Jake Hughes was fastest in the opening Formula E practice of 2024 in Mexico City, despite bringing the session to an early end with a crash at Turn 1.
The NEOM McLaren driver understeered through the first turn before colliding with the outside wall, however his best time of 1m14.364s, set on his 14th and final lap of the session, was 0.381s quicker than Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, with Nico Muller of Abt Cupra a further 0.01s back in third.
Envision’s Robin Frijns was fourth quickest, with the reigning champion, Andretti Global’s Jake Dennis, completing the top five.
Antonio Felix da Costa made it two Porsche drivers in the top six, bettering Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, with Nissan duo Sacha Fenestraz and Oliver Rowland, and Andretti’s Norman Nato rounding out the top 10.
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Previous series champions Sebastien Buemi and Jean-Eric Vergne finished the session just outside the top 10. Nick Cassidy — racing for Jaguar for the first time this weekend after matching 2023’s highest win tally driving for Jaguar customer outfit Envision — was mired in the midfield as well.
Another driver making his debut for his new team, NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird, could only manage the 16th-fastest lap despite his teammate topping the timesheets, while Nyck de Vries, returning to Formula E after his stint in Formula 1, drove his Mahindra to 20th.
Hughes’ late off wasn’t the only red flag incident of the session. Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther ran wide at the final turn early in the session, brushing the wall and coming to a stop at the top of the start-finish straight.
Guenther had already managed to set a time, but it was only good enough for 21st, with his teammate — the only rookie in the field, Jahan Daruvala — in 22nd.