For over a year, Extreme E had only known the feeling of X44 topping qualifying with Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb. That changed on Wednesday as for the first time ever after six races, the series had a different overall qualifying winner as Rosberg X Racing held the honour for the first Island X Prix.
RXR, the current championship leader, continued its momentum by topping the first round of qualifying with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Johan Kristoffersson setting a time nearly twelve seconds quicker than runner-up ACCONA | Sainz XE, followed by winning the first heat race in Round #2. With a maximum Intermediate Classification points payout of twenty, RXR will be placed in the first Semi-Final on Thursday.
X44’s qualifying dominance saw its demise during Loeb’s qualifying run in Q1 as his left-rear tyre suffered a puncture and resulted in substantial body damage, placing the #44 seventh. The team rebounded in the first heat by finishing second, though not without some scrutiny regarding a potential yellow flag zone overtake by Loeb on XITE Energy Racing‘s Tamara Molinaro that ultimately ended without penalty.
The second heat saw the Sainz outfit lead both laps after avoiding an early pursuit by McLaren XE. During the halfway driver swap, Veloce Racing seemingly beat McLaren back onto the course despite being behind by twelve seconds, a drastic and sudden margin reduction that unsurprisingly prompted question on whether the team sped on pit road. Veloce would physically finish second with Lance Woolridge while McLaren’s Emma Gilmour held off the charging JBXE of Kevin Hansen for third, but a subsequent investigation revealed Veloce indeed committed a speeding violation by going 40 km/h. Veloce received a ten-second time penalty, which relegated the team to fourth as McLaren and JBXE finished within that time frame. In moving up to third, JBXE will race in Semi-Final #2 instead of the Crazy Race.
Regardless of Veloce’s position, it will still have to run the Crazy Race, being weighed down by a lack of qualifying time in Round #1 after the suspension failed during Woolridge’s lap. McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing were also unable to set times as the former also suffered a suspension problem while the latter’s vehicle stalled. CGR also retired from Heat #1, capping off a difficult day after dominating Tuesday practice.
UPDATE: Article has been updated to include Veloce’s penalty.
Qualifying results
Intermediate Classification
| Rank | Team | Round #1 Points | Round #2 Points | Total Points | Placement |
| 1 | Rosberg X Racing | 10 | 10 | 20 | Semi-Final #1 |
| 2 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 9 | 10 | 19 | Semi-Final #2 |
| 3 | X44 | 4 | 8 | 12 | Semi-Final #2 |
| 4 | Andretti United XE | 8 | 4 | 12 | Semi-Final #1 |
| 5 | XITE Energy Racing | 6 | 6 | 12 | Semi-Final #1 |
| 6 | JBXE | 5 | 6 | 11 | Semi-Final #2 |
| 7 | ABT CUPRA XE | 7 | 2 | 9 | Crazy Race |
| 8 | McLaren XE | 0 | 8 | 8 | Crazy Race |
| 9 | Veloce Racing | 0 | 4 | 4 | Crazy Race |
| 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0 | 0 | 0 | Crazy Race |
Round #2
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Lap Time | Driver #2 | Lap Time |
| 1 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 9:58.821 | Johan Kristoffersson | 3:50.513 | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky | 4:29.088 |
| 2 | 44 | X44 | 10:07.542 | Cristina Gutiérrez | 4:08.188 | Sébastien Loeb | 4:18.946 |
| 3 | 42 | XITE Energy Racing | 10:12.180 | Timo Scheider | 4:01.983 | Tamara Molinaro | 4:31.067 |
| 4 | 23 | Andretti United XE | 10:14.019 | Catie Munnings | 4:04.112 | Timmy Hansen | 4:30.247 |
| 5 | 99 | Chip Ganassi Racing | DNF | Kyle LeDuc | N/A | Sara Price | N/A |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Lap Time | Driver #2 | Lap Time |
| 1 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 9:32.591 | Carlos Sainz | 3:53.526 | Laia Sanz | 3:58.336 |
| 2 | 58 | McLaren XE | 9:42.824 | Tanner Foust | 3:59.283 | Emma Gilmour | 4:00.562 |
| 3 | 22 | JBXE | 9:43.052 | Hedda Hosås | 4:17.737 | Kevin Hansen | 3:45.601 |
| 4 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 9:48.772* | Christine GZ | 4:11.440 | Lance Woolridge | 3:57.509 |
| 5 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 9:49.593 | Jutta Kleinschmidt | 4:22.244 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | 3:47.195 |
Round #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Lap Time | Driver #2 | Lap Time |
| 1 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 9:13.966 | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky | 3:56.833 | Johan Kristoffersson | 3:37.567 |
| 2 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 9:25.859 | Laia Sanz | 4:00.649 | Carlos Sainz | 3:43.996 |
| 3 | 23 | Andretti United XE | 9:26.977 | Timmy Hansen | 3:49.392 | Catie Munnings | 3:54.930 |
| 4 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 9:29.710 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | 3:44.823 | Jutta Kleinschmidt | 4:04.172 |
| 5 | 42 | XITE Energy Racing | 9:32.482 | Tamara Molinaro | 4:02.964 | Timo Scheider | 3:47.621 |
| 6 | 22 | JBXE | 9:44.426 | Kevin Hansen | 3:50.994 | Hedda Hosås | 4:13.688 |
| 7 | 44 | X44 | 11:20.974 | Sébastien Loeb | 4:23.725 | Cristina Gutiérrez | 3:59.049 |
| 8 | 58 | McLaren XE | 8:49.866 (DNF) | Emma Gilmour | 4:00.857 | Tanner Foust | 1:39.905 |
| 9 | 99 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 4:02.753 (DNF) | Sara Price | 4:02.753 | Kyle LeDuc | N/A |
| 10 | 5 | Veloce Racing | DNF | Lance Woolridge | N/A | Christine GZ | N/A |
