Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Mitch Evans

  • RND 1 – Sao Paulo E-Prix

    FP1-

    The first practice session of the new season saw plenty of action but it was Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato who made it a Nissan one-two result ahead of race day.

    Jake Dennis also looked rapid in his Andretti to go third. It was an impressive session for NEOM McLaren newbie Taylor Barnard, who finished the session in fifth as he gets ready to embark on his first full-time season in Formula E.

    Jaguar’s Nick Cassidy was the first driver out on track quickly followed by both Lola Yamaha ABT cars of di Grassi and rookie Maloney.
    The first time on the board was a 1m 13.951 from di Grassi but the benchmark was soon matched as drivers started to get familiar with the track and their new GEN3 Evo car.

    Several drivers used the practice session to test the limits of their cars, with the likes of Envision’s Robin Frijns, Porsche’s Wehrlein and Jaguar’s Mitch Evans all going wide into Turn 1 early on in the session.

    There was trouble for Andretti, as over 15 minutes into the session their new signing Nico Mueller made contact with the wall and was forced to limp back to the pit lane.

    Oliver Rowland also had a brief scrape with the barriers, but emerged unscathed as he pushed his Nissan to the limits.

    Frijns looked comfortable at the top of the timings for most of practice, but with seven minutes to go Mitch Evans went quickest. The times kept tumbling as the grid got to grips with the incredible all-wheel drive.

    FP2-

    Jake Dennis set the pace in the final Free Practice session in his Andretti, clocking in 1m 09.617s – the fastest time of the weekend so far.
    It was a clean but close 40 minute session, with the top 17 cars all separated by less than a second.

    TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa finished the session in second, with Nissan’s Oliver Rowland in third.

    It was a clean first half of the session, with all of the grid heading out and getting laps in as they made the most of the final practice session before qualifying.

    Reigning World Champion Wehrlein was the first driver to reach the 1m 09s. However it wasn’t long before his teammate Antonio Felix da Costa made it a Porsche one-two as he went two-tenths quicker to top the timesheets.

    Nick Cassidy had a moment with the NEOM McLaren of Barnard, with the two going almost wheel to wheel into Turn 1 with six minutes left on the clock.

    Sam Bird also had a big lock-up as he started one of his final laps. The Brit then radioed that he had a problem with the front right of GEN3 Evo, the same palace where he had the issues before.

    Qualifying-

    TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein took the first Julius Baer Pole position of Season 11, with the reigning champion starting then GEN3 Evo era in the best way possible.
    He will line up alongside the Nissan of Oliver Rowland of Round 1 in Sao Paulo,

    It wasn’t the best session for Jaguar TCS Racing, with none of their powertrains making it into the Duels and Mitch Evans having big problems early on.
    The Kiwi brought the session to a halt when he had a brake system warning in the group stages, and was forced to pull over and stop resulting in a red flag.
    He failed to set a time and will start at the back of the grid, with his teammate Nick Cassidy qualifying in 10th.

    The full top 10 is – Pole: Wehrlein, P2: Rowland, P3: Dennis, P4: Gunther, P5: da Costa, P6: Nato, P7: Mortara, P8: Vergne, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Cassidy.

    Round 1-

    After a short delay with Robin Frijns’ Envision stranded on the grid, and the team informing him there was no time to power cycle, the field eventually reformed and flew away as the lights went out.

    The Nissan of Oliver Rowland got the edge into Turn 1 on polesitter and reigning champion Wehrlein, with Max Guenther in the DS PENSKE squeezing by at Turn 2.
    The pack was three wide through the chicane midway around the lap and the major beneficiary on Lap 1 looked to be Mitch Evans – the Jaguar driver climbing seven spots from 22nd and last to 15th.

    Cassidy, Vandoorne, di Grassi and Barnard too the opportunity to take the first of their two mandatory 50kW ATTACK MODE boosts, driving through the activation zone which in GEN3 Evo, also unlocks four-wheel drive.

    Those that went early looked to be profiting, with Vandoorne climbing to third. On Lap 9, Guenther made the jump for his first boost with the Porsche pair following a lap later.

    Cassidy led Dennis, ROwland, Evans, Guenther, Werhlein, da Costa, Buemi, Vandoorne and Vergne formed the top 10 on Lap 13, with energy remaining among each of them looking pretty even – except Rowland who was 1.6% up on the lead Jaguar.
    The Nissan driver hit the front again on Lap 14, bypassing Cassidy before taking a first two-minute ATTACK MODE on Lap 16.

    Only two laps later, though the Porsches had worked their way in tandem to the front – Wehrlein refusing to yield to his teammate with both in ATTACK as the pair filtered through the first sector.

    Rowland was the one to watch as the race headed into its final third, with six minutes of Attack Mode to make use of with the benefit worth more than two seconds a lap.
    It took him just half a lap to slice by both Porsche’s and retake the lead on Lap 22 down the pit straight.

    Again, Rowland fired away to blast pass da Costa to retake the lead off the line on the restart to a 1.1 second lead on Lap 26 but a penalty of overpower hanging over the Nissan. Rowland had pulled a three-second lead but that penalty would come back to haunt him – a drive through penalty left Cassidy first and Evans second on Lap 30 of 35.
    However, Evans unreal journey from last on the gird was topped off as he fired to the front past his teammate into Turn 1.

    A lap later, da Costa managed to spoilt the Jaguar party and split the pair but contact between Cassidy and Wehrlein on exit of Turn 2 left the champion’s car on its side and in the wall but thankfully okay – another Red Flag with six laps to run.

