Former championship runner-up extends outstanding Monte-Carlo record to kick-start Season 10 title challenge.
Mitch Evans finally achieved the victory he had been longing for in Monte-Carlo today (27 April), as Jaguar TCS Racing exploited a sublime strategy to seal a commanding one-two finish in round eight of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Evans entered the event as the driver with the strongest recent record in the glamorous Principality, having finished on the podium on every occasion Formula E has raced on the full Circuit de Monaco layout – but he had never previously graced the top step. He was also bidding to bounce back from a challenging start to Season 10 and ignite his title tilt in the all-electric single-seater series. The New Zealander ticked both of those boxes in style.
After qualifying fourth in his ‘backyard’, Monaco-domiciled Evans swept around the outside of compatriot and stablemate Nick Cassidy into Ste. Dévote at lights-out to advance to third. When front row sitters Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) both activated Attack Mode – once for the German and twice for the Belgian – the Jaguar team-mates were released.
It was at this stage of proceedings that the British outfit uncorked a tactical masterclass that left its rivals firmly on the back foot. As second-placed Cassidy backed the pack up, Evans was able to take both of his mandatory Attack Modes in swift succession without conceding any ground.
Approaching mid-distance it was time for the favour to be repaid, with Cassidy making good his escape and triggering his two Attack Modes while his team-mate played dutiful rear-gunner, expertly holding the pursuing DS Penske duo at bay.
By the time all of the Attack Modes had been served, it was Evans back in control and there he would stay, extending his outstanding run on the unforgiving streets of Monte-Carlo by registering his 11th career triumph and first of the current campaign. In so doing, he became the seventh different winner from eight races in Season 10, only a day after Jaguar was confirmed as the second manufacturer to commit to Formula E’s forthcoming Gen4 era.
Cassidy took the chequered flag just behind – completing the maiden double podium finish for any team in the Monaco E-Prix and snatching fastest lap on the final tour for a bonus point that has bolstered his title bid.
Behind the Jaguar pairing, former champion Vandoorne reached the rostrum for the first time since clinching the crown at the end of Season 8. DS Penske similarly played the team game to ensure a strong result for both the Belgian and Jean-Éric Vergne, with the feisty Frenchman – who lifted the laurels in Seasons 4 and 5 – displacing pole-sitter Wehrlein in the opening laps on his way to fourth.
The Porsche driver led the initial phase of the race, but an early Attack Mode failed to pay off as he slipped to fifth, from where he never really recovered. Holding station to the end, Wehrlein nonetheless stretched his advantage at the summit of the standings to seven points at the midway stage of the campaign.
Oliver Rowland wound up sixth for Nissan Formula E Team, producing a characteristically committed performance to scythe through the field from down in 17th on the grid and keep his own title ambitions very much on-track.
The Briton was followed home by António Félix da Costa, who recovered from contact at the hairpin – getting caught up as collateral damage in a clash between Envision Racing’s Sébastien Buemi and Sérgio Sette Câmara (ERT Formula E Team) – to battle back to seventh, playing his part in helping to protect team-mate Wehrlein’s position along the way.
Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) ended up eighth, ahead of Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Günther – who came off worse in a late-race shuffle on his team’s home soil – and Norman Nato for Andretti, the local ace climbing into the top ten from the very last row of the grid.
Taylor Barnard finished in front of NEOM McLaren Formula E Team stablemate Jake Hughes on his Formula E debut – making history as the youngest driver ever to compete in the championship at the age of just 19 – but there was no joy for fellow Brit Jake Dennis (Andretti), as damage restricted the defending champion to a lowly 19th place.
The season continues with a double-header contest at Berlin’s historic Tempelhof Airport circuit in Germany on 11-12 May.
Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing, said:
“It feels mega, and a lot of relief to finally get that first win here. It feels like it should have come a few years earlier, but finally got it done today. Extra special as it’s my first win of the season as well here. Hopefully this is a turning point for me and I can start to consistently get big points. I’ve been chipping away at it but nothing too crazy so it’s come at a crucial time. It just feels amazing, and a massive team effort with Nick today to get a Jaguar 1-2 here in Monaco.”
Nick Cassidy, No. 37, Jaguar TCS Racing, said
“It’s an unreal feeling, it’s been an epic day. Last year, we were 1-2 as well so it’s pretty cool actually that it’s the other way around, I’m really happy for him. We can be really proud of our effort today and it’s a great result for Jaguar TCS Racing.”
Stoffel Vandoorne, No. 2, DS Penske, said:
“It’s been a good day, but on the other hand, I’m also a little bit disappointed not to win because I think it was there to get today. I think in general it was a good day, we qualified well, we didn’t make any big mistakes, but you know, we lost the race as soon as both Jaguars were in the front and they started to play their games. We knew that was going to be the case, but I think the first part of the race we managed really well, to take the lead and to take control of the race is what I wanted to do, so that part was great. Ultimately with the second ATTACK MODE we lost to both Jaguars
