Sebastien Buemi dominated free practice ahead of the Monaco ePrix. The Renault e.dams driver topped both sessions, with a fastest time of 52.279s.
Most drivers set their fastest times in the second session, switching their cars to qualifying mode with 200kW of power. DS Virgin’s Sam Bird took the second fastest time, with ABT’s Lucas Di Grassi the only other driver to set a time quicker than 53 seconds.
Nelson Piquet Jnr had looked strong at the start of the first practice session. The Brazilian shot straight to the top of the times, and briefly retook the top spot after Buemi set a fast lap. But over the course of the free practice he dropped back to ninth. It was a similar story in FP2, starting high and finishing the session eighth.
DS Virgin enjoyed a strong second practice. Bird and Jose Maria Lopez were briefly first and second. Bird finished the session second, Lopez fifth behind Jean-Eric Vergne
The busy track in free practice two left many drivers frustrated on the short track. Traffic became a problem and drivers struggled to find space on track to complete their testing programmes.
As this was the first time drivers had taken a spin around Monaco in their Formula E cars since 2015, the first practice session saw many small mistakes. Drivers pushed to find the limits of the track, which led to many running wide at the first corner, bringing out the red flags. Buemi’s team mate Nico Prost was one such driver.
The Frenchman continued to push the limits in the second practice session, hitting the wall at Rascasse. He managed to keep going, but suffered damage.
Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist and Nextev’s Oliver Turvey also suffered damage. At the end of free practice one, Turvey slowed down approaching yellow flags but Rosenqvist behind him continued at speed. The Mahindra almost mounted the back of Turvey’s car, breaking the suspension and damaging the rear of the NEXTEV.
Both cars were fixed for the second free practice.
Feature image credit: FIA Formula E Media
