Formula E in London: Mitch Evans fastest in the first free practice session, Dan Ticktum experiences problems

Mitch Evans set the fastest lap time shortly before the end of the first free practice session in London. Nyck de Vries was second fastest, Pascal Wehrlein in the Porsche finished the session in third place, in front of Taylor Barnard and championship leader Jake Dennis. Dan Ticktum spent a long time in the garage during the session due to a problem with his front suspension.

On Friday afternoon, Formula E kicked off the London E-Prix weekend. The first free practice session was scheduled for 4.00 pm local time at the ExCeL in London. The 20 Formula E drivers took to the track at the exhibition centre right on time for the 40-minute session. The mandatory full-course yellow test was carried out at the start, and shortly afterwards the yellow flag was waved.

Ticktum suffers front suspension damage

Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum slowed down and came to a halt at Turn 9. The Briton reported that his right-front tyre was not fitted properly. He then drove back to the pits. Upon inspection, his team discovered that the problems had been caused by damage to the front suspension.

Dan Ticktum brings out a brief early yellow flag in FP1 🟡

His front right tyre wasn't attached to the car properly, but he made it back to the pits safely 🛞@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/HZqSCC2wC6

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) 14 August 2026

After seven minutes of driving, Mahindra driver Nyck de Vries took the lead with a time of 1:11.269 minutes. Mitch Evans in the Jaguar then followed suit, beating that time by around one hundredth of a second. Norman Nato slotted in behind the pair to secure the final spot in the top three.

The lap times gradually improved. After 15 minutes, Jake Dennis set a lap time of 1:10.442 minutes, closely followed by the two Jaguars driven by Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix da Costa.

Rowland and Zane Maloney got too close for the reigning world champion’s liking, and the Briton relayed his frustration to his team over the radio. Maloney later received a warning from race control for the incident.

Dan Ticktum was then able to get out on track with ten minutes to go to clock up some valuable minutes. Dennis went off the track in the area around Turn 15, but was able to continue without sustaining any damage.

The championship leader with a snap in FP1!

Luckily Dennis kept it out of the barriers and could return safely to the track.@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/b5HkzvlxYQ

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) August 14, 2026

Porsche with improvements

With seven minutes remaining on the clock, the two Porsches driven by Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Müller took the lead. The German was three hundredths of a second faster over the lap than de Vries, who, however, reclaimed the top spot. Meanwhile, Nick Cassidy worked his way up to fourth place. In the end, Mitch Evans improved his time further and finished the practice session as the fastest driver.

The top 10 was rounded off by de Vries, Wehrlein, Taylor Barnard, Dennis, Felix da Costa, Edoardo Mortara, Müller, Sebastien Buemi and Cassidy. Formula E action continues tomorrow morning at 9.30 am CEST with the second free practice session.

Results & Times

Overall standings (riders, teams & manufacturers)