Rowland tops FP1 ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix

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Rowland tops FP1 ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix

Rowland tops FP1 ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix

Mahindra Racing's Oliver Rowland fired to the top of the timesheets in Free Practice 1 ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix, with a full-power 250kW 1m08.433s lap just enough to pip Sebastian Buemi (Nissan e.dams) by 0.090s.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship's 22 world-class drivers hit the track at the all-new Jakarta E-Prix International Circuit for the first time in anger bathed in a glorious Indonesian sunrise at Ancol Beach and in tricky, dusty conditions. The circuit has been designed with bumps, banking, camber and all the typical twists and turns of a street circuit, with fast, flowing sections where poise and balance are key - and it looks to be a real challenge.

WAYS TO WATCH: Where and how to watch every minute of Season 8

Rowland's benchmark came late in the session, with Buemi firing in his lap right at the last. Lucas di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) had sat atop the timing screens for the latter part of FP1 before those final runs came through but wound up third, although just a tenth of-a-second back.

 

 

Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) rounded fourth, with Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) steering to fifth and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) sixth. Just a second split the top 20 from Rowland to Antonio Giovinazzi (DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT).

The new track threw up plenty in the way of a challenge for the field. To start, a layer of dust had blanketed the circuit since it was last swept, with the sand from nearby Ancol Beach a likely culprit.

This left drivers wrestling hard to get the power down as they learned how and where to extract the hundredths of-a-second and a couple having notable moments; Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) and the reigning champ Nyck de Vries both getting crossed up to keep it out of the wall.

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FANBOOST

The votes for FANBOOST ahead of Round 9 so far sees an advantage for current standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) with 22% of the vote. Season 6 champion Antonio Felix da Costa is a few percent back but also in line for a boost, as are reigning champion Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ), double champion Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) and Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans.

Voting is open until five minutes into Round 9, which gives you plenty of time to influence the race before we go green in Jakarta at 15:00 local time.

YOUR VOTE COUNTS! Give your favourite driver a power-boost with FANBOOST

Coverage of Free Practice 2 follows at 09:00 local time, with qualifying ahead of the 2022 Jakarta E-Prix to come at 10:40 and the race itself at 15:00. In the meantime, catch up with the full preview.

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