    On the restart, Evans and da Costa led away a rolling start with the McLarens of Barnard and Bird next up – the former almost 4% up on energy to those around him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: da Costa, P3: Barnard, P4: Bird, P5: Mortarra, P6: De Vries, P7: Buemi, P8: Ticktum, P9: Vergne and P10: Vandoorne.

  • RND 11 – Shanghai E-Prix

    FP1-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was the quickest person on track during the first free practice session in Shanghai, as the grid was separated by just over half a second.

    The Jaguar team looked strong throughout the session, which was disrupted by a technical problem for several cars.

    Just behind Evans, was the Andretti of Norman Nato, with his championship winning teammate Jake Dennis down in 14th. DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne found himself rounding out the top three in third.

    No sooner we had the 30 minute session got going it was brought under red flag conditions after several cars stopped on track. Both the Porsche and ERT’s as well as Nyck de Vries all had to be recovered from the Shanghai circuit for the technical problem.

    FP2-

    Andretti’s Norman Nato and DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne both set an identical time to top the running in Free Practice 2 ahead of the Shanghai E-Prix Round 11.

    Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein’s second in the standings and just 0.013s back in third.

    The fast sweeping corners in Shanghai made things difficult for the drivers, with plenty of correction on the steering wheel to keep things in order.
    Engineers will be busy getting the setup right for their drivers, and making sure all the simulator work tallies with how things felt for real on track.

    Qualifying-

    DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne will be starting the inaugural Shanghai E-Prix from the front of the grid as he secured the Julius Baer Pole Position in China.

    The close qualifying battle saw all the drivers fight their was around the popular Shanghai International Circuit to sort the starting grid for the race.

    Going up against Oliver Rowland in the Nissan, this pole position now sees Vergne equal the Formula E record for the most pole positions – 16 – which ties him with Sebastien Buemi.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Vergne, P2: Rowland, P3: Evans, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Hughes, P6: Da Costa, P7: Nato, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Frijns and P10: Cassidy.

    Round 11-

    Polesitter Vergne launched cleanly and into Turn 1 while Rowland bogged down from second passed immediately by Wehrlein and Evans.

    Wehrlein was the first driver to take his first mandatory Attack Mode power boost – only he and Rowland jumping for it of the top 10 runners on lap 3.
    Robin Frijns briefly found himself in P1, before he took an initial two-minute Attack Mode boost, handing the lead back to Wehrlein.

    The Porsche’s teamwork continued as da Costa hit the front at the start of lap 5, before taking his attack mode activation, and dropping behind teammate Wehrlein.

    Jaguar’s Evans fired himself into the top three on lap 7, splitting the Porsches with a move through Turn 1 and a lap later, the Kiwi then took the lead.

    The top six looked the place to be with the pack jostling to hit that front quarter of the field, steering clear of the mid-pack melee and positioning themselves for a potential podium push.

    Evans led once again on lap 13, with the Porsches and Vergne still in that top four biding their time and waiting for their moment.
    The top 10 runners at the half-way stage had all used boosts, except reigning champion Dennis.

    Berlin winner, Cassidy found himself in the top six and two percent of usable energy to the good.
    The Porsche pair, Wehrlein from da Costa, swept back to the lead on lap 16, by Evans – the Jaguar driver their closest company, though absolutely nothing split the field.

    However, on lap 19, Evans had a percent of energy in-hand and managed to slice by da Costa through Sector 1, while the sister Jaguar TCS Racing of Cassidy had two percent energy over the leaders.

    Wehrlein outbraked himself into the hairpin, allowing Evans to pounce and bolt into the lead, while Dennis finally went for Attack mode and made it into third.

    Wehrlein had it all on to hold P1, with all of the defensive moves in the book on show but into Turn 1 of the final lap, Evans broke the German’s resistance right around the outside of Turn 1.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Cassidy, P4: Rowland, P5: Dennis, P6: Vergne, P7: De Vries, P8: Buemi, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Di Grassi.

  • RND 8 – Monaco E-Prix

    FP1-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was top of the timesheets for Formula E’s first session in Monaco this season, as the Kiwi looks for his first Formula E win here around the principality.

    With a time of 1m30.414s he was almost three tenths clear of Envision’s Robin Frijns. Close behind Frijns was Evans’ teammate Nick Cassidy in third.

    Track evolution here was big, as time kept tumbling, and the Jaguar powertrains looked like they show some pace, as well as Sebastien Buemi.

    The session was Red Flagged around half way through the session as there was debris on the track, which was easily rectified as things went back to normal and underway.

    NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird, had a big moment down into Turn 1 with less than ten minutes of the session. He suffered a huge lock up going into Saint Devote, despite his best efforts, he made contact with the barriers on the right-hand side of his Gen3 car.

    FP2-

    Mitch Evans was on a roll, as he managed to go quickest in Free Practice 2 aswell. Not only that, but the top 2 remained the same, with Robin Frijns sticking his Envision car in second. With Pascal Wehrlein rounding out the top 3.

    The biggest story though, was ahead of FP2, and it was Taylor Barnard making his Formula E race debut with NEOM McLaren! As Sam Bird had to miss the rest of the day, after fracturing his hand after the incident in FP1.

    The Jaguar cars were continuing on with being fastest early on in the sessions, as Sebastien Buemi split the two/

    Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara set a lovely lap to go top of the timesheets, with a 1m30.452s. However he was pushing too hard with a few minutes left of the session and ended up going to wide at Turn 1 and hit the barriers.

