MITCH Evans fulfilled his racing dream as he crossed the finish line to take his (and Jaguar’s) first win at the Monaco E-Prix after only making the podium in four previous races.
The eighth round of the Formula E championship in the Principality featured a number of plot twists and damaged front wings collected by the track circuit barriers.
“FINALLY!! Amazing work by everyone. Honestly, I have been waiting so long for this, way before Formula E. Great teamwork with Nick,” Evans said on a team radio post-race.
Evans came from third to take his first chequered flag in the streets of Monaco in a race that quickly turned into a technical and strategic rollercoaster with three yellow flag incidents, which resulted in safety car deployment and two added laps.
“What a place! Finally, I’ve been trying. I’ve done a few attempts, but finally this year we got it done. Great teamwork with Nick; it was a real team effort,” he said.
The teams Jaguar TCS Racing and DS Penske performed phenomenal strategies to keep their drivers at the front, leading to a one-two finish for Jaguar and a third-fourth finish for DS Penske, with Stoffel Vandoorne securing the third place podium.
Evans’ teammate Nick Cassidy performed team instructions amazingly from second place to keep the DS Penskes of Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne back even after gaining attack mode (which often has drivers losing one to two seconds off their position).
Cassidy’s second place podium made him the only driver in the season so far with the most podium finishes, and it moved him into second place on the drivers’ championship standings.
Jaguar’s victory gives them an extra leg at the top of the teams’ standings in the championship with 172 points and pushes Evans into fifth position on the championship standings.
Vandoorne secured his first podium for DS Penske and his first since the 2021/22 season, hopefully marking a turning point for the season eight champion, who has had less success with his current team since signing with them.
Polesitter for the race, Porsche Tag Heuer’s Wehrlein ended in fifth place after an unsuccessful strategic plan with his attack mode, which led him to fall back in the grid to his finished position.
Oliver Rowland had a strong fight in the race after contact on the first lap with Mahindra’s Nyck De Vries, claiming sixth place.
Fellow Porsche driver Anthony Felix da Costa came in seventh after his own difficult race. Da Costa rear-ended the Envision car of Sebastian Buemi on the Lowes hairpins (), and both had to climb up the grid from last place.
Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz came in eighth, while Maserati’s Max Gunther came in ninth after a challenging battle between the two for points in the top ten.
Norman Nato grabbed the final point in tenth place after recovering from a lap two puncture that sent him to the pits.
ABT’s Lucas Di Grassi took 11th place, while Mahindra’s Nyck DeVries made it in 12th place.
ERT driver Dan Ticktum came in 13th, while his teammate came in 19th after receiving a penalty for rear-ending Envision’s Sebastian Buemi at the hairpin.
McLaren reserve driver Taylor Hughes, who replaced an injured Sam Bird, managed to bag 14th place in his FE debut for the Woking-based team.
Hughes’ teammate Jake Hughes had a race to forget after his front wing was damaged when he punted ABT’s Nico Muller in the added laps at Rascasse (turn 18), earning him a 5-second penalty. He managed to get 16th place.
Envision’s Robin Frijns came in 17th place, and Maserati’s Jehan Daruvala dropped to 18th place from his 11th place starting position.
Defending FE champion Jake Dennis had a difficult race weekend, starting in 18th place after a poor qualifying session and ending the race in 20th due to pitting for front wing damage.
Mahindra driver Edoardo Mortara retired from the race after crashing into the barriers at the swimming pool corner. Mahindra’s team principal said that the crash was the result of an electrical issue with his brakes.
While the race started on a thrilling note, it ended with tactical prowess from the Jaguars and an astonishing 197 overtakes across the race.
Monaco E-Prix sees Wehrlein retaining his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship standings with 102 points. The season moves next to Germany for another double-header weekend at the Berlin E-Prix at the Tempelhof Circuit on May 11–12.
The German track circuit underwent some exciting changes ahead of this leg, which could lead to more thrilling overtakes and strategic battles.
Hometown heroes like Max Gunther, Nico Muller, and Pascal Wehrlein, along with teams ABT and Porsche Tag Heuer, will be looking to capitalise on these new opportunities. Get ready for a gripping race!
