The Formula E preseason tests in Valencia, Spain, left some interesting things to look forward to Season 8, which will start at the end of January in Saudi Arabia. Although it is true that these are only test runs to get ready, there are already several drivers and teams showing their artillery.
In the three test days, different drivers showed dominance with excellent displays at the helm of the electric single-seaters. On the first day, Envision Racing representative, Robin Frijns, won against the DS Techeetahs of Jean-Eric Vergne and Antonio Felix da Costa.
The Dutchman set the pace with a best lap of 1m26.968s in the afternoon session to beat Vergne by 0.173s, while da Costa was just 0.002 behind his teammate.
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The best time was eight seconds slower than the time set on the first day of testing last year, as on this visit Formula E ran on a 240-meter longer track.
The Champions dominated the Second Day
During the next day of testing, Stoffel Vandoorne and Mercedes were the ones who struck an authoritative blow to show why they are the champion team. Vandoorne’s time, a 1m26.045s, was not the only good thing for the team, which saw its star driver, Nick de Vries, finish fourth, just one tenth of a second behind.
Venturi finished second with Edoardo Mortara, while third place went to Andretti with Jake Dennis. Pascal Wehrlein completed the Top 5 with Porsche.
Final Day
The test was closed on Thursday, December 2 and Edoardo Mortara, who finished only seven points behind champion Nyck de Vries on season seven, set the best time with 1m25.763s. This allowed him to finish the day four hundredths of a second ahead of the next fastest driver, Jean-Eric Vergne.
Stoffel Vandoorne’s Mercedes set the third fastest time of the day, while Mitch Evans’ Jaguar Racing beat Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein in the fight for fourth.
These results seem a clear indicator that last season’s dominators will be the rivals to beat in 2022. Mercedes champions de Vries and Vandoorne want to see off the team in style, while Mortara wants to get rid of the thorn that left him very close to the throne.
Although the aforementioned drivers start as favorites, it should be remembered that last year Formula E had up to seven different E-Prix winners, so the same level of competitiveness is expected in the tournament that is about to begin.
It will be next January 28 when Saudi Arabia will once again become the initial venue for the electric single-seater series, which is becoming more and more popular among fans and comes with more races, incredible urban circuits and a new, more attractive format for spectators.
Written by I Jhonattan González
