Porsche’s Andre Lotterer saws around the wheel in the middle of FP1
Delicate Conditions
The Riyadh Street Circuit in Diriyah is always a tough nut to crack during the opening sessions of an E-Prix. Sitting in the Saudi desert means it faces a fine layer of sand and dust when the wind picks up, and first free practice marks the first time the 11 teams and 22 riders have taken to the track in anger to surface to sweep. The track is evolving and getting faster as it gets cleaner, with drivers saying it can be up to five or six seconds slower in the early laps of the weekend.
SCHEDULE: All times for the Diriyah E-Prix
As conditions slowly rolled towards the drivers, Nissan e.dam’s newcomer Maximilian Guenther set the target for the rest to go chasing in the middle of FP1. His 1m12.524s crept a tenth of a second off the earlier pace of Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans before lap times really began to tumble in the closing minutes of the session.
Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Motorsport) eventually finished third fastest while Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), Evans and Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) rounded out the top six.
FAN BOOST
Votes for FANBOOST ahead of Round 1 so far see an advantage for newcomer Antonio Giovinazzi (DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT), with former Alfa Romeo F1 man Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) leading the way. Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries follow with another rookie, Dan Ticktum (NIO 333), currently in fifth place.
YOUR VOTE COUNTS! Give your favorite driver a performance boost with FANBOOST
Coverage of the second free practice will follow tomorrow at 13:30 local time, qualifying ahead of the first round of the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix will take place at 15:40 and the race itself at 20:00. In the meantime, catch up on the full preview.
