Di Grassi top in Marrakesh FP1

Lucas Di Grassi topped the times as Venturi ran into problems in the first practice session in Marrakesh.

Di Grassi, one of only two drivers to complete a lap at 200kW, set a time of 1m20.310s, nearly a second faster than Jerome D’Ambrosio in second.

Team-mate Daniel Abt was the fastest driver not to set a lap time at qualifying pace. The Audi driver’s 1m21.577s time put him ahead of Mitch Evans and Sebastien Buemi.

Drivers had to navigate a number of yellow flags as they familiarised themselves with the Moroccan circuit, most caused by the Venturi duo. Both Maro Engel and Edoardo Mortara stopped on track multiple times throughout the 45 minute session. After a strong Hong Kong outing, neither could complete a competitive lap time, with Engel finishing the better of the two in 17^th.

DS Virgin set the pace early in the session as Sam Bird and Alex Lynn swapped times at the top of the order, but both dropped backwards as others improved. Bird ended the session sixth fastest, less than a tenth of a second behind Daniel Abt, while Lynn dropped to 12^th.

Jean-Eric Vergne claimed seventh ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr, Felix Rosenqvist, and Oliver Turvey.