claim a spot in the all-important top four.

Duels

It was an all-German battle in the first qualifying final of the weekend, with Wehrlein having made a mistake at the first corner. 

Günther had the early advantage through the first sector, however, Wehrlein pulled back all the time following a super second sector.

Pole position came down to the final few corners, with Günther having denied the reigning world champion a third consecutive pole position.

To make the final in Jeddah ahead of the first race of the event, Wehrlein first defeated Maserati's Jake Hughes in the quarter finals. 

At the same stage, Günther got the better of Nyck de Vries, before the DS Penske driver went faster than Barnard in the semi finals. 

As for Wehrlein, he edged out title rival Rowland in a thrilling semi-final duel, which saw the Porsche star set the first 1:14 of the weekend.

Group stage

As always, the drivers only had 300kW of power during the group stage – they have 350kW in the duels – in Jeddah which took place with the sun beaming against the surface. 

Qualifying took place during the hottest part of the day, with the air temperature having hit 27 degrees Celsius. Of course, the race is under the lights. 

The first qualifying group included championship leader Da Costa, as well as Evans who won the São Paulo season-opener last December. 

Evans safely escaped the first group after going fourth fastest; however, team-mate Nick Cassidy and da Costa had to settle for a poor fifth and seventh, respectively. 

It was McLaren's teenage driver Barnard who topped the group following a 1:17.429, ahead of Günther and de Vries.

Following the surprise early exit of da Costa, Porsche team-mate and current reigning world champion Wehrlein was eager to progress into the duels in the second group. 

The German was joined in the group by Rowland, who won the most recent round in Mexico City. Rowland continued his Mexico City form by topping Group B after setting a strong 1:17.182. 

Wehrlein also progressed to the duels, with the Porsche driver having been third fastest in the group, sandwiched by Hughes and Ticktum.