Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was the quickest person on track during the first Free Practice session in Shanghai, as the whole grid was separated by just over half a second. The Jaguar team looked strong throughout the session, which was disrupted by a technical problem for several cars.
Just behind Evans was the Andretti of Norman Nato, with his championship-winning teammate Jake Dennis down in 14th at the chequered flag. DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne found himself in third, with Jake Hughes of NEOM McLaren in fourth. Oliver Rowland managed to round out the top five.
Both Antonio Felix da Costa of TAG Heuer Porsche and Dan Ticktum of ERT bounced back after their cars stopped on track early on in the practice, to finish in seventh and eighth respectively. Robin Frijns and Envision slotted into eighth, with championship contender Pascal Wehrlein in ninth. ABT CUPRA’s Lucas di Grassi, and the first Formula E winner in China, managed to place his GEN3 machinery in tenth.
CIRCUIT: What does the Shanghai E-Prix circuit look like?
It was a super close competition though, and is a great sign for things to come in this Shanghai double-header weekend.
As it happened…
The first Free Practice session in Shanghai got underway on Friday evening, with all the grid wanting a chance to lock in as many laps as possible. Being a brand new track, data and experience is key for both the drivers and the teams.
No sooner had the 30 minute session got going, it was brought under Red Flag conditions after several cars stopped on the track. Both the Porsche and ERTs, plus Nyck de Vries in his Mahindra Racing all had to be recovered from the Shanghai International Circuit for the technical problem, which will be investigated ahead of FP2 tomorrow.
The session resumed, with 25 minutes on the clock, and all cars able to head back out on track. Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy looked quick early on, with his teammate Mitch Evans sitting behind him in second with 15 minutes left on the timings.
However, they didn’t stay there for long as Pascal Wehrlein went quickest and then later Jean-Eric Vergne of DS PENSKE. Vergne has a great record of finding success at new Formula E circuits, and is the most recent race-winner in China when he secured victory at the 2019 Sanya E-Prix.
Evans was top of the timesheets as the chequered flag was waved, and despite strong efforts from Andretti’s Norman Nato, Vergne and NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, nobody could beat his time of 1m13.215. In fact, the whole 22-car grid was separated by just 0.591s by the end of the day!
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2024 Shanghai E-Prix Rounds 11 & 12
Track action for the first day of the double-header starts on Saturday 25 May with Free Practice 2 at 08:00 local. Qualifying follows at 10:20 local time with lights out for Round 11 scheduled at 15:00 local.
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Following this, Sunday’s action starts with Free Practice 3 at 08:00, followed by Round 12 qualifying and the race at 10:20 and 15:00 local time respectively.
Follow the race LIVE and listen to full race commentary on web and in the Formula E app!
Follow all the action on-track as it happens in the Race Centre.
Keep across Live Timing – which includes a real-time interactive track map and the ability to follow your favourite driver during every session of every E-Prix – plus highlights, detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all the standings and results as well as data, insight and reaction from trackside.