Day 1 of pre-season testing at Madrid sees Antonio Felix Da Costa finish top of the times! Official F1 Journal Formula E pre-season testing report

Credit: Simon Galloway

Track action for the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E Championship got underway on Tuesday afternoon, as Porsche's Antonio Felix Da Costa finished top of the time sheets in day one of pre-season testing at Madrid.

In a three-hour session, the 11 teams got to test and prepare for the upcoming 16-round season that will see the very first race happen on December 7.

Testing has been taking place at the Circuit Del Jarama in Madrid after tragic and severe flooding had swept in on Valencia, where pre-season testing was originally supposed to take place between 4-7 November. Instead, in a very swift change of events, the pre-season testing was moved to Madrid and to the Circuit Del Jarama for between the 5-8 November. 

Antonio Felix Da Costa of Porsche ended the three-hour test fastest at the end of the first day as the Portuguese driver displayed a time of 1:29.220 which was just short of two tenths faster than the Andretti of Jake Dennis, who was second on the board. 

German driver of DS Penske, Maximilian Gunther was third overall with a best time of 1:29.661, which was over four tenths away from Da Costa's fastest time. Mahindra's Edoardo Mortara would finish in fourth place with the Maserati of Stoffel Vandoorne completing the top five.

It was a three-hour session and it kicked off the track action as many drivers saw themselves setting laps and getting towards the top of the time sheets. Across the session, it was a busy circuit but unfortunately not all 22 drivers would make an appearance on day one.

Just 18 of the 22 cars that will participate in the 2024/25 championship made an appearance of day one of pre-season testing in Madrid, with both Jaguar drivers (Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy) missing out as well as the two Nissan drivers (Norman Nato and Oliver Rowland). 

Kiro Race, who are newly re-branded team from ERT are yet to confirm their full driver lineup for the 2024/25 season. They have entered former Formula E racer, in previous seasons, Dan Ticktum alongside David Beckmann. Both drivers will complete testing for Kiro and both have competed together previously in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Day one saw the first hour have many drivers getting up to speed with their cars and for many it was discovering a new circuit for the very first time in the Spanish capital. It was rookie of NEOM McLaren Taylor Barnard who would have a slim advantage at the top of the time sheets,

Barnard, who has graduated from FIA Formula 2 permanently, after the British driver made three E-Prix starts in the previous season pf 2023/24 in place of his teammate Sam Bird, who missed the most of Monaco and the double-round in Berlin due to having a broken hand.

It was a very narrow margin for Barnard one hour in, four thousandths of a second to be precise as the NEOM McLaren driver had a time of 1:30.230, which was just about faster than reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein who was second for Porsche. ABT Lola Cars driver Lucas Di Grassi would sit third.

It was a strong start for McLaren with Sam Bird, Taylor Barnard's teammate in fourth with the Mahindra of Nyck De Vries completed the top five with still two hours of the three remaining.

Many more lap times would improve and many drivers would be constantly changing positions on the timing pages. The Porsche of Antonio Felix Da Costa would find himself with the fastest time of the first test, provisionally,

Da Costa would be ahead of Gunther and Jake Dennis who would complete the top three positions with Dennis' Andretti teammate Nico Mueller and Maserati's Jake Hughes rounding off the top five.

By the end of the session, Da Costa would remain top with a 1:29.220, which was just short of two tenths clear of Jake Dennis from Andretti. Maximilian Gunther, Edoardo Mortara and Stoffel Vandoorne would complete the top five as the chequered flag flew high in Madrid, 

Formula E would return back to the Circuit Del Jarama on Wednesday for day two of the pre-season testing for the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal