The first practice session of a doubleheader race in Berlin kicked off, sporting a few new drivers on track, due to many having World Endurance Championship commitments and Sam Bird’s hand injury, which he sustained during the Monaco E-Prix.
The session started with all the drivers out and the full course yellow simulation, but a red flag was issued after Pascal Wehrlein’s Porsche halted at turn 9, only four minutes into the session.
After finishing fifth in Monaco, this was not the start he wanted, racing on home soil.
The session resumed with 15 minutes left on the clock, with Paul Aron and Joel Eriksson, the replacements of Sebastian Buemi and Robin Frijns, the first ones out on track, as ten minutes had been added to the session.
Andretti’s Norman Nato went fastest, but his time was quickly beaten by Da Costa. The session saw several drivers topping the timesheets, with Mitch Evans, the Monaco E-Prix winner, following suit.
After 20 minutes, Maximilian Günther clocked the fastest lap in the 1:03.400s followed by the Jaguar drivers. Not long after, Cassidy topped the timesheets at 1:02.890 and Mitch Evans in P3 with 1:03.413.
The FP1 session saw Formula 2 driver Paul Aron struggling to complete the loop needed to take up the Attack Mode.
With 10 minutes to go, Stoffel Vandoorne improved his time, putting him on top with a 1:02.477.
Mahindra’s Jordan King, replacing Nyck de Vries, was the leader of the replacements in P12
When the session reached its final moments, Mitch Evans found himself in a bit of traffic, closing up to a slower Van der Linde, after having an advertising banner wrapped in his front wing.
As the drivers passed the chequered flag, Da Costa ended FP1 in P1, with a time of 1:02.28s followed by ERT’s Sérgio Sette Câmara and DS Penske’s Vandoorne.