Sam Bird sets the pace in Practice 1 in Santiago

Sam Bird

After the 2020 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix got underway with the first Practice session of the day, it was last season's race winner and Envision Virgin Racing driver Sam Bird who posted the fastest lap time of the morning (1:04.914) – over six seconds faster than the lap record set last year. In second, was DS Techeetah's Antonio Felix da Costa (1:05.064) with Rokit Venturi Racing's Edoardo Mortara in third (1:05.096).

Within the first few laps, 23 drivers were already posting lap times over one second faster than the record set by Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler's Daniel Abt (1:11.263) last year, partly due to the new track layout. By the end of the session, 18 drivers finished within a second of each other, hinting at another close race later today in Santiago.

Following the first race at Parque O'Higgins last season, the track layout has been modified with the most notable change being the removal of the hairpin on the arc between Turn 7 and 9. With the new layout, expect to see drivers take on one of the fastest corners in Formula E history here in Santiago.

Practice 1 Results