Reigning Formula E world champion Oliver Rowland has revealed that he agrees with Pascal Wehrlein that qualifying in Berlin last time out was too extreme, particularly regarding some drivers effectively choosing not to try.
Due to the immense emphasis on energy saving in the second race of Formula E’s recent double-header in the German capital, several drivers opted to qualify toward the back and run on old tyres, preserving a fresh set for the race.
Rowland was one of those drivers and qualified 18th, one position behind eventual race winner Mitch Evans, who adopted the same qualifying strategy.
It was an entirely legal decision, but one that has created significant debate in the Formula E paddock ahead of this weekend’s Monaco E-Prix.
Wehrlein, who claimed pole position in Berlin and used fresh tyres in qualifying which left him with old rubber for the race, described it as the “unhappiest pole” of his career due to the disadvantage it created against those who opted not to push.
The general consensus in the paddock is that Berlin crossed the line into becoming too extreme in terms of energy saving, with Rowland agreeing with Wehrlein that it resulted in an unnatural style of qualifying.
Asked if he agrees with Wehrlein, Oliver Rowland told ApexF1 during an interview: “Yes, I tend to agree with him. It’s not how you would want qualifying to be, let’s say.
“However, I would also say that in Formula 1, you often get teams that reach Q3 knowing they can’t go any further, so they don’t put a new set of tyres on in Q3. So it’s the same type of thing — you just don’t use the set for the whole qualifying session.
“So I understand it. I mean, he did a good lap and deserved pole position, but it’s the energy saving that means it’s not really much of a reward. He still got his three points, which meant that overall he scored the same number of points as me in the race.
“So yeah, if you didn’t get points for pole, it’d be a bit different. I understand his point, but I don’t think it’ll happen again.”
In addition to Jaguar and Nissan, Porsche also held conversations ahead of qualifying in Berlin over whether to qualify at the back and save a fresh set of tyres, although opted against it.
Discussing whether having those conversations with the team felt unusual, Rowland explained: “The thing for me is that I could have been third or I could have been 12th. If I’d been 12th, I would rather start last because it’s just less risk and less trouble.”
