By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer
A familiar name topped the chaotic opening practice session for the inaugural ABB FIA Formula E Championship race in Santiago, Chile.
Sam Bird laid down a lap time of 1:19.439 around the 1.53-mile Parque Forestal Ciudad De Santiago to set the fast time in Free Practice 1 for Saturday’s Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix.
The DS Virgin Racing veteran slotted in just ahead of early championship leader and Mahindra Racing ace Felix Rosenqvist (1:19.646). Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne (1:19.701) and Andre Lotterer (1:19.824) ended the session in third and fifth, respectively, surrounding fourth-place Mitch Evans (1:19.819) to complete the top five.
Alex Lynn (1:19.907), Jose Maria Lopez (1:20.176), Edoardo Mortara (1:20.265), Oliver Turvey (1:20.309) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (1:20.396) rounded out the top 10.
The bumpy, dusty Chilean street course proved to be a challenge for the Formula E field. Multiple drivers were forced into the runoff area after overshooting one of the circuit’s 12 turns, including Piquet, Rosenqvist and Luca Filippi.
Two contenders also gave their teams extra work after being involved in early crashes.
Season Two champion Sebastien Buemi ended his session early after spinning into the outside wall in Turn 12. The Swiss Renault e.Dams veteran was forced to pull his machine off-track and to a stop on an escape road to prevent further damage.
Not the start to the day @Sebastien_buemi wanted in Santiago #SantiagoEPrix pic.twitter.com/WycaF9YfXy
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 3, 2018
In the waning moments of the session Maro Engel also made a trip into the outside wall, sailing his No. 5 Venturi Formula E Team machine into the barrier at the exit of Turn 3 after carrying too much speed through the turn.
Engel’s shunt came in the final five minutes of practice and forced the session to an early close, preventing teams from practicing race starts in the closing moments.
.@MaroEngel brings practice 1 to a close with a red flag #SantiagoEPrix pic.twitter.com/QxaGr1qSGU
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 3, 2018
The Formula E paddock will return to the Chile street course at 8:25 a.m. ET for final practice.
Santiago E-Prix Free Practice 1 Results
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | 2 | Sam Bird | DS Virgin Racing | 1:19.439 |
| 2 | 19 | Felix Rosenqvist | Mahindra Racing | 1:19.646 |
| 3 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Techeetah | 1:19.701 |
| 4 | 20 | Mitch Evans | Panasonic Jaguar Racing | 1:19.819 |
| 5 | 18 | Andre Lotterer | Techeetah | 1:19.824 |
| 6 | 36 | Alex Lynn | DS Virgin Racing | 1:19.907 |
| 7 | 6 | Jose Maria Lopez | Dragon Racing | 1:20.176 |
| 8 | 4 | Edoardo Mortaro | Venturi Formula E Team | 1:20.265 |
| 9 | 16 | Oliver Turvey | NIO Formula E Team | 1:20.309 |
| 10 | 3 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Panasonic Jaguar Racing | 1:20.396 |
| 11 | 1 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 1:20.405 |
| 12 | 66 | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 1:20.477 |
| 13 | 9 | Sebastien Buemi | Renault e.dams | 1:20.585 |
| 14 | 8 | Nicolas Prost | Renault e.dams | 1:20.814 |
| 15 | 23 | Nick Heidfeld | Mahindra Racing | 1:20.952 |
| 16 | 7 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | 1:21.033 |
| 17 | 68 | Luca Filippi | NIO Formula E Team | 1:21.224 |
| 18 | 5 | Maro Engel | Venturi Formula E Team | 1:21.870 |
| 19 | 27 | Tom Blomqvist | AS&AD Andretti Formula E | 1:23.380 |
| 20 | 28 | Antonio Felix da Costa | AS&AD Andretti Formula E | 1:23.616 |
Connect with Us
To RSS Feed
Followers
Likes