Stéphane Sarrazin took his seat with Dillmann driving the second Venturi car.[1][2] Di Grassi—nursing an ankle injury he sustained in a charity football match four days prior to the first race—[104] took his second pole position of the season with the closest margin in FE history, 0.001 seconds over López.[105] Di Grassi took an early lead,[106] as a slow getaway from López meant the Mahindras of Heidfeld and Rosenqvist passed him.[107] By the start of lap five, di Grassi led Rosenqvist by 1.2 seconds and the latter required extra electrical energy to attack in the race's closing stages.[108]