For once, Florida, the famous 'Sunshine State', did not offer clear skies during this weekend at the end of January. In fact, last-minute rain disrupted the teams' car set-up plans, influencing the results, affecting the DS Penske team's results.
On this Formula 1 circuit, shortened to 2.32km for Formula E, lap times were well under a minute from the first free practice session. This was immediately highlighted by Maximilian Guenther, DS Penske's lead driver: "It's something we're already familiar with in Berlin, and it makes things even tighter. The shorter the lap, the smaller the margins. The biggest challenge will be getting the tyres up to temperature, especially in these cool conditions, which will make qualifying more difficult. What's more, the groups only last 10 minutes, compared to 12 last year, so we'll have to attack right from the start."
Despite everything, the two DS E-TENSE FE25s driven by Taylor Barnard and Guenther showed solid pace and consistently finished in the top 10. Several pitstops allowed the team to test different configurations ahead of Saturday morning's qualifying session. At the end of an incident-free session, Barnard set the second fastest time, less than a tenth of a second off the day's benchmark.
The next day, the scene changed again. The sun returned, but the clouds remained threatening. During practice, the first lap times were set at the Hard Rock Stadium circuit, with 19 of the 20 cars within seven-tenths of a second of each other. At the end of the session, the pace picked up significantly. Barnard struck hard by setting the fastest time (55.531s), an impressive time achieved thanks to the fastest time in each of the three sectors, proof of his remarkable consistency. Pole position will therefore be decided by the smallest details in preparation.
The championship standings, which determine the composition of the qualifying groups, placed Guenther and Barnard together in the second group. With only four qualifying places for the quarter-finals, the task looked tricky. The two DS Penske drivers initially adopted a measured pace, staying in the top four while waiting for the ideal window to exploit their tyres for a time attack lap.
The tension rose and Barnard set the benchmark time for his group, which he dominated without being challenged. Guenther, on the other hand, missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals by just six thousandths of a second. In his first duel, Barnard this time missed out on a place in the semi-finals by one thousandth of a second. He would start
from fifth position on the grid, with Guenther starting five places further back.
Rain arrived at the last minute for the race. On the grid, the teams made urgent adjustments to the suspension settings, with some betting on the track drying out. The start was given after four laps behind the safety car, with Barnard holding on to a top-10 position while Guenther found himself trapped in traffic and lost several places. Having opted to stick with a dry track set-up, the German DS Penske driver was forced to adopt a moderate pace as the rain defied the forecasts and intensified. With 39 laps to go, the first Attack Modes soon reshuffled the deck.
Barnard chose to be patient, staying in the middle of the pack and conserving his energy for the second half of the race. By the time he went on the offensive, most of his rivals had already used up their energy jokers. The young Brit took advantage of the four-wheel drive of his DS E-TENSE FE 25 in Attack Mode, but could only manage 14th place, five places ahead of Guenther.
The next round of the Formula E world championship will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with two races scheduled for 13-14 February.
