Di Grassi heads FP1 in Mexico

Audi Sport Team driver Lucas Di Grassi comfortably topped the time sheets in FP1 this morning, as the Formula E championship resumed at a dusty Mexico City circuit. Grip was scarce as drivers struggled to get their tyres up to temperature. The Brazilian however posted an impressive time of 1.01.158, nearly four tenths quicker than the rest of the pack. 

The pressure increased for the struggling Luca Filippi. The Italian NIO team driver, who finished last, lost control of the car in the final minutes of the session, and was fortunate to avoid any contact with the barriers. Other notable off-track excursions involved 7th placed Mahindra racer Felix Rosenqvist, 19th placed  Tom Blomqvist from MS&AD Andretti and 18th placed Venturi driver Maro Engel. 

Engel's team-mate Edouardo Mortara fared better, finishing in second place with a 1.01.520. Jean-Eric Vergene was 3rd fastest (1.01.630) for Techeetah. New Zealand youngster Mitch Evans took 4th position with a 1.01.827, with Alex Lynn (1.01.849) and Jose Maria Lopez (1.01.871) rounding off the top six for DS Virgin Racing and Dragon Racing respectively. 

Di Grassi's team-mate Daniel Abt was 8th fastest with Sam Bird (DS Virgin) struggling throughout the session, before putting together a lap that took him to 9th place. Sebastian Buemi was also lower down the pack as expected, claiming 10th spot.

Down the order, Antonio Felix Da Costa (Andretti) was 11th, Nico Prost was 12th for Renault E.Dams and 13th fastest was Techeetah driver Andre Lotterer. Jerome D'Ambrosio was 14th quickest for Dragon Racing, Nelson Piquet Jr. could only manage 15th in his Jaguar, closely followed by racing veteran Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra) and Oliver Turvey in the NIO car. 

F Pollara