Formula E in Monaco: Nyck de Vries with best time in 1st free practice in the Principality

Unusual schedule for the most prestigious race of the year: while Formula E normally starts on Friday afternoon, the Monaco E-Prix only opened its race weekend on Saturday morning. For drivers, teams and fans, the race day on the Cote d'Azur therefore began at 07:30. In the end, it was Nyck de Vries who relegated Pascal Wehrlein and Dan Ticktum to second place.

Just in time for the green flag, the first drivers set off on the 3.337-kilometre street circuit to gain their first experience. The weather in the Principality was at its best: bright sunshine and a cloudless blue sky greeted the field for the first assessment of the day.

However, the early stages of the session were cautious as usual. As the tarmac still offered hardly any grip at this early stage and was very slippery, the track first had to be painstakingly "run in". As a result, the drivers completed their laps diligently. As a reminder: Last year, Dan Ticktum set the fastest time in the first free practice session with a time of 1:27.511 minutes. After half the time, world champion Jake Dennis was at the top of the timesheets this year with a time of 1:28.091 minutes.

Rowland misses turn 1

Oliver Rowland caused the first excitement after around twelve minutes: The Briton locked up heavily before turn 1 and triggered a short yellow period. However, Rowland skilfully used the run-off zone in the Sainte Devote to turn his car around and was able to continue the session without any significant damage.

YELLOW FLAG ⚠️

Rowland locks up into Sainte Devote in FP1#MonacoEPrix #FormulaE pic.twitter.com/K7CMEX6nro

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 16, 2026

After things calmed down in the middle of the session and some drivers headed for the pits, things got really hectic again in the last five minutes. Almost all of the 20 drivers took to the track for a final run to attack Jake Dennis' best time.

Ticktum fastest to the chequered flag

Dan Ticktum was the first to achieve this: The Briton, who had already led the first free practice session last year (1:27.511 minutes), topped the timesheets with a lap time of 1:27.387 minutes, even beating his own best time from last year.

However, that was not the end of the story, as events came thick and fast as the chequered flag fell. First, Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein caught Ticktum's time, only to be knocked off the throne a few seconds later: Nyck de Vries posted a last-minute lap of 1:27.050 minutes in the Mahindra, securing his place as the fastest driver in the first free practice session in Monaco.

The second free practice session starts at 9:10 am (CEST).