Frenchmen Impress in Formula E Practice at Shanghai
Shanghai, China
In an exciting start to the Formula E weekend in Shanghai, two Frenchmen have emerged as early frontrunners in Saturday morning’s practice session.
The DS Penske duo of Jean-Eric Vergne and Norman Nato both posted identical lap times of 1m13.430s to finish joint fastest in the second free practice (FP2) session. Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein was close behind in third, just 0.013s off the leading pace.
“It was the late efforts of Nato and Vergne that ultimately set the pace.”
Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries, both driving for DS Penske, rounded out the top five, with less than six-tenths of a second separating all 22 drivers on the shortened Shanghai International Circuit layout.
Earlier in the session, Envision’s Sebastien Buemi had topped the times with a 1m13.696s, before Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz and Mahindra’s de Vries lowered the benchmark.
The session was in stark contrast to Friday’s running, which was halted for nearly an hour due to a widespread software issue affecting several cars. Porsche, Mahindra, and two Envision cars were all forced to return to the pits on the back of flatbed trucks, but the issue was quickly identified and resolved, allowing the session to resume without further incident.
- Current championship leader Nick Cassidy of Envision finished ninth.
- McLaren’s Sam Bird made his return to racing this weekend after recovering from a broken hand, finishing 21st.
With the software issue now addressed, the Formula E field is poised for an exciting race weekend on the streets of Shanghai. Fans and enthusiasts of Dakar Rally, GT, and British GT racing will be closely following the action as the championship battle intensifies.
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