Formula E in Tokyo: Jaguar driver Mitch Evans fastest in 2nd free practice

Mitch Evans was the fastest in the 2nd free practice session for the Formula E Tokyo E-Prix. The Jaguar driver narrowly beat Oliver Rowland in the Nissan with his final attempt. Max Günther, Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa completed the Top 5. Once again, the session was characterised by a lot of braking and wild aerial manoeuvres in turn 3.

The second free practice session in Tokyo began punctually at midnight Central European Time. Despite the bright sunshine, there was still some water in the area of Turn 1. Nothing worth mentioning happened in the first five minutes. FP1 winner Robin Frijns was immediately back in the lead ahead of Nissan driver Oliver Rowland. Then the Porsche drivers had their say: Jake Dennis in the Andretti customer car took first place, followed by Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa.

The first red flag of the session came out unexpectedly. "This will be a short interruption, we just need to clear up some debris," race director Scott Elkins radioed to all the drivers. Lucas di Grassi had previously hit the wall and lost small parts of his ABT Cupra on the track. As soon as all the drivers were back in the pits, the race virtually resumed - with 18 minutes left on the clock.

Despite the early start time - 8am local time - there were already some Japanese fans in the stands. They saw Dan Ticktum move into third place between the two Porsche drivers. At the halfway point of the session, Norman Nato took the lead, followed by Wehrlein. While some drivers braked and had to turn in the run-off zone of turn 1, others improved on the previous day's best time. Mitch Evans led the field after 20 minutes.

Mortara kisses the wall

Edo Mortara touched the side of the wall slightly and destroyed a TV camera in the process. However, the Mahindra driver set the first 1:19 lap time of the weekend. Nick Cassidy misjudged his Jaguar and had to take an emergency exit. However, he was able to drive straight back onto the track without contacting the wall. In the final minutes, yellow flags were waved in the meantime because part of a Mahindra front wing was lying on the track in turn 5. This time, however, the session was not interrupted.

You owe us a new camera @edomortara ??#TokyoEPrix pic.twitter.com/CUZyeuE7kY

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 29, 2024

In the final phase, many drivers once again tried to improve. In fact, some of them climbed up the timesheets - especially Evans. The Jaguar driver set the fastest lap time to date at the Tokyo E-Prix in 1:19.339 minutes. Oliver Rowland came in second ahead of Max Günther, while several other drivers went beyond the limit and had to turn in the run-off areas. Including Cassidy once again.

Qualifying for the Tokyo E-Prix will take place at 2:20 (CET).

Results & times

Overall standings (drivers & teams)