Norman Nato left it late to top day 4 of Formula E testing. The Nissan driver toppling the Mahindra pair who continued their dominance in Formula E testing, leading the majority of the session.
Da Costa top early on
The first hour saw teams reluctant to exit the pits. Many drivers opted to either remain in garages or focus on long runs for the first hour.
Times began to fall after half an hour and it was Jaguar’s Antonio Felix da Costa who ended the first hour at the front.
The former champion still getting to grips with his new surroundings led early on by just a tenth of a second.
It was Dan Ticktum who relegated the Portuguese driver though as he shot to the top of the time sheets, Taylor Barnard slotting in behind.
Mahindra back on top
It took just 20 minutes after Ticktum went fastest for Mahindra to return to the top of the time sheets,
Nyck de Vries went fastest with a 1.21.65 putting him 0.343s clear of his teammate who sat second.
The pair’s closest competitor was the Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein, the German 0.482 off de Vries.
The Dutch driver remained untouchable as the clock ticked down. Into the last hour and he remained up top, 0.146s clear of Jaguar’s Mitch Evans who sat second.
Marti making strides
Elsewhere in the field, the standout performer was Pepe Marti.
Having struggled to get to grips with his CUPRA KIRO car early on, the Spanish driver shot up to fourth with a 1.21.85.
That time meant he was fractionally off his teammate; just 0.027s separated the pair with 0.2s between Marti and de Vries up top.
The Spanish driver slowly slipped down the order but would finish the session eighth overall.
Elsewhere and Citroën continued to impress, Cassidy stepping into the top ten with an hour to go.
The Kiwi’s time of a 1.21.92 put him sixth, 0.270 off the pace. Despite this though, he wouldn’t improve and dropped to twelfth come the chequered flag.
Nato ends Mahindra dominance
As the session ticked into the final hour it looked set to be another Mahindra standing at the top of the time sheets.
De Vries improved on his best lap setting a 1.21.65. Evans remained fractionally behind with a 1.21.71, 0.011s clear of Nato in third.
Dennis went up to second briefly with a 1.21.68, the field getting closer to De Vries.
But, with just three minutes to go, Nato jumped up to the top of the field. The French driver’s time of a 1.21.50 put him 0.150s clear of De Vries who would finish the fourth morning of Formula E testing second.
De Vries’ teammate Mortara could manage just third in the closing stages, 0.174s adrift, with Dennis and Ticktum rounding out the top five.
No one could beat de Vries’ fastest first sector though. Nato set the quickest second sector and Gunther claiming the fastest final sector.
Despite this though, the German sat 16th overall.
Feature image courtesy of Formula E