Daniel Abt set the quickest lap in the first free practice session before the Mexico City E-Prix, with Formula E drivers’ championship leader Sam Bird down in ninth.

The times tumbled during the final three minutes of the 45-minute session, which at that point was being led by Stoffel Vandoorne.

Abt’s Audi team-mate Lucas Di Grassi was the first to go above Vandoorne but that lasted seconds as Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara went two-tenths faster than Di Grassi.

Only Abt with a minute to go in the session was able to top Mortara’s time with a 59.319s lap. His team-mate Di Grassi ended the session down in sixth.

BMW’s Alexander Sims went third fastest late in the session, with Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi moving up to fourth overall with a lap set around 20 seconds before the chequered flag.

Oliver Turvey was fifth fastest at the end of the session, with the NIO driver making it five different teams inside of the top five times for the first free practice.

Vandoorne eventually finished seventh with the lap he set slightly earlier in the session, behind Di Grassi.

Sims BMW team-mate Antonio Felix Da Costa – who won the opening race of the 2018/19 FE season in Ad Diriyah – was eighth fastest, while drivers’ championship leader Bird and Dragon’s Jose Maria Lopez completed the top 10.

Pascal Wehrlein finished up in 11th while Felipe Nasr was 12th fastest in his first FE session.

Wehrlein’s team-mate at Mahindra Jerome D’Ambrosio, who is second in the drivers’ championship going into the Mexico City E-Prix, was the second slowest driver in the session.