Day two of pre-season Formula E testing opened with a fresh sense of energy as the first morning session got underway in Valencia. Skies were clear and conditions ideal, setting the stage for another action-packed Formula E morning test ahead of the afternoon’s running.
Early Momentum for Mahindra
Mahindra made an instant impact with both their drivers, Mortara and de Vries, vaulting to the top of the timesheets in the opening hour.
Mortara edged out his teammate by a mere five hundredths, a mirror image of their competitive pairing from the prior day.
Porsche Sets the Standard
Porsche entered the day with plenty of eyes on them, and Müller wasted no time getting up to speed.
After recently joining the team, the Swiss racer showcased both his adaptability and Porsche’s outright pace, clocking a 1:21.848 and putting his distinctive purple-and-black machine squarely in the headlines for the morning.
Porsche’s session-long consistency continues to reinforce their status as a testing benchmark.
Rookies, Limits, and Fast Laps
Felipe Drugovich caught attention among the new arrivals. The Brazilian rookie spent the first hour acclimatizing and soon jumped up to seventh before running afoul of track limits at Turn 1.
Meanwhile, Wehrlein rekindled his lead from Monday with a 1:21.777, narrowly shy of his own best from the previous session.
With lap times tumbling, there was little holding drivers back as all the front-runners looked to maximize their data gathering.
De Vries Sets the Pace
Just as the hour mark passed, de Vries set the fastest lap seen in testing so far: a 1:21.605 for Mahindra.
That effort put him out in front of Porsche’s Wehrlein and Müller, with Mortara keeping close company.
As pit stops and debriefs began, the tension among the leading teams was visible, every tenth was being hard-won in the Spanish sun.
Citroën’s Quiet Climb and Cassidy’s Spark
The Citroën entries stood out on track, especially in the brilliant morning light.
Jean-Éric Vergne took a more measured approach, working his way from lower on the leaderboard as his teammate Cassidy, enjoying a strong run, slotted into sixth and clocked laps notably faster than on Monday.
Dennis Leads the Lap Count
Busy garages and busy drivers defined the midway point.
Jake Dennis completed 29 laps, the most of all drivers, demonstrating Andretti’s usual commitment to long-run data while Rowland and Günther soon followed onto the busy circuit to clock up the laps.
Tight at the Top as Pace Increases
Dennis temporarily boosted himself up to second before Mortara reclaimed the spot for Mahindra.
Both Mahindra drivers were relentless, especially de Vries, who filed his best effort, a 1:21.6, despite several laps being deleted for marginal violations.
His continued progression underlined Mahindra’s strength across both pace and tire longevity as times fell deeper into the session.
Late Drama and Red Flag
With just under an hour on the clock, Dan Ticktum jumped into the top six with his own sub-1:22 lap, joining a tight-knit group all covered by less than half a second.
But the closing moments belonged to Mahindra as Mortara toppled his own teammate’s benchmark by setting a 1:21.493.
In the closing stages Rowland brought out the red flags and prematurely ended the session after going off at the T13/14 chicane.
The Nissan driver made it back to the garage under his own power, setting up a busy afternoon for his crew.
Mahindra on Top at Lunch
As the Formula E morning test ended, it was a Mahindra one-two sandwiching the final leaderboards, with Mortara and de Vries both pressing the pace and leaving Porsche to chase.
Lap times continued to tumble as the track evolved, promising even faster action in the afternoon.
With the first session of the day wrapped, teams now reset for a crucial lunch break before three more hours of running this afternoon.
Featured Image Credit: Formula E Media Centre