Müller tops Marrakesh rookie test with scorching lap

Nico Müller topped the timesheets at Formula E’s first ever rookie test in Marrakesh with a scorching lap of 1:19.651. The Swiss driver, testing for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, topped the timesheets by almost a full second ahead of Jaguar’s Pietro Fittipaldi.

The 10 Formula E teams each fielded two rookies in the test, with a fascinating mix of youth and experience hitting the track a day after Felix Rosenqvist’s victory in the Marrakesh ePrix.

The morning session was topped by Jaguar’s Paul di Resta, with the former DTM champion setting a time of 1:22.343 to beat fellow British racer James Rossiter (Techeetah) to top spot by 0.090 of a second.

Joel Eriksson was third in the morning for DS Virgin Racing, while Maximilian Günther (Dragon) and Antonio Giovinazzi in the other DS Virgin car completed the top five.

The session was halted twice. Andrea Caldarelli (Dragon) crashed bringing out the first red flag, before a dog on track stopped proceedings briefly.

Andretti’s Bruno Spengler also slowed on track with a technical issue but was able to nurse his car back to the pits.

Nyck de Vries (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) was not able to set a single timed lap in the morning session due to a technical issue with his machine.

In the afternoon, the times started to drop rapidly as the track conditions improved. Müller set the early pace before the likes of Fittipaldi, Günther and Rossiter all took turns at the top of the timesheets.

With just a few minutes left in the session, Müller flew back to the top spot with a lap 0.109 of a second quicker than Daniel Abt’s lap in second free practice the previous day, which was the best lap recorded on race day.

Fittipaldi’s 1:20.597 for Jaguar was good enough for second, with Günther, di Resta and Rossiter completing the top five in both the afternoon session and overall.

Towards the bottom of the timesheets in the afternoon were Spengler, Mitsunori Takaboshi (Renault e.dams) and Michaël Benyahia (Venturi) – all of whom caused stoppages during the session.

Combined Classification: