Formula E in Shanghai: Barnard sets the fastest time in the third free practice session in wet conditions

Taylor Barnard wins the third free practice session in Shanghai. The drivers had to contend with a wet track and a bit of rain at the start, as it had rained again overnight. The top five was rounded off by yesterday’s race winner Pascal Wehrlein, Felipe Drugovich, Nico Müller and Jake Dennis.

The brought-forward schedule was in place again for today’s race day. The third free practice session began, just like yesterday’s, in wet conditions. It had rained again during the night from Saturday to Sunday. Right on time at 06:00 local time (00:00 CEST), the drivers took to the track.

Track significantly wetter than yesterday

It was once again significantly wetter than at the same time yesterday. It also rained a little more during the session. This was evident in the lap times, which were correspondingly far from the optimum. Meanwhile, Dennis had to return to his garage. His Andretti car was making strange noises, which his team-mate Drugovich also noticed.

The practice times initially hovered around the 1:22 mark. It didn’t take long, however, for the drivers to improve their times. After around 15 minutes, they were already about three seconds faster. At that point, Drugovich was in the lead with a time of 1:19.561 minutes. Behind him were Buemi, Ticktum, Wehrlein and Maloney.

Dennis back on track

Around ten minutes before the end of the session, Dennis also returned to the track following repairs. His team mentioned possible problems with the drive shaft. The Season 9 world champion initially set a time that put him in 12th position.

Shortly afterwards, he overtook his team-mate to move into first place with a strong lap, though this didn’t last long. Towards the end, the drivers carried out their mandatory simulations for qualifying. The times improved significantly once again. With a time of 1:16.902 minutes, it was ultimately Barnard who came out on top in the rain-affected session. Wehrlein, Drugovich, Müller and Dennis followed in 2nd to 5th places.

Qualifying starts again today at 02:00 (CEST) and can, of course, be followed on our live ticker .

Results & lap times

Championship standings (drivers, teams & manufacturers)