Mitch Evans leads resumed testing in Valencia after battery fire probe

Evans tops the charts in first session back, with Da Costa hot on his heels.

Following a thorough investigation into Tuesday’s battery fire, Formula E testing resumed on Thursday afternoon at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. As a safety measure, drivers were limited to 300kW instead of the usual 350kW, resulting in slightly slower lap times compared to Tuesday’s session. Despite this, Mitch Evans once again showcased his speed, securing the fastest time with a 1m 24.791s, just over three-tenths slower than his previous record.

António Félix da Costa impressed by claiming the second spot, trailing Evans by a mere 0.023 seconds. Remarkably, Da Costa achieved this feat in just the final hour of the session, as rookie Gabriela Jilkova took the wheel for TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. Jilkova’s participation marked a historic moment, as she became the first woman to test a Gen3 car, completing an impressive 46 laps.

Edoardo Mortara delivered a heroic performance, securing the third spot despite Mahindra Racing facing significant equipment damage from Tuesday’s fire incident. This setback prevented Nyck de Vries from participating. Mortara led the majority of the afternoon, narrowly trailing Evans. Robin Frijns, closely followed by Pascal Wehrlein and Maximilian Günther, rounded out the top six.

Once again, the Jaguars and Porsches demonstrated their prowess, with both teams having two cars utilizing their powertrain among the top contenders. Oliver Rowland claimed the seventh position, with Norman Nato in eighth. Rookie Jehan Daruvala demonstrated his potential, finishing just 0.358 seconds behind Evans for ninth place. Nick Cassidy completed the top ten.

Reigning World Champion Jake Dennis, in his first testing session after sitting out Tuesday morning, secured the 12th position. At the back of the pack, both ERT Formula E Team drivers, Dan Ticktum and Sérgio Sette Câmara, finished 21st and 22nd, respectively.

The action will resume with an extended 10-hour session on Friday, running from 08:30 CET (07:30 GMT) to 18:30 CET (17:30 GMT) without a lunch break. This extended session aims to compensate for the 7.5 hours lost earlier in the testing period. While testing will not be further extended beyond Friday, Mahindra Racing will receive additional private testing time to account for De Vries’ limited participation in the remainder of the test. It has been confirmed that De Vries will share Mortara’s car on Friday.