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Dan Ticktum demonstrated that Saturday's controversial penalty had done nothing to diminish his pace, securing pole position for the second race of Formula E's Monaco E-Prix double-header and completing a remarkable back-to-back qualifying sweep at the Circuit de Monaco.
The Briton's Cupra Kiro entry was fastest across both qualifying sessions of the weekend, a statement of one-lap supremacy that underlines his credentials as one of the series' most potent qualifiers on street circuits. Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Eric Vergne completed the second row, while reigning world champion Nyck de Vries — who had won Race 1 in commanding fashion — endured a torrid qualifying, failing to make the duels and consigning himself to a start deep in the pack.
Ticktum entered the final as the clear favourite, and he wasted no time proving the point. He clocked a lap five-tenths clear of Antonio Felix da Costa to claim a commanding pole with considerable margin to spare.
Da Costa, who had been Ticktum's target in the first race — the collision between the two resulting in a 33-second penalty for the Briton — found himself again on the wrong end of Ticktum's raw pace when it mattered most. The Portuguese driver had reached the final with impressive composure, edging Taylor Barnard by a mere 0.001 seconds in the quarter-finals before defeating Vergne in the semis. But in the final itself, Ticktum was simply in a different league.
To reach the final, Ticktum first dispatched Drugovich in the quarter-finals before setting the fastest lap of the weekend to see off Mortara in the semis — a lap that encapsulated his dominant grip on one-lap pace throughout the Monaco weekend.
Elsewhere in the bracket, Mortara eliminated Mitch Evans in the quarters, while Vergne knocked out reigning world champion Oliver Rowland — one of the more notable results in the earlier rounds.
Qualifying opened under overcast skies, with temperatures warmer than the previous day. Ticktum immediately set the tone, posting a 1m 28.492s to go fastest in the opening group. He was joined in the top four by Mortara, championship leader Evans, and Drugovich. De Vries, by contrast, struggled badly and will start from the eighth row.
In the second group, Taylor Barnard topped proceedings with a 1m 28.545s, ahead of Rowland, Vergne, and da Costa — who had spoken of his ambitions to fight for the Formula E title at Monaco following a difficult double-header in Berlin. Pascal Wehrlein endured another troubled session and will start from the seventh row.
With two poles from two attempts at Monaco, Ticktum heads into Race 2 as the driver to beat — regardless of what transpired in the opening contest.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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