Jean-Eric Vergne topped the times for the first free practice session of the Gen3 era ahead of McLaren’s Jake Hughes and NIO 333’s Sergio Sette Camara.
The two-time champion came out flying in his DS Penske, repeatedly setting table topping flying laps, battling the new Hankook tyres in the process.
Turn 1 proved to be a challenge for several of the drivers, including Vergne – drivers needed all the grip they could as they hit the 90-degree corner at some of the Gen3 machines’ top speeds, but the run-off area provided plenty of chances to save themselves from disaster.
READ MORE: 2022-23 Formula E Mexico City ePrix: FP1 Results
Rene Rast had a big moment through the Peraltada curve in the final few minutes of the session, causing some damage to his left rear tyre and potentially picking up a trip to the stewards in the process for an unsafe re-entry to the track.
Rowland also had an incident in the final moments of the session, losing the rear of the car and colliding with the inside of the chicane. It looked like a potential broken suspension for the Briton’s Mahindra machinery.
NIO 333 had a superb start to the Gen3 era after several seasons at the back of the grid with both their drivers making it into the top 10. The new driver to the Chinese outfit, Sergio Sette Camara came in P3, only 0.438s seconds off Verge with his team-mate Dan Ticktum ending the session P9.
It was the Mahindra-powered teams who seemed to struggle in the session, with both of their customer team ABT cars at the back as well as Oliver Rowland at the bottom of the timesheet.
Formula E is back in action in Mexico City on Saturday at 07:30 local time for free practice two.
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