    Qualifying-

    It was a dramatic end to Group A qualifying, with lots of favourites hoping for their chance to progress into the Duels.
    Mitch Evans continued his trend of finishing every Monaco session so far and was joined by Pascal Wehrlein, Maximilian Guenther and Antonio Felix da Costa. Envision’s Robin Frijns was knocked out by just 0.002s!

    In Group B there were plenty of drivers improving on their lap time during the final flying laps, including Stoffel Vandoorne who managed to go quickest in his group. He progressed through to Quarter Finals, as well as his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne. Joining them was Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi.

    Both Jaguar drivers, failed to make the Duel finals. For Evans he had a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, and Cassidy made a rare mistake where he clipped the wall.

    But it was Pascal Wehrlein who took his third Julius Baer Pole Position of Season 10, where he navigated the challenging streets of Monaco!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Evans, P5: Vergne, P6: Buemi, P7: Da Costa, P8: Gunther, P9: Frijns and P10: Daruvala.

    Round 8-

    Wehrlein leapt away with a textbook launch to head Vandoorne and Cassidy through Sainte Devote, though by the end of Lap 1 Evans had made it past his Jaguar stablemate for third.

    On lap 3, Vergne was able to make a move stick on Wehrlein for fourth, late on the brakes into the chicane. Meanwhile on lap 4, Wehrlein’s teammate da Costa got caught in the melee at the hairpin with an ERT clattering Buemi, which blocked the Porsche as the pack backed up.

    Edo Mortara hit the wall in a big way a lap later. The Mahindra was squeezed out of position at the chicane, before Ticktum drew alongside through Tabac.
    The Swiss-French-Italian wouldn’t give the spot up easily, looking to hand on to the ERT around the swimming pool but he caught a bucket of understeer and found the wall with some force.

    The Green flag was flown on Lap 8, with Vandoorne leading Evans. On Lap 10, Rowland made super use of attack mode to jump from ninth to sixth.

    Reigning champion, Jake Dennis was making great ground, ninth on lap 10. However, his progress would come to a swift end in contact with Frijns in the Tunnel – an unusual accident. A broken front wing required a pit stop, demoting Dennis to the back of he pack.

    Jaguar’s strategy looked clear on lap 11, Evans bolted to a three-second gap, with Cassidy sitting in and backing up the pack, allowing Evans to take attack mode and extend his advantage to four seconds come lap 12.

    On lap 16, Vandoorne and Vergne looked to be up to a similar scheme – the pair working through their ATTACK MODE activations while looking to hold track position.

    Da Costa made more progress on lap 21, aggressively squeezing by Rowland for sixth at Mirabeau.
    As the laps ticked down, the energy advantage was with the leader, some 0.5% up on Cassidy.

    A late shunt for ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller at Rascasse saw the Safety Car make an appearance, with a couple of added laps to come to take us to a total of 31 and the green flag flying again came on lap 27.

    Jaguar had plenty in their pocket to hold off the DS’ behind as Evans finally made it stick in Monaco heading home his teammate.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy, P3: Vandoorne, P4: Vergne, P5: Wehrlein, P6: Rowland, P7: Da Costa, P8: Fenestraz, P9: Gunther and P10: Nato.

  • Evans extends with Jaguar TCS Racing

    Jaguar TCS Racing have announced that Mitch Evans will return to race for the British team for the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and beyond, with the New Zealander singing a multi-year contract extension.

    The deal means Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing’s relationship will become the longest-standing driver and team pairing in Formula E history.

    The partnership is also one of the most successful since the inception of the all-electric World Championship.
    Evans made his debut with Jaguar Racing in 2016 in his inaugural Formula E campaign and has since become widely accepted as among the quickest and most talented drivers on the grid.

    In 2019, he translated his promise into a first race win for the team in Rome. Together, Evans and the team have formed a formidable pairing achieving 10 wins, 25 podiums, eight TAG Heuer Fastest Laps, six Julius Baer Pole Positions and 733 championship points over the least seven years.

    The New Zealander, finished Season 9 in third, achieving his biggest points haul to date – where he was apart of the title fight to the final weekend.
    Evans also helped Jaguar TCS Racing to secure second place in the Teams World Championship.

    Also, Evans is one of the most successful drivers to have represented the iconic British Marque, joining legends of the sport including Norman Dewis, Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn to name a few.

    Having been with Jaguar TCS Racing since 2016, it was the natural choice to continue our successful partnership. We’ve had some incredible moments over the last seven years and I’m looking forward to writing our next chapter together. I am proud to race for Jaguar and play my part with the team in JLR’s Reimagine strategy.

    The 29 year old on the news.

    It’s an absolute pleasure to confirm that Mitch remains a key part of Jaguar TCS Racing for the 2024 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and beyond. Mitch has been one of the founding members of the team since Jaguar returned to racing in 2016 and is now one of the longest serving drivers in Jaguar’s history. The fact that our future remains together for a new chapter is an accolade we are both proud of. Mitch has time and again demonstrated that he is one of the most talented drivers in the world, so we are pleased that our formidable partnership continues. I’m excited to build on the successes we have enjoyed to date and challenging for more championships together.

    James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal.

  • Round 15 – London E-Prix

    FP1-

    The Formula E grid got their first taste of the indoor-outdoor London circuit in Gen3 as free practice got underway.

    Nissan’s Norman Nato set the quickest time with a 1m 10.765s in the first practice session of the season finale weekend in London. His teammate, Sacha Fenestraz joined him in the top three. Sandwiched between the two Nissans was Season 2 champion Sebastien Buemi and just 0.006s of the top spot.

