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explainers racing explainer season 12

How does Formula E's Qualifying format work?

Explainer 13 Feb 2026 2 Mins

Formula E's unique qualifying format creates incredible drama and excitement even before the racing starts... Ahead of the first double-header of the season in Jeddah, here's a quick refresher!

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explainers racing explainer season 12

Qualifying is the first competitive session of a Formula E race weekend, following two Free Practice outings. Quali lasts for around an hour and follows a unique format which makes for some unbelievable action and a whole lot of high stakes drama!

First comes the Groups stage, which sees the grid split into two groups of 10 based on their Drivers' World Championship position. Here they have to battle at 300kW to set lap times in a 10-minute session, with the four fastest from each group progressing into the Duels stage.

Those eight will then face off in the quarter-finals, competing against one another head to head over one lap in a knockout at 350kW - now with all-wheel drive for the GEN3 Evo era. This quarter-final lasts for 15 minutes, and sees the fastest four promoted into the semi-finals. The same process is undertaken for the semi-final, with the two quickest drivers on track making their way into the nail-biting final.

The winning driver of the final duel takes the Julius Baer Pole Position, while the runner-up starts the E-Prix from second on the grid. The semi-finalists will line up third and fourth, the quarter-finalists between fifth and eighth - according to their respective lap times.

The fifth to 10th-placed drivers who competed in the polesitter's group will fill the odd positions on the grid. The corresponding drivers from the other group will be classified in the even grid slots. So, if the polesitter comes from Group 1, the fifth placed driver in Group 1 will line up ninth on the starting grid and the fifth placed driver in Group 2 takes 10th and so on.

Since being introduced in Season 8, it’s provided us with so much entertainment and unforgettable Formula E moments!