Hughes tops wet FP2 as further rain threatens

Jake Hughes topped a wet but drying second practice session for the Mexico City E-Prix, with further rain a threat for Saturday’s Formula E race.

The Maserati MSG driver posted a 1m25.808s in the final moments as drivers and teams scrambled to get on top of the new Gen3 Evo machines and Hankook tyre at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the wet.

The DS Penske’s of Jean-Eric Vergne and Maximilian Guenther led the times in the opening phases of the 40-minute session, each taking turns at the top of the leaderboard as they traded fastest laps in the ever-improving conditions.

Guenther became the first driver to set a sub 1m33s lap – posting a 1m32.732s – before Vergne lowered the pace to a 1m32.484s after 15 minutes.

The Frenchman then set a 1m31.688s which remained the best time at the halfway point of proceedings, before his team-mate soon moved back to the top with a 1m31.368s.

Jake Dennis’s 1m30.766s moved him to the top heading into the final 10 minutes, with Vergne besting the Andretti driver’s time by 0.155s.

The British driver pushed too much on his next flying lap and found himself in the run-off area at Turn 1 before rejoining, eventually finishing fourth on the leaderboard.

Times began to drastically fall in the final minutes, Vergne posting a 1m28.064s with reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein smashing that time with his own 1m26.577s.

Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy, who had a spin in the stadium section, then moved top with a 1m25.965s and while Wehrlein improved with his final lap, bringing the gap down to 0.197s, his time may have been even better having been baulked in the final corner by David Beckmann.

But both Cassidy and Wehrlein were surpassed by Hughes, who finished 0.157s clear of the field with his final effort.

With conditions tricky and just over an hour between FP2 and qualifying meaning any damage would have huge ramifications for the rest of the day, several drivers conducted only a handful of laps during the session before conditions improved.

This included championship leader and winner in the Sao Paulo season-opener Mitch Evans, who waited until the final 15 minutes before registering a time and eventually finished the session in 11th.

Hughes’ fastest lap proved to be nearly 15 seconds slower than the fastest lap set in the dry FP1 session held on Friday evening, when Antonio Felix da Costa set the quickest time with a 1m10.855s.

The Porsche driver finished just 0.091s clear of Taylor Barnard, who continued his impressive form having become the youngest Formula E podium finisher in Sao Paulo.

Taylor Barnard, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Nissan’s Oliver Rowland took third, while Wehrlein was the fastest runner having not used the 350kW Attack Mode in fourth and at the wheel of a new chassis after his spectacular crash in Brazil.

While no driver suffered damage in FP2 despite the treacherous conditions, Cupra Kiro’s Beckmann damaged the left-rear suspension on his car in FP1 after making contact with the wall through the Peraltada in the closing stages but was able to recover to the pits.

Mexico City E-Prix FP2 result