NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird topped the timesheets in final practice before qualifying for today’s Sao Paulo E-Prix.
The Brit, who told Motorsport Week yesterday that he was “looking forward” to the race, improved significantly on his Friday showing with a lap of 1:12:773, followed closely by the DS Penske of Stoffel Vandoorne who ended the session second, a tenth of a second off Bird’s time.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s bright start to the weekend took an unwelcome turn with Mitch Evans suffering a driveshaft issue with the session barely more than a few minutes old. Title leader Nick Cassidy could manage little to remedy the morale with 12th place.
Mahindra Racing suffered mixed fortunes, with Nyck de Vries also improving from Friday with seventh, but team-mate Edoardo Mortara’s fortunes were reversed significantly. Third yesterday, Mortara could only manage 17th place after a technical problem late in the session caused the Swiss to stop on circuit, bringing out the red flag with six minutes of the session remaining. The delay enabled Evans to complete one flying lap, but was over a second off Bird’s time.
Nissan’s Oliver Rowland’s Diriyah pace was on show, finishing the session third with a time of 1:12:937. There were encouraging signs for the Porsche powertrains, locking-out the top four at one stage. The Tag Heuer Porsches of Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa ended in fifth and sixth, with the Avalanche Andrettis of Jake Dennis fourth and Norman Nato ninth.
Sergio Sette Camara’s ERT also impressed, setting a quickest lap of 1:13:125 to end-up eighth. Maserati MSG Racing’s Jehan Daruvala showed more promise, with the Indian rookie rounding-up the top 10.
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