    Teams were getting to grips with the newly-modified circuit, pushing their cars to the limits early on. Jake Hughes and Maximilian Guenther both explored the track limits with both of them going down the escape road at the chicane.

    The Envision Racing and Jaguar TCS Racing cars are expected to be strong this weekend and started well with Sebastien Buemi topping the timesheets for most of the first 15 minutes. Soon enough his teammate Nick Cassidy went faster.

    FP2-

    Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy let his championship rivals know he means business, as he set the fastest time in the final free practice session before the London E-Prix qualifying.

    The Kiwi went over three tenths quicker than the next guy, NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum. All four championship contenders, Cassidy, Dennis, Evans and Wehrlein all finished in the top six.

    Typical British weather came and heavy rain made for a wet track for Free Practice 2. Even though we have had wet conditions in Gen3 before, with the ABT Cupra’s putting on a masterclass in Berlin. The London circuit is half indoor-outdoor design means drivers won’t have the same consistency throughout a lap which proves a challenge.

    Robin Frijns had a little moment, going down the run off at the chicane – something we have seen several times over the weekend so far. However, this unfortunately wasn’t his only off, as he brought out a red flag with a minute left on the clock.
    The Dutchman lost his car at the hairpin, clipping the wall and ending up in the barrier, also preventing any final flying laps from others on the grid.

    Two-time champ, Jean-Eric Vergen also ran off at Turn 1 during the session, but he managed to master a quick turn around to join the track without any issues.

    Qualifying-

    Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing sealed Julius Baer Pole Position in London in a square fight against title rival Nick Cassidy in a nail-biting Duels Final.
    But Cassidy will take to P1 on the gird after Evans was served with a five place grid penalty for a collision in Rome.

    Both drivers in the final, were pushing to the limit so much so Cassidy appeared to kiss the wall on his lap.
    Lining up alongside Cassidy will be Dennis, a copy of the Rome grid but in the opposite order.

    The Envision duo of Cassidy and Buemi, the first time that both Envision’s have reached the Semis in the same race this year. Nick was sent through as his teammate made a crucial mistake.

    There was a dramatic moment when championship leader, Dennis complained of a “huge power cut at Turn 9” whilst getting some laps in, in addition to mentioning that he’d hit the wall on a different lap.

    Recent podium finisher in Rome, Norman Nato suffered a massive lock up on one of his laps and then went down on a run off.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy P3: Dennis, P4: Buemi, P5: Ticktum, P6: Rast P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Bird and P10: Nato.

    Round 15-

    Jake Dennis navigated a crazy Hankook London E-Prix to come home second; enough to make sure of a sealing the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship, as Mitch Evans took the chequered flag first.

    Dennis survived two missed trips through the Attack Mode loop, heavy pressure from his closest rival and polesitter Nick Cassidy as well as two red flags to become Formula E’s first British World Champion and the first to take it on home soil.

    Cassidy led the early stages before ceding top spot to eventual winner and countryman Evans on lap 11 and second spot to teammate Sebasiten Buemi.
    Dennis had made it by Cassidy with an opportunistic move at the final corner just a couple of laps before, with Cassidy immediately fighting his way back by the Andretti car.

    However, with Cassidy running in formation, close behind the Swiss, the Envision drivers came into contact.
    Loose bodywork from that clash caused a brief spell under the Safety Car bunching the pack up. Dennis meanwhile was not impressed over the radio with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein the German hanging onto fourth.

    Wehrlein’s challenge then also fell by the wayside in a shunt just before a red flag was flown for the recovery of Sacha Fenestraz’s Nissan. He and Jake Hughes tangled into Turn 1.

    On the restart Evans led away, with Dennis working his way into third – enough to seal the title as it stood. An over-optimistic move from Norman Nato at the penultimate turn on Lap 34 caused a chain reaction behind with several cars unable to avoid the mess enforcing another spell under the red flag conditions.

    It was a three lap sprint to the flag at the restart with Dennis having only to hold fast to ensure he’d take top honours.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Dennis, P3: Buemi, P4: Bird, P5: Mortara, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Ticktum, P8: Nato, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Hughes.

  • Round 13 – Rome E-Prix

    FP1-

    With the sun beating down on the Rome circuit, the TAG Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein went quickest in the first free practice session of the double header.

    The Jaguar TCS Racing driver, Sam Bird rounded out FP1 in second, with the Maserati MSG Racing of Edoardo Mortara completing the top three.

    Championship leader, Jake Dennis had some early concerns about his steering column. As a result of this, the Brit spent most of the valuable session in the garage, as his Andretti squad tried their best to fix his X99 Electric Gen3 – with the Brit complaining of poor confidence in the rear axel.

    The last team out of their garages was Mahindra Racing. Mahindra and customer ABT CUPRA cars both had a small software issue in the rookie test and continued into FP1, with all four drivers with Mahindra power units spending time in their pit boxes at points.

    Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche) spun at Turn 7, bringing out a brief yellow flag. A little later on, his old teammate Jean-Eric Vergne also found the limits of the street circuit as he pirouetted at Turn 14 whilst on a push lap.

    FP2-

    Three time Rome race winner, Mitch Evans closed out Free Practice 2 with a meteoric 1m37.881s firing him to the top of the timesheets, and almost half a second inside last year’s pole time.

    Several drivers were using the 30 minute session to explore the limits of the circuit with a few early yellow flags for offs at Turn 7. The likes of Mitch Evans and both NIO 333 drivers found themselves doing a 180 degree spin down the escape road.

