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The first practice session – now extended to 40 minutes – of the new season saw plenty of action, but it was Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato who made it a Nissan one-two result ahead of tomorrow’s race day.
Jake Dennis also looked rapid in his Andretti to go third, whilst Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara slotted into fourth at the chequered flag. It was also an impressive session for NEOM McLaren newbie Taylor Barnard, who finished the session in fifth as he gets ready to embark on his first full-time season in Formula E.
RESULTS: The full São Paulo E-Prix Free Practice 1 classification
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy was the first driver out on track, quickly followed by both the Lola Yamaha ABT cars of Lucas di Grassi and rookie Zane Maloney. The first representative time on the board was a 1m13.951 from Season 3 champion di Grassi, but this benchmark was soon matched as drivers got familiar with the track and their new GEN3 Evo machinery.
Several drivers used the practice opportunity to test the limits of their cars around this Brazilian street circuit, with the likes of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Jaguar’s Mitch Evans all going wide into Turn 1 early on.
WATCH: How to watch or stream Formula E's Sao Paulo E-Prix where you are
There was trouble for Andretti, as over 15 minutes into the session their new signing Nico Mueller made contact with the wall and was forced to limp back to the pit lane. The impact not caused damage to the rear suspension, but also punctured one of his four sets of Hankook iON Race tyres which could have huge implications over the rest of the race weekend.
Oliver Rowland also had a brief scrape with the barriers, but emerged unscathed as he pushed his Nissan to the limits.
Frijns looked comfortable at the top of the timings for most of practice, but with seven minutes to go Mitch Evans went quickest. The times then kept tumbling as the grid got to grips with the incredible all-wheel drive. Norman Nato had a brief stint at the top of the timing tower, before his teammate Rowland then beat him to it with a 1m10.162s.
The session was then impacted by yellow flags, with Evans coming to a halt in his Jaguar which prevented anyone from improving their times with just over a minute left. He was able to get going, but stopped on again on his way back to the garage.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2024/25, Season 11, São Paulo E-Prix Round 1
Next up is Free Practice 2, which starts at 07:30 local time with Qualifying not soon after. Then it's time for lights out, as we get ready to witness our first race of the new GEN3 Evo era at 14:00 local time. We can't wait for you to join us!
Free Practice 2: Saturday 7 December, 07:30 local/10:30 UTC
Qualifying: Saturday 7 December, 09:30 local/12:30 UTC
Race: Saturday 7 December, 14:00 local/17:00 UTC
View the full schedule in your time zone and check the broadcaster listings or tap the Ways to Watch button above to find out where to watch all the racing action where you live.
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