Jake Dennis topped the opening practice session of Formula E’s double-header finale in Berlin, as just one tenth covered the top seven drivers.
On the same day it was announced that he’ll continue racing for Andretti when BMW departs next season, Dennis was quickest in the 45-minute session.
The Formula E rookie, who sits fourth in the drivers’ championship and is one of 18 drivers in mathematical contention for the title, set a 1m06.949s to edge Edoardo Mortara by just 0.014s.
Dennis’ team-mate Maximilian Guenther, whose future is less certain, completed the top three and was just 0.002s slower than Mortara’s Venturi Mercedes.
Alex Lynn claimed his first Formula E win last time out in London and the Mahindra driver’s strong form continued with the fourth quickest time ahead of two-time champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes) and Mitch Evans (Jaguar) were sixth and seventh fastest respectively and both within a tenth of Dennis’ benchmark.
Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi was eighth quickest ahead of Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and defending series champion Antonio Felix da Costa.
Championship leader Nyck de Vries was only 14th quickest – although the Mercedes ace was just under two and a half tenths slower than Dennis and he set the fastest sector two time.
The entire 24-car field was within 0,983s, and just 0.279s covered the top 15 drivers.
Sam Bird is third in the points but was 16th fastest in FP1 for Jaguar.
It was a difficult session for Envision Virgin with Robin Frijns, who sits second in the championship, down in 20th place, just ahead of his team-mate Nick Cassidy.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Car | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Dennis | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | BMW iFE.21 | 1m06.949s | ||
| 2 | Edoardo Mortara | RokIT Venturi Racing | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | +0.014s | +0.014s | 1m06.963s |
| 3 | Maximilian Günther | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | BMW iFE.21 | +0.002s | +0.016s | 1m06.965s |
| 4 | Alex Lynn | Mahinda Racing | Mahindra M7Electro | +0.019s | +0.035s | 1m06.984s |
| 5 | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS Techeetah | DS E-Tense FE21 | +0.022s | +0.057s | 1m07.006s |
| 6 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes-Benz EQ | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | +0.027s | +0.084s | 1m07.033s |
| 7 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar Racing | Jaguar I-Type 5 | +0.002s | +0.086s | 1m07.035s |
| 8 | Sébastien Buemi | Nissan e.DAMS | Nissan IM03 | +0.021s | +0.107s | 1m07.056s |
| 9 | Pascal Wehrlein | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E | Porsche 99X Electric | +0.007s | +0.114s | 1m07.063s |
| 10 | António Félix da Costa | DS Techeetah | DS E-Tense FE21 | +0.014s | +0.128s | 1m07.077s |
| 11 | Alexander Sims | Mahinda Racing | Mahindra M7Electro | +0.052s | +0.18s | 1m07.129s |
| 12 | André Lotterer | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E | Porsche 99X Electric | +0.002s | +0.182s | 1m07.131s |
| 13 | Oliver Rowland | Nissan e.DAMS | Nissan IM03 | +0.06s | +0.242s | 1m07.191s |
| 14 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes-Benz EQ | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | +0.002s | +0.244s | 1m07.193s |
| 15 | Oliver Turvey | NIO 333 Formula E Team | NIO 333 001 | +0.035s | +0.279s | 1m07.228s |
| 16 | Sam Bird | Jaguar Racing | Jaguar I-Type 5 | +0.124s | +0.403s | 1m07.352s |
| 17 | Norman Nato | RokIT Venturi Racing | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | +0.003s | +0.406s | 1m07.355s |
| 18 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon / Penske Autosport | Penske EV-5 | +0.033s | +0.439s | 1m07.388s |
| 19 | Lucas Di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | Audi e-tron FE07 | +0.081s | +0.52s | 1m07.469s |
| 20 | Robin Frijns | Envision Virgin Racing | Audi e-tron FE07 | +0.016s | +0.536s | 1m07.485s |
| 21 | Nick Cassidy | Envision Virgin Racing | Audi e-tron FE07 | +0.132s | +0.668s | 1m07.617s |
| 22 | René Rast | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | Audi e-tron FE07 | +0.124s | +0.792s | 1m07.741s |
| 23 | Joel Eriksson | Dragon / Penske Autosport | Penske EV-5 | +0.161s | +0.953s | 1m07.902s |
| 24 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO 333 Formula E Team | NIO 333 001 | +0.03s | +0.983s | 1m07.932s |
