FP1 in Long Beach: Dragon and Mahindra struggle – Buemi on top

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

The first practice session on the West Coast of the United States proved the class of the Formula E field as the top-6 drivers were only separated by a mere second. Championship leader Sebastien Buemi ended practice on top with Sam Bird and Simona de Silvestro in P2 and P3 respectively.

Before heading of to Europe for the rest of the season, Formula E stop at Long Beach for its second race in North America. A misty spring morning with unusually chilly 15°C set the scene for the first free practice session. Over night, some changes were made to modify turn 1 after several drivers expressed their concern about the tightness of the chicane. Not losing any time, all the drivers with the exception of Andretti’s Robin Frijns who actually is the only driver on the Formula E grid who has never driven in the United States before. He joined his colleagues on the just a few minutes later nevertheless, and the 18 drivers already put on a great show for the fans.

Championship leader Sebastien Buemi (Renault e.Dams) was the first driver to dip under the one-minute mark, with a strong 59.967. The majority of the field was quickly able to follow the Swiss’ lead and DS Virging Racing driver Jean-Eric Vergne demoted Buemi to P2 quickly. While giving the pack a head start, Frijns was not in any way lacking any speed as he managed to put his Andretti car on P2 only mere seconds later. His team mate Simona de Silvestro matched his strong performance as she secured a position within the Top-5, confirming the team’s potential on the streets of Long Beach.

Not living up to expectations was the Dragon Racing duo Loic Duval and Jerome d’Ambrosio who both struggled to get up to speed, therefore only occupying P15 and P18 respectively after 15 minutes. On top, Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt (both ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) stirred up the order as the Brazilian took the lead with his German team mate moving up to P3. With half the session still to go, the top-12 drivers were all within a second of each other, proving how close the following sessions are going to shape up.

Antonio Felix da Costa then showed the speed of the Team Aguri car, taking P3 but was then outshined by his team mate Salvador Duran who put himself on top. While Team Aguri does look promising in Long Beach, Duran’s lap was the result of using the whole 200 kW his car has to offer while the majority of drivers was still only putting in 170 kW laps. Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) meanwhile unleashed the potential of his car, securing a solid P5 right behind the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport duo.

At the back of the field, it were still the Dragon Racing drivers who struggled to move up the order but they weren’t the only drivers suffering from problems. Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna (both Mahindra Racing) only occupied P16 and P17 with 15 minutes to go and nearly 1.5 seconds behind the lead. Said was taken by Buemi who dipped under the 58-second mark on his full-power qualifying simulation lap. DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird quickly followed, bringing his team into the mix for possible pole-position and victory candidates. The session then ended with Buemi on top ahead of Bird, de Silvestro, Frijns and Duran yet the order does not necessarily reflect the actual balance of power on the streets of Long Beach. The second free practice session, starting at 10.30am local time shall reach clarification.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]