Maximilian Günther got off to a strong start in this weekend’s double-header Jakarta E-Prix, topping Free Practice 1 in a Maserati MSG Racing 1-2 finish at the tenth round of the 2022–23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The track temperature was 38 degrees Celsius while the air temperature was 32, depicting how hot and muggy the Indonesian capital is as the season’s most physically taxing weekend got under way.
The grid which included David Beckmann and Roberto Merhi, who are also making their professional debuts this weekend, was led onto the circuit by Günther.
Oliver Rowland has been replaced by Merhi at Mahindra Racing after opting to leave the team, and André Lotterer has been replaced by Beckmann at Avalanche Andretti Formula E due to engagements at Le Mans.
The track had been quite green, and when the first ten minutes of the first free practice session passed, the timings continued to fall as normal.
However, Günther was in the lead after ten minutes due to a 1:10.811. As the timings dropped into the low 1:10s, he was quickly overtaken at the top by reigning world champion Stoffel Vandoorne.
However, after the midway point of the first session, Vandoorne’s DS Penske teammate Jean-Éric Vergne, who had nearly clocked a 1:09, took the lead. After seventeen minutes, all four of the Stellantis-powered cars had finished in the top six, indicating their strength.
With twelve minutes left, Pascal Wehrlein pushed to the lead. The German needed a strong performance this weekend to retake the lead in the rankings.
Jake Dennis was second behind Wehrlein with 10 minutes left, and all of the title contenders had miraculously placed in the top seven. With eight minutes left, Wehrlein became the first driver of the weekend to dive into the 1:09s.
Edoardo Mortara then unexpectedly beat Wehrlein’s time, showing that the German driver was clearly on a mission. Vergne swiftly moved into second, knocking Wehrlein down one more spot to third.
With five minutes left, Günther, who had just missed a 1:08 and whose 1:09.263 demonstrated how swiftly the track was changing, jumped to the top.
A lot of changes were being made to the timing sheets as the opening session came to an end. The most striking performance, though, came from Günther, who ran a 1:08.946 at the lead.
Mortara lost the pole position to Günther in the first practice, and Vandoorne finished third, ahead of Mitch Evans and Wehrlein. They are the team to beat this weekend, as evidenced by the Stellantis powertrain’s 1-2-3 record.
Jakarta E-Prix Round 10: Free Practice 1 Full Results
| POS. | NO. | DRIVER. | NAT. | TEAM. | TIME/GAP. |
| 1 | 7 | Maximilian Günther | DEU | Maserati MSG Racing | 1:08.946 |
| 2 | 48 | Edoardo Mortara | CHE | Maserati MSG Racing | +0.191 |
| 3 | 1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | BEL | DS Penske | +0.197 |
| 4 | 9 | Mitch Evans | NZL | Jaguar TCS Racing | +0.539 |
| 5 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | DEU | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | +0.610 |
| 6 | 27 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Avalanche Andretti Formula E | +0.624 |
| 7 | 10 | Sam Bird | GBR | Jaguar TCS Racing | +0.723 |
| 8 | 13 | António Félix da Costa | PRT | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | +0.738 |
| 9 | 25 | Jean-Éric Vergne | FRA | DS Penske | +0.769 |
| 10 | 16 | Sébastian Buemi | CHE | Envision Racing | +0.855 |
| 11 | 33 | Dan Ticktum | GBR | NIO 333 Racing | +0.881 |
| 12 | 3 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | BRZ | NIO 333 Racing | +0.922 |
| 13 | 51 | Nico Müller | CHE | ABT CUPRA Formula E Team | +0.954 |
| 14 | 23 | Sacha Fenestraz | FRA | Nissan Formula E Team | +0.959 |
| 15 | 58 | René Rast | DEU | NEOM McLaren Formula E Team | +1.106 |
| 16 | 5 | Jake Hughes | GBR | NEOM McLaren Formula E Team | +1.125 |
| 17 | 37 | Nick Cassidy | NZL | Envision Racing | +1.179 |
| 18 | 36 | David Beckmann | DEU | Avalanche Andretti Formula E | +1.185 |
| 19 | 17 | Norman Nato | FRA | Nissan Formula E Team | +1.420 |
| 20 | 11 | Lucas Di Grassi | BRZ | Mahindra Racing | +1.444 |
| 21 | 8 | Roberto Merhi | ESP | Mahindra Racing | +1.834 |
| 22 | 4 | Robin Frijns | NED | ABT CUPRA Formula E Team | +2.298 |
