ABB Formula E’s debut around the Autodromo Miguel E.Abed proved to be a challenge for drivers up and down the grid, as Oliver Rowland led the way in starkly different practice sessions.
Rowland topped the timing sheets in FP1 with a 1:24.314, 0.086s quicker than Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein with reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa slotting into third.
The Nissan e.dams driver was quickest once again in FP2, following a last minute lap which saw him lead the DS Techeetah duo of da Costa and Jean-Eric Vergne, who missed the start of FP1 following a powertrain replacement.
A stop-start affair was on the cards for the first practice session, as less than half the grid was able to set a representative 250kW lap in slippery conditions,.
Sebastien Buemi laid down the mid-session benchmark with a 1:31.239, before the red flag was brought out to recover a stranded Mahindra.
With 36 minutes on the clock, Alexander Sims ground to a halt at Turn 11. The British driver suffered a battery issue and was forced to miss the majority of FP2 whilst his team made a precautionary powertrain replacement.
Once on-track action resumed, Turn 7 proved to catch several drivers out with Buemi, Da Costa, Rowland, Sergio Sette Camara and Maximillian Guenther all making contact with the barrier.
ROKiT Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara, BMW i Andretti’s Jake Dennis and last season’s Mexico E-Prix winner Mitch Evans rounded out the top six in FP1.
Drier conditions greeted drivers in FP2, as all teams sought to make up for lost time. Envision Virgin’s Nick Cassidy was lucky to avoid contact with the wall after sliding across the kerbs early in the session.
Rowland went quickest at the halfway mark, with a 1:24.823, before hitting the wall at Turn 11.
However, the final eight minutes saw a flurry of drivers set their fastest laps, as the British driver eventually returned himself to the top of the timing sheets, 0.268s clear of the DS Techeetahs.
Mahindra’s Alex Lynn closed the session in fourth, ahead of Mortara and Mercedes EQ’s Nyck de Vries.
Dennis was seventh, with Evans the leading Jaguar in eighth. The second Mercedes EQ of Stoffel Vandoorne was ninth, as championship leader Robin Frijns rounded out the top 10.
Heavy tyre wear could prove to be a major factor, and with only three full sets across the double-header, drivers will be hoping they have learnt enough about the bumpy Puebla circuit as they head into Qualifying.
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