An early puncture for Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein has seen Kiwi Nick Cassidy extend his lead in the Formula E Driver’s Championship to 25 points with just four races remaining.
Cassidy survived mid-race contact with McLaren’s Jakes Hughes, which damaged his front wing, to finish fourth, one place to the good of Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Mitch Evans.
Wehrlein was forced to pit when his left rear tyre was compromised by contact from McLaren’s Sam Bird, and he finished well outside the points.
Evans’s fifth place, combined with Saturday’s victory, elevates him to third in the standings, only 10 points behind Wehrlein and 35 adrift of his teammate.
Antonio Felix da Costa salvaged a good haul of points for Porsche with victory, ahead of Hughes and Nissan’s Norman Nato.
Both Kiwi entries progressed through the qualifying group stages only to lose in their quarter-final duels. Cassidy started the race in fifth, with Evans sixth and locking out the third row for the Team’s Championship leaders.
Cassidy and Evans remained in the top ten just behind the front group over the opening laps, with pole-sitter Hughes overcome by Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne on the run into Turn 1.
The lead group went for their Attack Modes early, with Cassidy using both allotments by Lap 6.
Da Costa hit the front on Lap 9 and briefly relinquished the position to Nato when he used his first Attack Mode before returning to the lead one tour later. He again lost out to Nato on Lap 11 when he used his second allotment, with Hughes running third ahead of Vandoorne and the Kiwi pair.
Bird made contact with Wehrlein, who had started 13th but climbed into the points, on Lap 12. The contact punctured the German’s left rear and forced him to pit lane.
At the halfway stage, Nato led da Costa, Vandoorne, Hughes, Cassidy, and Evans. The pace quickly intensified, and the field ran in single file.
With extra energy on hand, da Costa hit the front on Lap 16 and managed the pace from there on, not relinquishing the position until the chequered flag.
Hughes and Cassidy came together on Lap 19 at Turn 1, with the duo running side-by-side into the corner, with the championship leader on the inside. As the corner tightened, Hughes closed in, and the McLaren hit Cassidy’s front wing.
The wing remained on but was visibly loose for the remainder of the race.
Hughes would muscle his way past Nato for second over the final laps, with Cassidy fourth and Evans fifth.
Just two race weekends remain in the Formula E season, with double-headers in Portland (June 29-30) and London (July 20-21) to close out the campaign.
Header Image: Jaguar TCS Racing
