Sebastien Buemi Claims Mexico City Formula E Pole After Lap Deletion Drama

Formula E, Sportrik Media – Sébastien Buemi secured pole position for the Mexico City E-Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after a dramatic qualifying session in which a rival’s decisive lap was deleted, reshaping the final outcome of one of the most intense shootouts of the season so far.

Driving for Envision Racing, Buemi repeatedly compensated for a relatively weak opening sector with a dominant second sector through the duels phase, allowing him to overturn early deficits and progress steadily toward the final. That characteristic proved decisive in a session where marginal differences were amplified by the tight nature of the Mexico City circuit.

In the final duel, Taylor Barnard appeared on course for pole after producing the fastest first and second sectors, but a mistake at the final corner forced him beyond track limits, leading to his lap being invalidated by the stewards. With Barnard’s effort struck out, Buemi inherited pole position despite not delivering the outright quickest single lap in the final.

Barnard’s route to the final underlined his rising profile, as he eliminated Nico Müller of Porsche in the quarter-finals before edging out Edoardo Mortara of Mahindra Racing in the semi-finals. Buemi, meanwhile, progressed by beating Oliver Rowland before comfortably dispatching Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing.

Qualifying began in cool mid-morning conditions. In Group A, early championship leader Jake Dennis topped the timesheets with a 1m06.492, continuing the momentum he built by leading Friday’s first practice. He advanced to the duels alongside Müller, Barnard and Mortara, while Nyck de Vries narrowly missed out.

Group B proved equally competitive, with Buemi emerging fastest on a 1m06.328, the quickest group-stage lap of the session. Dan Ticktum and Evans also progressed, while double Mexico City pole-sitter Pascal Wehrlein suffered a surprise early exit by finishing sixth. Rookie Pepe Martí ended up slowest in the group and will start from the back due to a grid penalty from the season opener.

Buemi’s pole gives Envision Racing a significant strategic advantage on a circuit where track position is often decisive, while Porsche endured a difficult session with none of its six cars reaching the semi-finals. The result sets the tone for a tightly contested Mexico City E-Prix, a battle that continues to be followed in depth by Sportrik Media at https://sportrik.com.