Buemi tops FP1 in Punta del Este

Sebastian Buemi hit the ground running in Uruguay with the fastest time of 1:15.179 – the fastest time around the Punta del Este circuit, three tenths quicker than Jean-Eric Vergne’s pole position time from last season. This is despite some changes to the circuit designed to slow the cars down, with the introduction of a new turns 1 and 2 chicane, as well as tightening the turns 10 and 11 chicane.

Buemi was just one of two drivers to complete a 200kW lap, the other being Sam Bird who was 1.1 seconds away from the Frenchman and ended his session early with a collision with the barriers. He clipped the inside wall heading into the turns 5 and 6 chicane, broke his suspension and was a passenger from then on until he hit the wall.

Lucas di Grassi was 3rd fastest and two second off the pace, although we are yet to see ABT’s full potential. He was running inside the top 3 for the majority of the session, and was the fastest man on track before the qualifying simulations. His team mate Daniel Abt, however, struggled in 12th.

Jean-Eric Vergne proved that DS Virgin are a force to be reckoned with this weekend, as he put in strong race sims despite being on the back foot. His car stopped on track in the opening minutes of the session and was unable to get it restarted. The red flag was brought out but Vergne struggled to find his way back to the pits, and found himself on track moments after the session was given the green flag. Naturally, the session was stopped again but Vergne could find himself visiting the stewards soon.

Robin Frijns hinted that his Putrajaya podium may not be a one-off performance with 5th fastest, although Simona de Silvestro was just 17th and 4.5 seconds off the pace, proving there is still work to be done for Andretti. The Dutchman was just ahead of Nico Prost, who still doesn’t look to have unlocked the speed that his team mate has.

Stephane Sarrazin was 7th fastest for Venturi and still looks to have the upper hand over team mate Jacques Villeneuve who was the slowest car on track in 18th. The two Dragon cars of Jerome D’Ambrosio and Loic Duval were 8th and 9th, with Nelson Piquet Jr completing the top 10.

Oliver Rowland made his Formula E debut for Mahindra with 13th fastest, although the team looked strangely off the pace with Bruno Senna only 14th. Oliver Turvey had a troubled session in 15th. His car stopped in the pit lane with a mechanical fault, and attempted a 200kW lap at the end of the session but he was interrupted by the end-of-session full course yellow which is brought out before the practice starts.

Nathanael Berthon also had a difficult session. He did not set a lap time for the first half an hour of the session, and later brushed the wall which broke his right-rear suspension.

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