Norman Nato set the pace in a relatively uneventful first practice session for the Portland E-Prix, as the penultimate round of the Formula E season kicked off. The Frenchman, piloting his American-themed Andretti car, outpaced the competition, placing him ahead of the Jaguars in the initial runs.
A sudden change for Nissan
Nissan faced a last-minute driver change as Oliver Rowland was replaced by reserve and development driver Caio Collet due to illness. Collet, currently leading the INDYNXT rookie standings, was thrust into the spotlight despite having never driven the track or even practiced on a simulator. The Brazilian managed to hold his own, finishing in P19, ahead of his teammate Sacha Fenestraz.
Early dominance by Envision
The Envision Racing team started strong, with Sébastien Buemi and Robin Frijns topping the timesheets in the first set of laps. However, within the first five minutes, only 15 cars had posted a timed lap.
Nick Cassidy soon surged to the top with a 1:10.58s lap, indicating his intent to maintain his championship lead. He was joined by Nyck de Vries and António Félix da Costa, who had recently seen his appeal against a disqualification at the Misano E-Prix rejected.
Mitch Evans shaved a couple of hundredths off Cassidy’s time, briefly claiming the top spot before running wide into the gravel. At the session’s halfway mark, Evans was the first to dip into the 1:09s, with Da Costa moving up to P2. Cassidy then pitted, citing a tyre issue, while Frijns also ran wide.
Nato capitalized on the evolving track conditions to set the fastest time of 1:09.07s. It was a positive session for Nissan, with Fenestraz in P7 and Collet adapting well to his new role.
As the session neared its conclusion, several drivers returned to the pits. The Jaguar duo of Evans and Cassidy posted competitive times but remained just behind Nato. Reigning champion Jake Dennis struggled, ending in P12, while championship contender Pascal Wehrlein slotted into P7 but also had an off-track moment.
Stoffel Vandoorne was the latest to venture onto the grass, causing a brief yellow flag. The session ended with Nato leading, followed by Evans, Cassidy, Da Costa, De Vries, Lucas di Grassi, Wehrlein, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Maximilian Günther, and Edoardo Mortara rounding out the top ten.
Final Standings of FP1
Norman Nato – 1:09.07s
Mitch Evans – +0.174s
Nick Cassidy – +0.207s
António Félix da Costa
Nyck de Vries
Lucas di Grassi
Pascal Wehrlein
Sérgio Sette Câmara
Maximilian Günther
Edoardo Mortara
Caio Collet finished P19 in his debut session, showing promise despite the last-minute call-up, while his teammate Fenestraz ended just behind in P20.
Feature Image: Formula E | Simon Galloway
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