    Evans had already gone quickest before he embarked on his final lap as the timer expired in the session. He went another four-tenths quicker than his previous best.

    Portland winner, Nick Cassidy found himself with work to do in 15th, following up on just 12th in FP1. The Kiwi is just a point behind Dennis in the standings.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans strolled to Julius Baer Pole Position making it his second of the season – heading a front row lockout for the team.

    Evans and Bird headed into the Final knowing they’d achieved their second front-row lockout in Formula E. Evans had been 0.6 seconds quicker than the rest in FP2, but there was nothing between the two over the opening sector of the lap until Bird made a mistake dropped him well over a second back from his teammte.

    Standings leader, Jake Dennis said he didn’t feel quite at one with the car in qualifying, he made the Duels but only managed seventh.
    That said, he’s ahead of his closest title rival Nick Cassidy – the Envision driver down in ninth and third-placed Pascal Wehrlein also failed to make the Duels – knocked out of Group A.

    Fenestraz faced Bird in the first Semi. The Nissan looked rapid throughout but with the track temperature hitting over 50 celsius, it looked liked it’d be Bird in the final as Fenestraz slipped up and made a costly error.

    Evans faced Buemi. As the Jaguar driver started promosingly, taking a slender advantage of less than a tenth of a second over the first half of the lap. More than a second split the two, Buemi would nevertheless be happy with fourth.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Bird, P3: Fenestraz, P4: Buemi, P5: Rast, P6: Mortara, P7: Dennis, P8: Guenther, P9: Cassidy and P10: Wehrelein.

    Round 13-

    Mitch Evans became the first polesitter to stride to victory in Rome int he Hankook Rome E-Prix Round 13, besting the rest in a race of two halves, split by a massive multi-car shunt involving his teammate Sam Bird and several other drivers.

    Evans was jumped by Bird off the line, with Jaguar looking like playing it tactically, ensuring the Kiwi could conserve energy in the slipstream behind the sister I-TYPE 6.

    The pair then swapped positions again after the opening of the race before Sacha Fenestraz made it by Bird first and then Evans for the lead through the first round of Attack Mode activations and a brief break in the action for a Safety Car while Andre Lotterer’s car was recovered – the German finding the wall.

    High drama on Lap 9 saw multiple cars caught up in a massive shunt at the quickest part of the track with Bird losing the rear of his Jaguar over the tricky, rapid and undulating section between Turns 6 and 7.

    Sebastien Buemi, clipped back end of the Jaguar on his way through – the Swiss narrowly missing a square-on impact. Edoardo Mortara flew into the side of Bird’s car as it sat stricken in the middle of the circuit while several other drivers picked their way through and escaped with minor damage.
    That meant big ramifications for the teams and drivers – who all thankfully escaped unharmed in testament to Gen3 resilience.

    Fourteen cars made the restart, with Fenestraz heading the pack away with Evans in tow. From there, Dennis seized the initiative, passing Evans with a sweeping move around the outside of the Jaguar through Turn 5.

    It was comfortable for Evans to the flag, as headed home Cassidy while Maximilian Guenther also dispatching Dennis for third at the flag.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy, P3: Guenther, P4: Dennis, P5: Vergne, P6: Mortara, P7: Nato, P8: Sette, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Fenestraz.

  • Round 7 – Berlin E-Prix

    FP1-

    DS PENSKE’s Stoffel Vandoorne set the early pace in Free Practice 1 at the SABIC Berlin E-Prix. The reigning Drivers’ World Champion popped in a 1m 05.803s at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit which has held the most races in Formula E history.

    A second split the top 20 drivers, with the top nine being separated by only three tenths!

    Behind Vandoorne, it was Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis in second place, with Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther in third.

    The Maserati of Edoardo Mortara brought out a brief yellow flag around ten minutes into the session as his Gen3 car went into the barriers. Later on in the session, Robin Frijns went for a little spin in his ABT Cupra.

    FP2-

    Maserati MSG Racing continued to look strong at the SABIC Berlin E-Prix, as Maximilian Guenther delighted his home crowd by going fastest in Free Practice 2 with the quickest time seen around the circuit – 1m 05.301s.

    Behind Guenther was Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in second who is currently on a streak of three consecutive podiums. Double Formula E Champion, Jean-Eric Vergne slotted into third.

    Edoardo Mortara, almost had a repeat of his FP1 incident yesterday. However, only moments later Mahindra Racing’s Oliver Rowland sent his M9Electro into the barriers after a hefty lock up at Turn 1.

    Qualifying-

    Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi took a Formula E record 16th, and second Julius Baer Pole Position of the season, much to surprise after making two mistakes on his final qualifying lap and dealing with a recently broken bone in his hand.

    With both Buemi and Bird being powered by the Jaguar I-TYPE 6, it was always going to be close, but it was Buemi who snatched pole by over a tenth to second place Sam Bird.

    NIO 333’s qualifying went from strength to strength after Dan Ticktum joined his teammate into Quarters, who have never had both their cars in Duels stage since it was introduced at the start of Season 8.

    For home heroes, TAG Heuer Porsche, Antonio Felix da Costa ended Group A in 10th, his worst performance in the Groups this year. His teammate, Pascal Wehrlein, could only manage eighth in Group A too – the same he did last time out in Brazil.

    Round 7-

    Jaguar TCS Racing played a blinder with their race strategy to seal a Mitch Evans, Sam Bird one-two in a beautifully chaotic SABIC Berlin E-Prix Round 7 that saw 190 overtakes and a record 20 at the line lead changes and eight different race leaders.

