The Jaguar driver claimed pole, victory and fastest lap in Saturday’s opening race in Rome to propel himself firmly back into title contention and posted the fastest time in FP3 on Sunday morning.
With the session held in cooler conditions than at the same point yesterday, times began to tumble as all those who had been involved in yesterday’s multi-car crash were able to take to the circuit during the 30-minute session.
New championship leader Nick Cassidy topped the times after the opening five minutes with a 1m41.288s, but his lap was almost immediately beaten by Jake Dennis as the Andretti Autosport driver went 0.148s quicker.
Maximilian Gunther, who earlier in the session had almost gone head-on into the barrier at Turn 7 before recovering, posted a 1m39.439s to put himself fastest before Evans went slightly quicker with a 1m39.353s
Approaching the halfway point, McLaren’s Rene Rast became the first driver to go below the 1m39s barrier with a 1m38.550s, with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein slotting into second – 0.489s in arrears.
Lucas di Grassi came to a halt on the exit of Turn 16 and took several minutes before he was able to resume, while the second Mahindra of Robert Mehri bounced off the barrier at Turn 13 before going off at Turn 4 later in the session.
Inside the final 10 minutes, Maserati's Gunther posted a 1m38.409s to top the timesheets, before again Evans went faster with a 1m37.724s, which was more than a tenth faster than his effort from FP2 on Saturday.
Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi moved to the top of the times with just two minutes left on the clock with a 1m37.663s, with Gunther setting an identical time with his final effort.
But both were bested by Evans who posted a 1m37.561s to go 0.102 clear, despite not setting the fastest time through any of the three sectors.
Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa finished fourth ahead of Cassidy, Dennis and NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum.
Pascal Wehrlein, who finished seventh on-the-road in Saturday’s Rome E-Prix before being demoted to ninth for overspeeding under the red flag, finished eighth.
Sam Bird, who triggered the multi-car crash in Saturday’s race, finished ninth, less than six tenths behind Jaguar team-mate Evans in a newly built-up machine, while NIO’s Sergio Sette Camara completed the top 10.
Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, who had led Saturday’s opening Rome E-Prix before finishing 10th, was the only driver unable to set a timed lap due to battery issue.
