NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes leads the early charge in FP1, setting an impressive lap time of 1m14.364s early in the session. However, his triumph was short-lived as he crashed, bringing an abrupt end to the session.
Jake Hughes topped the timings in FP1 💪
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 13, 2024
Everything you need to know from the first session in Season 10! ⬇️@Hankook_Sport #MexicoCityEPrix
A Competitive Field Emerges
The FIA Formula E World Championship roared back to life in Mexico City with the commencement of Free Practice 1 on a Friday afternoon. A combination of fast laps and incidents set the stage for an interesting start to Season 10.
Pascal Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche secured a commendable second place, while the unexpected appearance of Nico Mueller from ABT CUPRA in third highlighted the diversity of talent within the Formula E grid. Robin Frinjs (Envision Racing) and Jake Dennis (Andretti) completed the top five, painting a vibrant picture of the unfolding competition.
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Maximilian Guenther Adds Theatrics
Injecting a dose of theatrics into the session, four-time race winner Maximilian Guenther of Maserati MSG Racing executed a stylish yet damaging slide around the final corner. The move, though visually striking, resulted in suspension damage and brought an unscheduled stoppage on the start/finish straight.
RED FLAG 🔴
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) January 12, 2024
Maximilian Günther goes wide coming out of the final corner and slides off, clipping the wall and coming to a stop on the start/finish straight.@Hankook_Sport #MexicoCityEPrix pic.twitter.com/8EHslctTaf
With teams and drivers hungry for valuable data, an extra 12 minutes were added to the practice session. This adjustment aimed to compensate for the delay caused by Guenther’s incident.
Jake Hughes’ Bittersweet Triumph
Despite the setback, Jake Hughes emerged as the FP1 leader, leaving the grid behind by 0.381s. However, his triumph was marred by his crash at Turn 2. Team Principal Ian James acknowledged Hughes’ understandable frustration but reassured fans of the driver’s well-being.
As FP1 concluded, attention turned to Race Day on Saturday, January 13. With FP2 and qualifying ahead, the 22 drivers prepare for fierce competition, eyeing the Julius Baer Pole Position. Season 10 kicks off at 14:00 local time/20:00 UTC.
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Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.