    Throughout the entire race distance, some 43 laps, the field never mind the top 10, proved to be completely inseparable. Dan Ticktum had launched himself into the lead in style with a stunning move around the outside of Turn 1 right by Sebastien Buemi, Sam bird and Stoffel Vandoorne.

    Glancing at the timing screens yielded a different race leader at almost every stage as positions changed left and right, with the first of two spells under the Safety Car compounding things further and seeing the field split by just over five seconds at a little over the halfway stage.

    The Jaguar pair and Buemi then clambered to fill out the top three spots after Guenther had briefly taken P1 as the race headed into its closing stages. The Jaguar powered cars went on to stretch their legs, with Guenther looking to pick up the pieces as the front three squabbled for the race lead.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Evans, P2: Bird, P3: Guenther, P4: Buemi, P5: Cassidy, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Vergne, P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara and P10: Rowland.

  • Round 15- Seoul E-Prix

    Free Practice 1-

    Stoffel Vandoorne headed the way in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Round 15, pipping Edoardo Mortara to the top spot by 0.13 seconds.

    The pair were a tenth clear of Nick Cassidy, as the drivers got themselves accustomed to the all new Seoul circuit, weaving into and around the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Vandoorne, P2: Mortara, P3: Cassidy, P4: Di Grassi, P5: Vergne, P6: De Vries, P7: Dennis, P8: Wehrlein, P9: Gunther and P10: Nato.

    Free Practice 2-

    Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace in FP2 ahead of Round 15, with a 1m 21.233s enough to edge out Mortara and Wehrlein by three thousandths of a second.

    Vergne and Mortara will be pleased with their pace as they look to keep their championship alive. The Championship leader, Vandoorne had set the 16th quickest time – not the performance the Mercedes driver would have been hoping for after topping FP1.

    Alexander Sims had fount the wall with his left rear, stranding his car at the pit-entry. Cassidy then came to a crawling a halt with a technical issue that forced the race director to throw a red flag and bring the session to an end.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Di Grassi, P5: Askew, P6: Cassidy, P7: Turvey, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Da Costa and P10: Dennis.

    Qualifying-

    Oliver Rowland steered to a fifth Julius Baer Pole Position in Formula E, outstripping Lucas di Grassi by more than half a second in tricky conditions as the heavens opened again Seoul.

    The future teammates faced off on a rain-soaked Seoul circuit, and both were ultra-committed and fighting at the wheel to keep everything together and that he did.

    Mitch Evans did his bit in the title fight to line up third, beaten to the final by di Grassi and Vandoorne starts seventh in the Mercedes-EQ.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Rowland, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Evans, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Dennis, P6: Mortara, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Vergne and P10: Buemi.

    Round 15-

    Mitch Evans, produced an excellent race under pressure to keep his title chances alive and slice into Vandoorne’s point advantage as the Kiwi jumped from third to the grid to the race win.

    The Jaguar driver dispatched Julius Baer Polesitter, Oliver Rowland off the line as the Brit struggled to get away cleanly over the greasy road markings.

    A hefty multi-car shunt at the penultimate corner of the first lap, caused a 45 minute red flag stoppage. Sebastian Buemi, Oliver Askew, Andre Lotterer, Dan Ticktum, Oliver Turvey, Nick Cassidy, Norman Nato and Nyck de Vries were all involved as they got caught out on standing water. Thankfully all drivers are okay, as it looked rather nasty and the halo being useful once again!

    From there after, it was relatively serene for Evans who managed a comfortable three-second gap for most of the race to Rowland.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Rowland, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Dennis, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Vergne, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Frijns, P9: Da Costa and P10: Cassidy.

    We are back again tomorrow for the final round, and where we will see who will be crowned the Champion of Season 8. The teams championship will also be decided tomorrow aswell.

  • Round 9- Jakarta E-Prix

    Round 9- Jakarta E-Prix

    FP1-

    Mahindra’s Oliver Rowland fired to the top of the timesheets in the first Free Practice ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix, with a 1m 08.433s. But it wasn’t all glorious, as the drivers had to battle tricky, dusty conditions.

    The circuit has been designed with bumps, banking, camber and all the typical twists of a street circuit, with fast flowing sections where poise and balance are key.

    Rowland’s benchmark came late into the session, with Buemi firing in his lap right a the last minute. Lucas di Grassi had sat atop the timing screens for the latter part of FP1 before those final runs came through but wound up third, although just a tenth of a second back.

    The full top 10 were- P1: Rowland, P2: Buemi, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Dennis, P5: Vergne, P6: Evans, P7: Da Costa, P8: De Vries, P9: Wherelein and P10: Frijns.

    FP2-

    DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne left it late to top the timesheet and when he did he was a huge four tenths of a second clear of his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa. The Frenchman’s 1m 07.549s lap was almost a second quicker than Oliver Rowland’s in FP1.

    Da Costa set his lap late to pip Jake Dennis to second, with the Brit looking handy and haing been at the sharp end of the times in both practice sessions, as has Mitch Evans who made the top six again.

    The top 10 were- P1: Vergne, P2: Da Costa, P3: Dennis, P4: Evans, P5: Mortara, P6: Ticktum, P7: Turvey, P8: Wehrlein, P9: Giovinazzi and P10: Vandoorne.

    Qualifying-

    Jean Eric Vergne beat his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa in the Final Duel in qualifying for the first Jakarta E-Prix with a 1m 08.523s, by eight tenths of a second.

