São Paulo E-Prix: One Second Splits Top Twenty as António Félix da Costa Leads FP2

Cape Town E-Prix winner António Félix da Costa made the perfect start to Saturday at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix, as the Portuguese driver topped Free Practice Two at the sixth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

As Saturday’s only free practice session got underway, it was Jake Hughes who led the field out, with all the drivers being very aware that qualifying takes place in just over an hour. Sébastian Buemi was the pacesetter during Free Practice One Friday afternoon, with the Swiss driver having set a 1:12.341, a time which will likely be beaten as rubber continues to be laid down.

The drivers were met by stunning sunshine Saturday morning, with the air temperature having been twenty-three degrees by 07:30 am. No stunning times were set in the opening five minutes of the session as all the drivers settled into the session, with René Rast having sat on top of the leaderboard but over 1.3 seconds behind Buemi’s time from Friday. Both Envision Racing drivers’ were the first to get within a second of Friday’s best time, suggesting that they’re a side to watch come qualifying.

Envision’s Nick Cassidy remained at the top as the session moved into its final twenty minutes; however, reigning World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne suddenly became the first driver to break into the 1:12s, after setting a 1:12.611, just three-tenths behind Buemi’s time from Friday. Speaking of Buemi, the Swiss driver then hit the top with a 1:12.544, as the times continued to get closer to Friday’s best lap. With eighteen minutes remaining, Buemi’s fastest time from weekend was smashed by Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, who set a 1:12.203, the best lap of the weekend so far.

The home hero remained at the top as the session moved into its second half, with the Mahindra Racing driver having boasted an advantage of over three-tenths. Buemi is clearly loving the São Paulo Street Circuit, as the former Formula E Champion went back to the top on a 1:12.073, hinting that the first 1:11 of the weekend wasn’t too far away. It certainly wasn’t far away, as Norman Nato broke into the 1:11s after setting a stellar 1:11.763, launching him to the top of the leaderboard with twelve minutes remaining.

As FP2 moved into the final ten minutes, Nato remained at the top from Hughes, with the Briton having sat just under two-tenths behind. Maximilian Günther, though, then jumped to the front after going just 0.001s faster than Nato, something which will likely fill Maserati MSG Racing with some confidence after a tough start to the year. The German remained on top as the final five minutes of FP2 began. Just under nine-tenths astonishingly separated the top sixteen as the final five minutes began, suggesting that qualifying will be impeccably close.

Very few improvements were made as the chequered flag was flown; however, there was a change at the top as Da Costa went to the front on a massively impressive 1:11.496, just over two-tenths faster than Günther. Günther ended the session in second with Nato in third, whilst championship leader Pascal Wehrlein claimed fourth ahead of title rival Jake Dennis in fifth. Incredibly, just one-second separated the top twenty, meaning qualifying in just over an hour should be thrilling in Brazil.

São Paulo E-Prix Round 6: Free Practice Two Full Results