Tag Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa topped the timesheets in first practice ahead of tomorrow’s first race of the weekend’s FIA Formula E double-header at the Tempelhof circuit in Berlin.
The Portuguese, who has been in scintillating form with little to show for it in recent weeks, set a time of 1:02.289s, one tenth-of-a-second ahead of the ERT of Sérgio Sette Câmara.
DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne – fresh from an impressive podium in Monaco – wound-up third with Maserati MSG Racing’s hometown hero Max Günther in fourth, followed closely by team-mate Jehan Daruvala, a very impressive fifth.
Title challenger for Jaguar TCS Racing, Nick Cassidy, was sixth with the second Penske of Jean-Eric Vergne seventh. Mitch Evans – winner in Monaco – was eighth, with Dan Ticktum ninth and Joel Eriksson – one of two stand-in drivers for Envision Racing this weekend with Sébastien Buemi and Robin Frijns on WEC duty in Spa – tenth.
Taylor Barnard – who is standing-in for the recovering Sam Bird for the second race in succession – finished 15th, just one place and five one hundredths of a second behind team-mate Jake Hughes.
It was a horrid session for title leader and fellow local favourite Pascal Wehrlein, whose car broke-down during the session just four minutes in. His afternoon was compounded further after being investigated or “not following driver’s briefing notes”.
