Formula E in Sao Paulo: Andretti driver Jake Dennis wins 2nd free practice session in Brazil

Jake Dennis won the second free practice session at the Formula E season opener in Sao Paulo (Brazil). The Andretti driver set a new track record in the final seconds of the session (1:09.617 minutes) and beat his Porsche colleague Antonio Felix da Costa by 38 thousandths of a second. Oliver Rowland, Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans completed the top 5.

The 40-minute second practice session began in the Brazilian morning sun with a similar picture to FP1: with two Lola drivers at the front. DS Penske also went straight onto the track after the team supposedly sacrificed half the practice session the previous day to save tyres for the weekend. Nico Müller was blocked by Lucas di Grassi in a right-hand bend and "thanked" the local hero with a hand signal.

Early traffic troubles for Nico Mueller with a slow-moving Lucas Di Grassi out on track ?#SaoPauloEPrix pic.twitter.com/h2Elkg9yfx

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 7, 2024

After the first ten minutes, Pascal Wehrlein led the field ahead of Max Günther and Robin Frijns. Günther was then the first to switch to attack mode with all-wheel drive and took the lead by more than a second. His DS team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne followed in second place ahead of Jake Dennis in the Andretti. The two Nissan drivers braked very late in turn 1 and had to skip the chicane. Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard improved to second and third place in their McLaren cars.

At the halfway point of the session, David Beckmann in the Cupra Kiro climbed to the top of the timesheets. His team-mate Dan Ticktum, who was given a warning for a track limits offence, was still without a lap time at this point and therefore last. Nyck de Vries lined up in second place, his Mahindra team-mate Edo Mortara in third. The next best time came from Sebastien Buemi after 23 minutes.

Track record crumbles, several track limit offences

Porsche driver Wehrlein then switched to attack mode and set the first 1:09 time, breaking Oliver Rowland's track record from the first free practice session (1:10.162 minutes). However, his team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa was more than two tenths of a second faster! The two Envision drivers Frijns and Buemi lined up behind them. As the final corner was repeatedly cut on the inside by various drivers, the race director issued several track limit warnings - with the result that the current and subsequent lap times were forfeited.

In the final quarter of the session, Barnard and Nick Cassidy engaged in a sprint duel on the start-finish straight in which neither wanted to give way. Although Cassidy was on the inside lane, he made a mistake and drove straight ahead. Youngster Barnard, on the other hand, caught the corner. Not so his team-mate Sam Bird, who had to skip the chicane a little later with smoking tyres. Rowland had improved to second place in the meantime and split the two Porsche works drivers at the front.

Our first battle of the season ?

Taylor Barnard and Nick Cassidy battle it out into Turn 1 during FP2 ?#SaoPauloEPrix pic.twitter.com/01doHz2O2X

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 7, 2024

A few improvements were made in the final seconds of the session: First and foremost Jake Dennis delivered another strong lap (1:09.617 minutes), which earned him the session win. Mitch Evans improved to fifth place behind Felix da Costa, Rowland and Wehrlein.

Qualifying for the Sao Paulo E-Prix starts at 13:40 (CET). Then it's all about the best grid positions at the season opener and about the first three championship points. As usual, e-Formula.news will be following the session for you in a live ticker. The race in Brazil starts on Saturday evening at 6 pm (CET).

Results & lap times