Rowland snatches second Monaco E-Prix pole as rain causes chaos

Oliver Rowland was handed pole position for the second race of the Monaco E-Prix (9:00am ET, Roku Channel and 12:00pm ET, CBS) when the final was canceled after both DS Penske drivers had their Semifinal times deleted.

The rain that threatened before practice earlier on finally arrived just before qualifying, leaving drivers scrambling for grip and experimenting with lines as they looked to get the most out of the all-weather Hankook tires.

Both Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Guenther cut the Nouvelle Chicane after locking up in the slippery conditions on their fast laps, leaving both without a valid time and Nissan driver Rowland, who’d won the first semi against Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries unchallenged for the top spot.

The Rowland-de Vries Duel wasn’t without drama either, with both going too deep into Sainte Devote, but Rowland managing to make the most of the situation.

“I’m delighted to take my first pole position of the season in what was a crazy session,” said Rowland. “It was tricky out there, but we managed it well as a team and produced some good laps at crucial moments.

“I wouldn’t mind a wet race this afternoon as it’ll be difficult to overtake with not much energy saving; but if it’s dry then I’ll also be happy after the pace we showed yesterday in those conditions.”

Rowland’s route to the final began with a third place finish in Group A, notwithstanding a moment when he ran too deep into Mirabeau and had to spin around in the run-off area, then a Quarterfinal win against TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa before his win against de Vries.

Vergne made it to the Semifinals of the Duels by beating Maserati MSG Racing’s Stoffel Vandoorne, despite brushing the wall on the exit of Tabac. Guenther meanwhile saw off Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi who firstly ran too deep into the Grand Hotel hairpin, then overshot the Nouvelle Chicane.

With Rowland handed the pole and the two DS Penske drivers having their Semifinal laps deleted, de Vries will start second on the grid despite not making the Final.

Guenther will start third alongside Vergne, with Vandoorne fifth and da Costa sixth. Dan Ticktum will start seventh after falling to de Vries in their Quarterfinal Duel. The Cupra Kiro driver was fuming after the lap, with him not able to run at the full 350 kW with four-wheel-drive that the drivers have for the head-to-head portion of qualifying.

“The team just messed up what mode the car should be in and I didn’t get to go 350kW,” Ticktum told the live broadcast afterwards. “I got 350kW on the out-lap, and then it cancelled on the start/finish straight. So that’s just great, isn’t it?

“I’ve done my job this weekend — it’s just not good enough. I suggest I don’t talk to my team for at least two hours, because I think I might punch someone.”

Buemi will line up eighth as the last of the drivers who progressed to the Duels, ahead of Lola Yamaha Abt Zane Maloney and Pascal Wehrlein in the other factory Porsche, who fell at the Group stage after finishing fifth in Group B. Wehrlein’s last lap put him top of the times initially, but a late flurry of other laps quickly dropped him down the order.

Lucas di Grassi will start 11th on the grid int he second Lola, ahead of Andretti’s Jake Dennis and Jake Hughes of Maserati, with Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy down in 14th after his final push lap in the Group stage wasn’t enough to move him up the order.

Norman Nato will start 15th for Nissan, ahead of NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard and Mitch Evans in the other Jaguar, with the grid being completed by Curpa Kiro’s David Beckmann, Envision’s Robin Frijns, Nico Mueller of Andretti, Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara, and Sam Bird.

Bird will start last after crashing heavily in Group B. The McLaren driver locked up on the entry to Sainte Devote, hitting the outside wall on the corner entry before slamming into the tire barriers at the corner.

While reminiscent of his practice crash last year that ruled him out of the race and the subsequent two, he emerged from the car totally uninjured this time, with the team currently working on the car to get it ready for the race.

RESULTS