Formula E test in Valencia 2025: Nissan tops the timing sheets in both Thursday sessions

Nissan driver Norman Nato set the fastest time in the final minutes of the fifth test session in Valencia with a time of 1:21.502 minutes. Prior to that, both Mahindra drivers in particular repeatedly attracted attention troughout the session. Nyck de Vries set a time during the second hour that stood for a long time until Nato was able to knock him off the top shortly before the end. Edoardo Mortara, Jake Dennis and Dan Ticktum made up the rest of the top five in the end.

In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, it rained again in Valencia. In contrast to yesterday, however, today's first session started in largely dry conditions. Antonio Felix da Costa initially took the lead with a time of 1:25.128 minutes for just under 20 minutes. There were no major improvements.

Mahindra fast again

Both Mahindra drivers picked up the pace at around 09:45 (CET). Edoardo Mortara initially set a time of 1:23.709 minutes, one and a half seconds faster than the previous best time. Nyck de Vries didn't take long and set another faster time of 1:23.147 minutes. Jaguar driver Mitch Evans was able to slip between the two Mahindras, while his team-mate Felix da Costa managed to beat de Vries' time at the end of the first hour. The new best time was 1:23.119 minutes.

It didn't take long for this best time to fall again. Right at the start of the second hour, Cupra Kiro driver Dan Ticktum took the lead with a time of 1:23:037 minutes. Taylor Barnard moved into second place shortly afterwards, just eight thousandths of a second off Ticktum's best time. At the start of the second hour, Ticktum, Barnard, da Costa, de Vries and Eriksson were in the top five of the timesheets.

Only both Mahindra riders initially under 1:22 minutes

The DS-Penske driver was the first driver to set a time under 1:23 minutes, after which further improvements quickly followed. Mortara improved significantly with a time of 1:21.995 minutes and once again took the lead. He was initially the only driver to set a time under 1:22 minutes. Towards the halfway point of the session, things quietened down again on the track.

Once again, it was Mortara's team-mate de Vries who managed to beat the time. The Dutchman took the lead in 1:21.652 minutes - Mahindra once again with a one-two lead. Shortly afterwards, the track became a little more crowded again. Dennis and Banard were able to improve their times and thus move between the two Mahindras. Before the end of the second hour, more riders slipped between the Mahindras. However, none of them were able to beat de Vries' time. At the end of the second hour, de Vries, Evans, Ticktum, Dennis and Cassidy made up the top five.

De Vries' best time stood still for a long time

Formula E rookie Pepe Marti caught the eye at the start of the final hour of the morning and moved up to fourth place. Norman Nato was able to beat Evans' time and move up to second place. de Vries was still in first place half an hour before the end of the session. Andretti driver Jake Dennis set a time that was good enough for second place. He was just 0.036 seconds off de Vries, who was still in first place.

Ten minutes before the end, Mortara improved to second place, but the joy of another Mahindra one-two lead was short-lived: Norman Nato beat de Vries with a time of 1:21.502 minutes to win the session ahead of both Mahindras. Dennis and Ticktum completed the top 5. 19 of the 20 riders were within a second of each other, there were no incidents in this session.

This afternoon, the regular drivers will contest their last session of the pre-season test. Tomorrow, Friday, it will be the women's turn. Compared to last year, they now have one more session to familiarise themselves with the material of the Gen3 Evo car. Of course, you can still follow all the sessions in our live ticker.

Afternoon session: Nissan strong, Porsche & Citroen a long time in the back

Right at the start of the final test session for the regular drivers, Rowland took the lead with a lap time of 1:22. However, he was unable to hold on to it for long – Ticktum immediately countered and pushed the Nissan out of first place. Meanwhile, Citroën came to a standstill: Vergne's car remained in the pits due to a defect in the front engine. Work was carried out on the Frenchman's car for over an hour.

During this time, Nato in the Nissan (1:21.878 minutes) initially took the lead, before Evans in the Jaguar was a tad faster around 15 minutes later with a time of 1:21.858 minutes. The strength of the Nissans was also clearly evident in this session. After several changes at the top of the timesheets, Rowland finally returned and set a new fastest time, which was only five thousandths of a second off Mortara's track record on Tuesday.

Cupra Kiro among the front runners

The final test session for the regular drivers in Valencia came to a quiet end. After the Nissans had shown what they were capable of in the first two hours, things quietened down considerably on the track. The Cupra Kiro drivers put in a strong performance, with rookie Pepe Marti proving that he can keep up with his experienced team-mate. At one point, the Spaniard was even in sixth place, ahead of Ticktum. In the end, Ticktum finished eighth and Marti eleventh.

Barnard moved up to second place, just two thousandths of a second ahead of Mortara, Nato and de Vries. Dennis and Wehrlein were the fastest Porsche drivers ahead of Ticktum, with Sebastien Buemi and Cassidy completing the top 10.

Tomorrow, Friday, it will be the women's turn. Compared to last year, they now have one more session to familiarise themselves with the material of the Gen3 Evo car. Of course, you can still follow all the sessions in our live ticker.

Additional reporting by Thomas Grüssmer.