Oliver Rowland topped the opening follow session of the Sao Paulo E-Prix as Season 11 of the ABB Method E World Championship obtained underway.
It was a powerful session for Nissan, with the manufacturing facility group locking out the highest two spots, whereas buyer NEOM McLaren accomplished the highest 5 with Taylor Barnard.
Rowland’s finest time of 1m10.162 was simply 0.080s forward of his teammate Norman Nato, however a staggering 2.627s faster than the pole time from final season’s Sao Paulo E-Prix, the addition of all-wheel-drive for full-power laps and stickier Hankook rubber for this season already exhibiting an enormous step ahead from GEN3 to the brand new GEN3 Evo method.
Jake Dennis was third quickest within the Porsche-powered Andretti, however 0.267s off Rowland’s table-topping time. Edoardo Mortara gave a style of the step ahead Mahindra has been anticipated to make by ending the session fourth.
Barnard’s fifth-fastest time got here in direction of the top of a session the place he accomplished a excessive of 21 laps — the one drive above 20, for that matter.
Mitch Evans was the highest-placed Jaguar in sixth for the manufacturing facility group, regardless of his automobile coming to a halt within the last 2 minutes of the session on account of as as-yet undiagnosed problem. He obtained his automobile going once more with 50 seconds to go however was unable to enhance his time.
Evans completed forward of Envision Racing’s buyer automobile of Robin Frijns. The Dutchman was among the many first to finish a lap on full energy, doing so round midway by the session, and briefly going high of the charts.
The TAG Heuer Porsches of Antonio Felix da Costa and reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein have been subsequent up, with Nick Cassidy rounding out the highest 10, which was lined by lower than 0.7s. Earlier than setting his session finest, Cassidy took his first Assault Mode lap within the last quarter-hour of the session, however was one in every of a number of drivers to outbrake themselves in Flip 1 and take to the runoff.
Jake Hughes was eleventh for Maserati MSG Racing, forward of Nyck de Vries within the second Mahindra, DS Penske’s Maximilian Guenther and Lucas di Grassi for Lola Yamaha Abt.
Jean-Eric Vergne ended the day sixteenth quickest within the second DS Penske, forward of Stoffel Vandoorne (Maserati), the Kiro Curpa pair of David Beckmann and Dan Ticktum, Zane Maloney (Lola) and Sam Hen (McLaren).
Nico Mueller completed on the backside of the timesheets on his Andretti debut, his session being interrupted after clipping the wall at Flip 6 after 16 minutes, inflicting his left rear tire to debead and a few minor suspension injury. He was capable of get again out however solely accomplished 13 laps in complete.
Hen and Mueller have been the one drivers to not full a full energy Assault Mode lap.
