Formula E in Tokyo: Robin Frijns wins 1st free practice with 2 red flags

Robin Frijns won the first free practice session of Formula E in Tokyo. The Dutchman in Envision outpaced Edo Mortara, Max Günther and the two Porsche drivers. There were two red flags during the session. One was due to a technical defect for Stoffel Vandoorne and the other to a curious collision between Sacha Fenestraz and Sam Bird. Champion Jake Dennis also hit the wall.

After heavy rainfall during the track walk, the track had largely dried out again by the start of the first free practice session. The drivers therefore took to the track in sunshine and good conditions, except for a wet area on the start and finish straight. Robin Frijns led the timesheets after the first five minutes. Lucas di Grassi had to turn round due to braking in the run-off zone.

After eight minutes, Stoffel Vandoorne came to a halt in turn 4. As he was no longer able to move his DS Penske, race director Scot Elkins was forced to interrupt the session with red flags. The race resumed after a break of around six minutes. Leader at this point: Jake Dennis in the Andretti ahead of Mitch Evans and Frijns. In the minutes that followed, there were several yellow flags due to braking errors. Among others, Pascal Wehrlein made a mistake on the wet surface at the end of the start/finish straight.

The moment @svandoorne came to a stop in FP1 ?#TokyoEPrix pic.twitter.com/13Y1NrZ3y5

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 29, 2024

Brand colleague Dennis even slid slightly into the TecPro barrier with the front. However, his Andretti remained unscathed. After a good two-thirds of the 30-minute session, Wehrlein led the field, followed by Edo Mortara and Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese driver in the pink Porsche set the fastest time a little later. Then there was a crash. At the centre of it all: a Nissan driver.

Fenestraz & Bird collide

Sacha Fenestraz came out of the pit lane, turned left and steered straight into the McLaren of Sam Bird, who was just coming to the end of the long straight. Fenestraz damaged his front wing on contact and came to a halt in the run-off area. Bird also slid into it and spun slightly. Another red flag! With just a few seconds left on the clock, race control added another six minutes to the session.

? RED FLAG No. 2 ?@NISMO driver @sachafenestraz and @McLarenFE's @sambirdofficial make contact at Turn 1, bringing the session to a stop.#TokyoEPrix pic.twitter.com/6H4ZGXOPxb

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 29, 2024

At the top of the timesheets was Max Günther with a lap time of 1:21.387 minutes. Oliver Rowland was second - another reason for Nissan to be happy! Dan Ticktum braked at the end of the long straight and also had to turn round - the standing water in the braking zone presented many drivers with difficulties. Not much else worth mentioning happened in the final minutes.

Frijns, however, was able to improve decisively once again and took the session win thanks to a lap time of 1:20.865 minutes. The second free practice session will take place at midnight (CET) - also available to watch in the livestream at e-Formel.de.

Results & times

Overall standings (drivers & teams)

Ride onboard with Round 4 race winner @sambirdofficial ?️?#TokyoEPrix pic.twitter.com/dIeAmuqrw1

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 29, 2024