Nico Müller managed his maiden Julius Baer Pole Position in Formula E, despite his 64 race starts, to take his first pole for Porsche around the Miami International Autodrome. He battled rookie Felipe Drugovich (Andretti), with a guaranteed new pole sitter from their Final Duel, but it was Müller who got the better lap together.
Drugovich made his Duels debut in Miami, with the Andretti team rocking a new partner and livery from this race onwards, and keeps the record of the US-based team starting on the front-row of the grid for every Miami E-Prix.
CALENDAR: Here’s every race set for the 2025/26 Formula E season
It was an exciting qualifying session, with the second row of the grid consisting of Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Jaguar TCS Racing). There were also surprise cameos in the Duels, with Joel Eriksson getting into the Quarter Finals for the first time with Envision Racing, and big names eliminated early on.
Reigning Champion Oliver Rowland will start towards the back of the grid for Nissan, with six of the championship’s eight title winners not making it through into the Duels.
Final
Two drivers reached the Final Duel that have never taken pole before, and this all-Porsche powertrain final means this will be the ninth consecutive pole to be taken by either Porsche or Jaguar-powered cars in Formula E.
Müller had only previously appeared in the Duel Final once, back in Berlin Season 9, but pulled it out of the bag to set a time of 55.455s and go a tenth better than Felipe Drugovich. It was still a great result for the Brazilian in his first Duels, and means Andretti have now qualified on the front row at every Miami E-Prix.
Semi Finals
Nyck de Vries was up against Nico Müller in the first Semi Final, and it was Müller who found himself with a guaranteed front row start as he set the better time. De Vries has only reached the Duel final once since 2022, which was in London last season, and missed out on a chance again.
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For the other battle, it was Antonio Felix da Costa taking on rookie Felipe Drugovich. At this new circuit, it was the Andretti of Drugovich who stormed to the Final Duel which guaranteed us a first-time pole sitter.
Quarter Finals
Nyck de Vries beat championship leader Nick Cassidy in the first Duels, after a small mistake from the Citroën Racing driver. Cassidy is the championship leader despite not starting higher than 13th this season, but is a master of these slipstream races – which drivers believe Miami will be.
Next up was Norman Nato and Nico Müller, but a mistake in the final sector from Norman meant he gifted a place in the Semis to the Porsche of Müller. Nato’s last Quarter Final Duel win was on his way to take pole in Miami-Homestead last season, but he wasn’t able to make it back-to-back Miami poles this time.
Joel Eriksson made his first career Duel stage appearance, but it was the experienced Antonio Felix da Costa who proceeded to the next stage of qualifying by two-tenths.
The final Quarter Final was the biggest shock, with Felipe Drugovich beating Taylor Barnard by just 0.001s. Drugovich was also making his Duels debut, but came out ahead despite quite a twitchy lap.
Group A
Norman Nato topped the first group qualifying session for Nissan, with Cassidy 0.080s behind in second. Joining them in the Duels were Nyck de Vries and Nico Müller for Porsche, with Mitch Evans and reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland having to settle for fifth and sixth.
However, behind the quick lap times there was plenty of drama. Lucas di Grassi, who serves a three-place grid drop today for an incident in FP2, and Oliver Rowland had a close call early on in the session. The biggest story was the whack between Edoardo Mortara and Sebastien Buemi, with the two clipping each other at Turn 13 and ultimately ruined their chances of a Duels result. The incident is being investigated, but the Swiss drivers were tense when heading to the weigh bridge.
Group B
Taylor Barnard continued his strong run of form, after topping the second practice, to go quickest in his group for DS PENSKE. The young Brit was on excellent form, setting a lap more than two-tenths better than Antonio Felix da Costa in second for Jaguar. Joel Eriksson was third for Envision, with Felipe Drugovich fourth for Andretti.
Dan Ticktum complained of lack of grip, and will start towards the back of the grid at the team’s home race.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2026 Miami E-Prix, Round 3
After an action-packed start to Season 12, you haven’t got long to wait until ABB Formula E returns to your screen, and this time, we’re returning to The Magic City: Miami. We’ll be visiting the Miami International Autodrome. US teams Andretti, CUPRA KIRO and DS PENSKE will be looking to put on a show for their home fans on Saturday 31 January 2026.
Race: 14:05 local | 19:05 UTC | Saturday 31 January
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