Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was top of the timesheets for Formula E’s first session in Monaco this season, as the Kiwi looks for his first Formula E win here around the principality. With a time of 1m30.414s, he was almost three tenths clear of the next guy, Envision’s Robin Frijns.
Evans’ teammate Nick Cassidy placed himself third at the chequered flag, meaning the top three at the end of the session all had Jaguar powertrains. It is a good early sign for the team, after Cassidy won here last year with the Envision team.
READ MORE: The schedule for the 2024 Monaco E-Prix
NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes finished fourth, as his teammate Sam Bird ended his session in the barriers after going on at Turn 1. The incident will be a big job for the McLaren team as Monaco is all packed into one day and FP2 is only a short time away.
Andretti’s Jake Dennis rounded up the top five, with his championship rival, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, down in 14th.
As it happened
It was an early start in Monte Carlo, as the cars took to the track at 7:30am local time. Once the green lights were shown at the end of the pit lane, everyone headed out onto the track to get the most of the 30 minute session.
Robin Frijns looked quick at the start of the session, throwing his Envision Racing car around this iconic street circuit. However, with track evolution being fast here, it was no surprise that the times kept tumbling. His teammate Sebastien Buemi also showed some promising pace, with the Jaguar TCS Racing powertrains looking strong here. Jaguar’s Mitch Evans also spent a big chunk of the session quickest, with Nick Cassidy also having his time at the top in the last few minutes of the session too.
PREVIEW: Everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 Monaco E-Prix
This session is even more important this weekend, as Monaco adopts a one-day format. Normally Free Practice 1 is hosted on a Friday before race day, but with this special street circuit everything is packed into a single day to help minimise disruption for the residents!
The session was placed under Red Flag conditions half way through the session, as marshals needed to collect debris on the track. After one of the drivers clipped a barrier, a piece of advertising was deposited on the run down to the Loews' Hairpin. Things were back underway in no time, with the clock continuing to count down.
NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird had a big moment down into Turn 1 with less than ten minutes of the session remaining. The Brit, who won earlier this season in São Paulo, suffered a huge lock up going into Saint Devote. Despite his best efforts, Bird made contact with the barriers on the right-hand side of his GEN3 car, but it will be a big ask for his McLaren team to get the car ready for the second practice which is in an hour or qualifying which starts at 10:40 local time.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2024 Monaco E-Prix Round 8
Next up is Free Practice 2 from 09:05. Qualifying follows at 10:40 and Round 8 itself starts at 15:00 local.
WATCH: How to watch or stream Formula E's Monaco E-Prix weekend where you are
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