Ahead of an anticipated wet Qualifying, Oliver Rowland took the top spot of the final practice session at the Tokyo E-Prix, followed by Edoardo Mortara and Norman Nato.
What happened in FP1 at the Tokyo E-Prix?
Nissan continued their strong form with Norman Nato topping the FP1 timesheets, capping off a session of rapid improvements and tight margins in dry conditions.
After a mixed FP1, the second session saw an evolving track and fierce competition for top times. Early pace was set by Oliver Rowland and Pascal Wehrlein, trading fastest laps as grip levels increased.
A red flag interrupted the session when Taylor Barnard crashed heavily at Turn 17, damaging his NEOM McLaren but escaping injury. The session was extended by eight minutes to compensate.
As green flags returned, the times began to tumble. Dan Ticktum briefly held the top spot with a 1:12.987 before the two Nissans surged ahead—Nato leading Rowland by just 0.109s.
Wehrlein responded with a 1:12.578, but the final minutes saw a dramatic shake-up as Maximilian Günther briefly took P1, only to be beaten moments later by Nato, who posted the session-best 1:12.152.
The final order saw Nato fastest, ahead of Günther and Rowland, with Wehrlein just behind in P4. With weather uncertainty looming, this dry running proved crucial for teams’ preparations ahead of qualifying and the race.
Green flag for FP2
The second practice session of the Tokyo E-Prix was characterised by the special weather conditions. It was not only gloomy, but rained lightly throughout.
All the drivers drove out of the pits as the 40 minutes ticked down on the clock. Oliver Rowland started the session with a bang, sliding out of the Nissan garage and probably sending more than just his own team into a brief shock.
Antonio Felix da Costa set the first fast time with a 1:39.85, but was quickly overtaken by Norman Nato with a 1:39.72.
In the McLaren garage, Taylor Barnard’s car was repaired after the heavy crash at Turn 16 in FP1 of the Tokyo E-Prix, allowing him to drive the second practice session. He set a 1:39.46 on his first fast lap and initially positioned himself in P2.
The drivers slowly got used to the wet conditions on the streets of Tokyo, so that the times slowly but surely tumbled.
Vergne made contact with the wall at turn 16—where Barnard crashed in the first session—causing debris and a brief period of full course yellow. However, he was able to continue.
After just under 15 minutes of practice, both Maserati drivers were in P1 and P2; Vandoorne set a 1:36.24, Hughes a 1:36.56.
Reaching the halfway point of FP2
After the halfway point was reached, the full power laps began at the Tokyo E-Prix, with all drivers attempting to set fast laps—in case qualifying cannot take place later and the grid is allocated based on the results of FP2.
Oliver Rowland showed that Nissan are not to be counted out in their home race. He set a 1:32.525, one second quicker than Barnard, who also improved but finished 1.041 seconds behind Rowland in P2.
Rowland’s team-mate Nato, who was at his best in FP1, set a time of 1:33.48, also almost a second slower than the Briton, who has already won four races. Therefore, he finished in P3.
Squeezed between the two Nissan drivers was Edoardo Mortara, who was +0.687 slower than the current leader, Rowland.
Red Flag at the Tokyo E-Prix
In turn 15, CUPRA KIRO rookie David Beckmann came to a halt and was unable to free himself from his position, which brought out the red flag.
It appears that Zane Maloney had a collision with Nyck de Vries in the final chicane which resulted in damage to the Mahindra and the Lola Yamaha Abt.
All drivers returned to the pitlane so that Beckmann could be retrieved.
The clock continued to run down and the track became increasingly wet—whether fast laps could still be driven when the red flag was lifted was questionable.
Green light again
With just under 4 minutes left on the clock, the session was resumed and not extended by adding time, as is usually the case. Nyck de Vries’ session came to an early end after a collision with Maloney.
All the remaining drivers tried to put in another fast lap, but the track conditions were anything but easy. The red flag also meant that the tyres cooled down again. This meant that no drivers were able to improve their times afterwards. Rowland’s time of 1:32.525 was the best of the session.
When the chequered flag came out, Zane Maloney came to a stop in the final corners. So, the Barbadian driver brought out double yellow flags at the end of the session.
Final Results
- Oliver Rowland
- Edoardo Mortara
- Norman Nato
- Taylor Barnard
- Nyck de Vries
- Sebastien Buemi
- Dan Ticktum
- Jean Eric Vergne
- Maximilian Günther
- Robin Frijns
- Antonio Felix da Costa
- Sam Bird
- Nick Cassidy
- Stoffel Vandoorne
- Jake Hughes
- Zane Maloney
- Pascal Wehrlein
- Lucas di Grassi
- Mitch Evans
- David Beckmann
- Nico Müller
- Jake Dennis
