Brit Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) headed the way in Free Practice 2 ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, setting a 1m13.661s lap time to pip Mahindra Racing's Oliver Rowland by 0.082 seconds with Porsche's Andre Lotterer third.
Just 0.858 seconds split the top 20 runners in an ultra-close session, with Dennis - a race winner here last season - able to squeak to the top of the pile. The first of the title contenders was Mitch Evans on home soil for Jaguar TCS Racing. The Kiwi posted the sixth quickest time of the morning. Standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne was a couple of spots back in his Silver Arrow 02.
CLASSIFICATION: Free Practice 2
Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) finds himself with some work to do ahead of qualifying in 16th with Jean-Eric Vergne just ahead in 15th. That said, teams and drivers run their own games in practice and those outside the garage can't be sure of ultimate pace. It will be anything but a sure thing that the top four head the way come qualifying.
A couple of drivers fell foul of the tricky track surface with Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) pushing his luck on the way into the ExCeL and Lotterer pirouetting at the complex.
More than just lap times
Free Practice is the only chance teams and drivers have to gather information and check everything corrolates with their simulations before they get competitive in qualifying ahead of the race.
WAYS TO WATCH: Where and how to watch every minute of Season 8
Lap times are far from the only focus. Drivers and engineers will be working flat out to understand things like energy management profiles and setup ahead of qualifying and the race later in the day - making sure everything tallies with their simulation work.
On top of energy management, teams work through everything from their systems, setups, FANBOOST and ATTACK MODE deployments and launches throughout practice to make sure they're on-point when it counts..
Coverage of qualifying ahead of the 2022 SABIC London E-Prix Round 13 to come at 10:40 with the race itself at 15:00. In the meantime, catch up with the full preview.