Valencia Day 1 – Wehrlein dominates the debate on Monday

This Monday at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, the traditional pre-season tests of the Formula EThe first of three days of testing offered the drivers three hours of driving, at the end of which Pascal Wehrlein and his Porsche have propelled themselves to the top of the rankings.

The German set a new Formula E lap record at the Spanish circuit with a time of 1:21.714. The gap to his closest rival was large, Nyck de Vries, champion of season 10. The Dutchman from Mahindra finished more than two seconds behind. He did, however, hold the top spot in the standings for a while, during the final hour of practice. Behind him, the top five is tighter. The drivers in 2nd to 8th place are within three tenths of each other.

De Vries's Mahindra teammate, Edoardo Mortara (4th), also made the top five. A good start for the Indian manufacturer, which returned to the podium last season. Andretti's Jake Dennis finished third. The Briton, who claimed his first Formula E victory at this circuit in Season 7, finished the day between the two Mahindra drivers. Reigning champion Oliver Rowland finished the session in fifth place.

Citroën in the game

For Citroën Racing, partner of the MSG Racing team, Jean-Eric Vergne and Nick Cassidy immediately found their rhythm, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

There were a few off-track incidents during the three-hour session, the most notable being that of Taylor Barnard, who was making his first appearance in the black and gold colors of DS PENSKE. The young Briton managed to return to the track after being sidelined for most of the session. A red flag was already raised after his exit.

Joel Eriksson was the fastest of the newcomers. The Envision Racing recruit finished the first practice session in 17th place, while Felipe Drugovich (Andretti) and Pepe Marti (CUPRA KIRO) completed the rankings.

Formula E – Pre-season testing in Valencia 

The ranking of the first day:

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