    The DS Techteetah duo made it an all black an gold finale in the session – the first time two teammates had squared off against one another in the Final Duel and Vergne’s collected lap was more than enough for his 15th Julius Baer Pole Position – a new record.

    Da Costa’s lap was lost after he dropped a couple of tenths through Turn 3, despite managing to drag the car to the apex of Turn 4. His DS Techteetah looked more of a handful than his teammates.

    The top 10 were- P1: Vergne, P2: Da Costa, P3: Evans, P4: Mortara, P5: Dennis, P6: Wehrelin, P7: Buemi, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Lotterer and P10: De Vries.

    Round 9-

    Mitch Evans fended off the close attentions of Jean-Eric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara to take his third win of the season at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix.

    The Jaguar driver made a late-race lunge that caught then leader Vergne off-guard at Turn 7 on Lap 31. From there, energy management became increasingly critical for the lead duo as they fought between themselves and against searing track temperatures.

    That allowed Mortara to join the party and look to pick up the pieces as Evans and Vergne squabbled. Evans had five minutes plus added time to hold the pair off, with the race anybody’s heading into the final turn and his rear tyres fading fast. The Kiwi held on though, to head Vergne home with Mortara right with both of them – all three drivers within a second of one another.

    The top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Vergne, P3: Mortara, P4: Da Costa, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Dennis, P7: Di Grassi, P8: Wehrelin, P9: Bird and P10: Buemi.

    We are back in just under a month for Round 10, where we will be going to Marrakesh on the 2nd of July!

  • Round 6- Monaco E-Prix

    Round 6- Monaco E-Prix

    Round 6 is here and we are in Monaco, lets take a look on how its gone!

    FP1-

    Reigning champion Nyck de Vries set the pace in the first session of the 2022 Monaco E-Prix, setting a 1m 31.154s, with Nick Cassidy doing well just a tenth of a second of the Dutchman’s laptime.

    Edoardo Mortara was next in the order but almost half a second back on home soil for ROKiT Venturi Racing, whilst the winner of the 2021 Monaco E-Prix rounded fourth.

    The full top 10 were: P1: de Vries, P2: Cassidy, P3: Mortara, P4: Da Costa, P5: Buemi, P6: Lotterer, P7: Bird, P8: Vergne, P9: Dennis and P10: Evans.

    FP2-

    Antonio Felix da Costa topped the timesheets in Free Practice 2 with a 1m 30.435s. The season 6 champion headed Jaguar TCS Racing’s double Rome winner, Mitch Evans by 0.2 seconds.

    A number of drivers were testing the limits before qualifying, with Dan Ticktum looks to steal every inch in the braking zones but firing his NIO 333 car long into the run off, outside Sainte Devote and Antonio Giovinazzi clipping the wall on the exit of the Swimming Pool- as did Jean-Eric Vergne who clouted the barrier, trying to improve on his fourth-fastest time.

    The session was red flagged half way through as Alexander Sims car stopped to halt with what looked like a technical issue. Robin Frijns had set the pace prior to the stoppage.

    The top 10 are: P1: Da Costa, P2: Evans, P3: Frijns, P4: Vergne, P5: Gunther, P6: de Vries, P7: Wehrlein , P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara, P10: Dennis.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, extended his hot streak as he got pole position blowing away Porsche Formula E Team’s Pascal Wehrlein by more than two tenths of a second.

    Wehrelin looked like he had it in the bag especially through Sainte Devote and up the hill, but Evans proved quicker than the German and extended his margin to 0.2 seconds by the tunnel. The Porsche driver then fell away and Evans flew to complete a 1m 29.839s the quickest time of the day.

    The full top 10 being- P1: Evans, P2: Wehrelin, P3: Vergne, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Di Grassi, P6: Lotterer, P7: Frijns, P8: De Vries, P9: Rowland and P10: Bird.

    Round 6-

    The Mercedes EQ of Stoffel Vandoorne mastered the streets of Monaco, with a tactical drive to win the 2022 Monaco E-Prix Round 6 and now lead the Drivers World Championship lead. The Belgian beat polesitter, Mitch Evans to the top step with Jean Eric-Vergne in third.

    Vandoorne emerged on the right side of a mid-race full course yellow and safety car which threw race strategies up in the air. Vandoorne had hit the front after then-leader Pascal Wehrlein retired from the lead with technical issues on lap 16.

    Evans couldn’t quite capitalise on the searing pace that saw him fly to Julius Baer Pole Position but 18 points and second spot after a Rome win-doubles sees the Jaguar driver’s hot-streak continues.

    The top 10 are: P1: Vandoorne, P2: Evans, P3: Vergne, P4: Frijns, P5: Da Costa, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Cassidy, P8: Buemi, P9: Dennis and P10: De Vries.

    We are back in two weeks for Round 7 & 8 for the Berlin E-Prix, on the 14th and 15th May.

  • Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    We were back on track for the final day of the Rome double header is here. Lets take a look at what went down.

    FP3-

    All 22 cars made it out for the final practice session of the double-header. Leading the way was former two-time champion DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, who set the pace with 1m 38.608s, followed by standings leader Edoardo Mortara and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird.

    Finishing fourth fastest, Dan Ticktum who posted a 1m 39.257s in his Nio 333. The rookie compared the Rome street circuit to the Macau Grand Prix circuit, of which his win twice in his career.

    With 22 minutes left of practice, Andretti’s Oliver Askew clipped the chicane on Turns 12 and 14, resulting in a red flag whilst his stricken car was collected from track.

