It’s here. After weeks of build-up, Formula E drivers had their first taste of the Cape Town E-Prix circuit in practice session 1.

The 2.92km track is anticipated to be the fastest in Formula E history. With high-speed corners and long straights where drivers will be going all-out on race day, some even described the circuit as a “scary” drive.

“It’s definitely going to be testing for the drivers with lots of commitment required,” Jaguar TCS Racing team boss James Barclay told Daily Maverick.

“It’s going to be a confidence-driven track for sure, whenever you are doing such high speeds it’s like threading the eye of a needle, there is no room for error. You can’t put a wheel slightly wide – on a normal race track, that’s a wheel in the dirt, here, that’s in the concrete and that can be your day done if you’re not careful.”

An aerial shot of the Cape Town E-Prix track. (Photo: supplied by Formula E)

The first casualty of the unforgiving circuit was Envision driver Sébastien Buemi, just seven minutes into the session, when he had suffered a massive shunt into the wall, coming out of turn 9 along Beach Road.

The session also ended early for South Africa’s Kelvin Van der Linde, who lost drive after making contact with the wall on turn 7. No doubt, a disappointing start for the racer who had hoped for a good, clean weekend on home soil.

Earlier in the day, Van der Linde expressed his excitement for a chance to race at home, to end off his time deputising for Robin Frijns, who will likely return to his seat by the next race.

Standing in the pit lane, underneath the South African flag, next to his name posted up on the garage walls, the driver told Daily Maverick he felt proud to be representing his country, racing in the global championship.

“[I have] so much respect for all the drivers here… These guys are world class. I’m proud to be able to race against them and measure myself against the best in the world,” he said.

The new generation of Formula E cars can reach top speeds of 322km/h. Cape Town is the first African city to host a Grand Prix in 2023. (Photo: Supplied by Formula E)

Topping the time sheets

At the end of the session, it was Maserati driver Edoardo Mortara who topped the time sheets, leading Jaguar’s Sam Bird and Nissan rookie Sacha Fenestraz.

Before getting into the car for the first time in Cape Town, championship leader Pascal Wehrlein told Daily Maverick that his goal is to continue the top form that he has displayed, and to hopefully fight at the top tomorrow. 

Although he found himself in eleventh place during practice, behind teammate António Félix Da Costa, who wrapped up in fourth, this is only the beginning of the weekend. And the German, no doubt, has much more to show. 

“We have two race wins already this year, so we are hoping at least for a podium,” he said, optimistic about the coming E-Prix.

“We have a strong car, especially in the race. On a new track, it will be important to learn and understand it as fast as possible.”

Tomorrow, drivers will get one last practice opportunity, before heading to qualifying and then to the race. In sunny Cape Town, the infamous Cape Doctor is expected to be gusting at full force, which will add another dynamic to the racing that drivers will have to adapt to. While some drivers were dubious about the chance of strong winds on race day, Wehrlein noted that racing between the walls of the track may buffer the cars from the gusts.

“Let’s see, I hope it doesn’t surprise us badly tomorrow.”

Either way, it promises to be an action-packed day, at the pinnacle of electric racing.

“I’m really proud that we can show this off to the world, because [South Africa is] an incredible country. It’s really great that we finally have the opportunity to put it on the world stage,” Barclay said. DM