Formula E | Mexico City E-Prix | FP1 | Dennis leads tight opening session in Mexico City - Motorsport

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Round two of Season 12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship began at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with the first Free Practice (FP1) session of the Mexico City E-Prix. As the first of two practice outings, FP1 provided the drivers with an early opportunity to assess conditions and establish a competitive baseline.

Early pace sees times fall below 1:09

At 16:00 local time (22:00 UTC), the forty-minute session got underway, with all twenty drivers heading onto the circuit. With just over 35 minutes remaining, Jaguar TCS Racing’s António Félix da Costa set the early benchmark with a 1:15.717 as the field completed its first flying laps.

However, times dropped rapidly. Andretti Formula E’s Jake Dennis, fresh from victory in the season opener in Brazil, improved the benchmark to 1:09.252 just a minute later. Shortly afterwards, Nissan Formula E Team’s Norman Nato went fastest with a 1:08.965, while DS Penske’s Maximilian Günther slotted into third with a 1:09.311.

By the eighth minute, lap times firmly dipped below the 1:09 mark. Dennis reclaimed the top spot with a 1:07.910, leading Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara in second on a 1:08.148 and Envision Racing’s Sébastien Buemi in third with a 1:08.209.

With just over 30 minutes left, Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, the reigning Season 11 World Champion and winner of the 2025 Mexico City E-Prix, moved up to second with a 1:08.062. His teammate Nato followed closely in fourth with a 1:08.209. Meanwhile, DS Penske’s Taylor Barnard received a black-and-white flag for impeding while running ninth on a 1:08.539. Despite this warning, Barnard improved to fifth with a 1:08.207, as Porsche Formula E Team’s Pascal Wehrlein climbed to second with a 1:07.934. Jaguar’s Mitch Evans also received a black-and-white flag for impeding.

Mid-session improvements and incidents

Soon after, another wave of improvements reshuffled the order. Citroën Racing’s Jean-Éric Vergne moved into second with a 1:07.914, narrowly ahead of Wehrlein, who improved to a 1:07.919 but remained third. Evans climbed to fourth with a 1:07.931, while da Costa followed in fifth with a 1:08.033.

At the opposite end of the timesheet, Lola Yamaha ABT’s Lucas Di Grassi sat last with a 1:09.151, just behind teammate Zane Maloney. Envision Racing’s Joel Eriksson occupied P18 with a 1:08.759, while Cupra Kiro rookie Pepe Martí ran P17 with a 1:08.735.

With around 20 minutes remaining, Buemi surged to the top with a 1:06.931. Nato improved to second with a 1:07.791 but came under investigation by Race Control for pitlane speeding. Over the next five minutes, most drivers returned to the pitlane, limiting on-track action.

Late session charge for the top spots

With approximately 14 minutes left, Vergne and Mortara dramatically raised the pace, claiming first and second with laps of 1:06.288 and 1:06.479 respectively. Nick Cassidy then moved into third with a 1:06.479 before a brief double yellow interrupted the session after Di Grassi went off, reporting difficulty stopping the car.

Once running resumed, Dennis improved to second with a 1:06.366, only to drop to third as Wehrlein went fastest with a 1:06.090. Shortly afterwards, Porsche’s Nico Müller climbed to second with a 1:06.187, pushing Vergne, Dennis, Mortara and Cassidy further down the order.

Final ten minutes decide the order

Inside the final ten minutes, Felipe Drugovich improved to ninth with a 1:07.083, just ahead of Maloney on a 1:07.109. Martí completed the top ten with a 1:07.154. Although da Costa improved, he remained just outside the top ten in eleventh with a 1:07.417.

Martí later climbed to seventh with a 1:06.729. However, further improvements from Barnard, who jumped to second with a 1:06.185, and Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum, who moved into sixth with a 1:06.728, shuffled the order once more.

Dennis then delivered the fastest lap of the session, a 1:06.053, to reclaim first place. Günther followed in third with a 1:06.145, just 0.055 seconds behind Wehrlein in second. At the rear, Di Grassi remained last after returning to the pitlane, while Eriksson ran nineteenth with a 1:08.519 after Race Control deleted his laps 15 and 16 for a track limits violation at Turn 16.

In the final seconds, Oliver Rowland improved to third with a 1:06.106, splitting the DS Penske pair of Günther and Barnard. Ticktum remained fourteenth after traffic compromised his final lap, while Cassidy brushed the wall and escaped with only minor steering damage.