Madrid: Mitch Evans ends Formula E test week as fastest, Abbi Pulling sets best time in women's test

Nissan driver Abbi Pulling set the fastest time in the first women-only test in Formula E history with a time of 1:30.889 minutes. The Brit relegated her compatriot Jamie Chadwick in the Jaguar to second place, 0.3 seconds behind, with McLaren driver Bianca Bustamante in third. In the morning, Mitch Evans had set the fastest time of the entire test week in the final session for the regular drivers, while Jean-Eric Vergne brought the session to a premature end with a red phase.

The first fastest time of the day was set by Stoffel Vandoorne in the Maserati. However, this was only to last a few minutes, as he was almost immediately beaten by Antonio Felix da Costa and Dan Ticktum. However, the latter's first reference time was still a good two seconds slower than Thursday's best time.

Taylor Barnard was the first to come close to the previous best time of the week and thus also took the lead on the timing screen. Oliver Rowland, Zane Maloney, Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein lined up behind him. The reigning world champion repeatedly set the fastest times, and Dan Ticktum also led the table at times.

While the two Jaguar drivers were quite inconspicuous until shortly before the end, Mitch Evans made his presence felt five minutes before the end and set the new fastest time of the day and also of the week: 1:27.461 minutes. Nobody was able to beat this time, because shortly afterwards Jean-Eric Vergne slid into the gravel in turn 3, bringing out a red flag. With just under four and a half minutes to go, the session was not restarted.

Red flag ? at #FETesting in Madrid: @JeanEricVergne parks his @ds_penske_fe car in the gravel. Session is over now. #FormulaE #ABBFormulaE pic.twitter.com/e7ECpAucY2

- Tobias Wirtz (@tobiw_apex) November 8, 2024

Women's test with only 17 drivers

The long-awaited women's test was on the programme in the afternoon. The field, which had first shrunk to 18 drivers following the cancellation of Sophia Flörsch, became even smaller as the seat made for Jaguar driver Lilou Wadoux did not fit. Unfortunately, the team was unable to find a suitable seat shell from other teams, so the Frenchwoman could only watch.

The drivers started with quite slow lap times: Abbi Pulling led the field after around 15 minutes with a best time of 1:35.386 minutes. Jamie Chadwick then took the lead in the only remaining Jaguar. After 45 minutes, Pulling attacked again and secured the fastest time with a clear gap. Behind were Chadwick and the McLaren duo Bianca Bustamante and Ella Lloyd.

With just over an hour to go, the McLaren drivers attacked again: Bustamante took the lead in 1:31.715 minutes, and Lloyd was fourth ahead of Carrie Schreiner in the Maserati. But not for long, as Swiss driver Lena Bühler in the Mahindra set the second-best time to date. Shortly afterwards, Pulling took the lead again.

Jessy Edgar slides into the gravel

The session was then interrupted - Jessy Edgar slid into the gravel in turn 3. Jean-Eric Vergne had parked the same car in the same place in the morning session. The track was reopened for the final 15 minutes but Simona de Silvestro was no longer on the track at this point due to a technical problem.

pic.twitter.com/0HPxQCikuo

- Tobias Wirtz (@tobiw_apex) November 8, 2024

Chadwick and Miki Koyama in the Lola Yamaha ABT made further improvements. However, they were unable to knock Pulling off the throne. The Briton therefore won the session ahead of Chadwick and Bustamante. Koyama finished fourth ahead of Bühler. Schreiner came home in ninth place. It is also worth mentioning that Jessy Edgar was able to drive out once more despite her crash - but with no improvement for the eleventh-placed driver.

In the end, all test days were successfully completed, despite the very last-minute move to Madrid! The official start of the season in Sao Paulo is now less than a month away. The eleventh chapter of Formula E kicks off there on 7 December.

Results & lap times