After lending out their cars for the Rookie Free Practice earlier in the afternoon, our Season 10 grid made their way out onto the Misano circuit for their first in-car experience of the weekend. DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne was the quickest around this brand new circuit, setting a benchmark time of 1m17.546s, with his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne under two tenths behind to lock in a 1-2 result.
The session was filled with drivers exploring the limits, as they prepare for the double-header of two action-packed races over Saturday and Sunday. Troubles down at Mahindra Racing saw home hero Edoardo Mortara unable to set a single lap, with Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther facing problems during the first Free Practice.
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Nick Cassidy placed himself third, with Jehan Daruvala getting up into fourth in his Maserati. It’s a big weekend for the iconic Italian brand this weekend racing at home, and will be a promising sign for things to come. Mitch Evans and his Jaguar finished fifth, with ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller in sixth fresh from scoring the team’s first points in Tokyo.
Envision’s Sebastien Buemi ended the 30 minute session in seventh, with NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird in eighth. Reigning championship leader, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, crossed the chequered flag in ninth with ERT’s Sergio Sette Camara rounding up the top 10.
As it happened...
Jake Hughes was finding the limits of this circuit as he went straight on at the entrance into the chicane, ploughing through the gravel trap and kicking up plenty of debris. He wasn’t alone in this with the DS PENSKE of Stoffel Vandoorne doing just the same minutes later, and Maserati MSG Racing’s Jehan Daruvala joining the club towards the end of the Free Practice.
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Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara didn’t make it out on track as a technical issue hindered him from setting any laps at a circuit he knows well, with two back-to-back podiums here during his DTM times. His teammate Nyck de Vries did get out and picked up some data for the team, but didn’t set a timed lap until over 15 minutes into the session when he went 1m20.576s to go into 17th.
Another car that seemed to struggle over FP1 was Tokyo E-Prix winner Maximilian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing). The German came to a stop just shy of Turn 12 where ATTACK MODE is located, but managed to get it going again. The five-time race winner limped back to the pits and stated a brake failure was to blame.
Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing got a bit squirmy coming across the start/finish straight, as he went wide and over track limits but managed to style it out.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2024 Misano E-Prix Rounds 6 & 7
Tomorrow it's on to race day on Saturday 13 April as Free Practice 2 kicks off the day at 08:00 local, qualifying follows at 10:20 local with lights out on Round 6 at 15:00 local.
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Round 7 gets underway with FP3 on Sunday morning at 08:00 local, with qualifying next at 10:20 and Round 7 itself at 15:00.
View the full schedule in your time zone and check the broadcaster listings or tap the Ways to Watch button above to find out where to watch all the racing action where you live.