    With rain overnight, the track was damp in some places, especially under the trees that line some of the circuit. The cooler conditions this morning caught out Nick Cassidy who spun going into Turn 4.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Bird, P4: Ticktum, P5: Wehrlein, P6: Lotterer, P7: Evans, P8: Da Costa, P9: Frijns and P10: Di Grassi.

    Qualifying-

    DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, leads the way into the final race of the Rome E-Pric as he defeated Andretti’s Jake Dennis in a blistering head to head on the streets of the Eternal City.

    Vergne claimed his 14th pole in Rome ahead of Round 5 as the former champion posted a 1m 38.268. O.221s faster than Dennis. Both Mercedes-EQ drivers didn’t get into the Semi’s, Nycks qualifying ended in the groups not progressing onto the quarters. Where as Vandoorne got into the quarters and it stopped there not the best qualifying from the team.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Dennis, P3: Lotterer, P4: Evans, P5: Bird, P6: Frijns, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Da Costa and P10: de Vries.

    Round 5 – Rome E-Prix

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s, Mitch Evans stormed to victory once again in Rome, matching his win yesterday with another superb victory. Marking his third Rome victory, the driver led Poleman Vergne in 2nd and Robin Frijns in 3rd.

    The action started, and Dennis lost second but at the top of the hill and Turn 7, Dennis managed to reclaim it with Lotterer back to third. There was a collision between Mahindra’s Alex Sims and Max Guenther, the German driver retired to the pits. For the home race hero, it wasn’t meant to be as he stopped on track between Turn 8 and 9.

    After a short Safety car period after recovering Mahindra’s Sims car was recovered as he spun at Turn 14. There was 5 minutes and 15s of extra time added on to extend the race. Saving his Attack Mode until the end of the race, Evans took the boost with less than eight minutes of the race remaining, he went for Lotterer in front of him before taking the lead on the hill up Turn 7.

    The top 10 were: P1: Evans, P2: Vergne, P3: Frijns, P4: Lotterer, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Turvey, P8: Di Grassi, P9: Buemi and P10: Ticktum.

    We are back with Formula E in a few weeks time for the Monaco E-Prix on the 30th April.

  • Round 4- Rome E-Prix

    Round 4- Rome E-Prix

    Round 4 of the Formula E season has took place today, so lets take a look at how it is gone.

    FP1-

    Championship leader, Edoardo Mortara led the way in the first practice session with a time of 1m 40.022s, whilst Jaguar’s Mitch Evans came close behind in second followed by reigning champion, Nyck de Vries in third.

    All 22 cars made it out for the session, while Nick Cassidy spent time in the pits after only competing two laps with a suspected driveshaft issue, the Brit made it out towards the end to complete 6 laps in total.

    With the cool morning temperatures impacting breaking, a lockup from Jake Dennis saw the Brit avoid a narrow miss through the chicane. With seconds to go, Rowland suffered damage after contact was made with Jean-Eric Vergne, sent him into the wall on the chicane through Turns 12 and 13.

    The top 10 were: P1: Mortara, P2: Evans, P3: de Vries, P4: Da Costa, P5: Frijns, P6: Vandoorne, P7: Lotterer, P8: Sims, P9: Bird, P10: Sette Camara.

    FP2-

    The DS Techeetah and former Rome winner, Jean-Eric Vergne topped the timesheets in the final practice ahead of qualifying with a 1m 39.082s. Ahead of Pascal Wehrlein in second and Sam Bird who went third fastest.

    More problems for Mahindra’s Oliver Rowland, as he wrestled with his car sliding through Turns 12 and 13- the same spot he crashed earlier on. That same chicane stopped the running of Andre Lotterer as he clipped the inside of Turn 13 causing him to stop on track before a red flag came out.

    The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Bird, P4: Dennis, P5: de Vries, P6: Evans, P7: Da Costa, P8: Mortara, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Frijns.

    Qualifying-

    Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his 7th Formula E pole, as he lined up against Robin Frijns. Heading down in Turn 3, Frijns lost time in the final, handing the lead to the Mercedes-EQ driver. Despite his best effort to catch him, Frijns failed to make up for lost time.

    The pole marks Mercedes-EQ third Pole in four rounds, as the Mercedes power train continues to prove its dominance in the electric series. Could Stoffel turn the pole into a win? He already has a win here in the Eternal City last year, so it could very much be possible.

    The top 10 are: P1: Vandoorne, P2: Frijns, P3: de Vries, P4: Da Costa, P5: Vergne, P6: Dennis, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Lotterer, P9: Evans and P10: Rowland.

    Round 4-

    Jaguar TCS Racing, Mitch Evans takes victory on the streets of Rome for the second time in his career. Evans dominated, pulling away from the field to lead Envision’s Robin Frijns in 2nd and Mercedes EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne in third.

    Despite starting on pole, Vandoorne let his lead slip on the streets, giving way to a determined Mitch who stormed to victory after starting ninth. For the reigning champ, it wasn’t all good though, the Mercedes driver failed to finish the race, retiring after slowing on track and slipping down the order.

    Home here, Antonio Giovinazzi, finished 18th after a steady race at the back of the grid- still adjusting to the challenging nature of driving on street circuits, Giovinazzi will be looking to make more of an impact in tomorrows race.

    Nudged from behind early on in the race, Edoardo Mortara behind, Oliver Rowland hit the barrier on Turn 7, with the cars behind being backed up. Shortly after this, Max Guenther crashed into the barrier on Turn 11- the safety car was brought out whilst his car was recovered.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Free Practice 3: 07:30am – 08:00am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 5: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).