Mitch Evans has moved into second place in the Formula E World Championship following a podium finish in this morning’s Portland E-Prix.
Nick Cassidy remains atop the standings, albeit with his margin reduced to 12 points, after leaving the United States without a point across two races.
Pascal Wehrlein, the Kiwi duo’s closest title rival, was fourth this morning, leaving him tied on 155 points with Evans, behind only Cassidy’s 167.
Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa won his third consecutive outing to climb to fourth in the standings, finishing ahead of Envision’s Robin Frijns for the second time this weekend.
Cassidy qualified sixth for this morning’s race, while Evans started 11th, with Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne claiming the pole by beating da Costa in the final duel.
Da Costa won the battle into Turn 1 to take the early lead, with Mclaren’s Sam Bird climbing to third.
Through the early stages, Cassidy dropped back to 14th, perhaps indicating an energy-saving strategy seen in past.
Wehrlein made contact with Edoardo Mortara on Lap 6, picking up front wing damage and dropping to 13th. It looked as if he would have to pit, but the wing dislodged itself on the run down to Turn 10. However, this front wing hit Bird in his McLaren, which completely ruined his race and caused him to launch onto the grass.
As the lead and the top 10 continued to cycle upon Attack Mode activations, Cassidy remained in the mid-field, but his chances took a turn on Lap 13 when the pack squeezed through Turn 1.
The Kiwi and reigning champion Jake Dennis, Nyck de Vries and Caio Collet were forced to the pits for repairs.
The quartet’s reprieve came on Lap 19 when a Safety Car was called to remove debris from the circuit.
Frijns led the field away on the restart but was quickly overcome by Da Costa. Evans took his final Attack Mode late and quickly passed Wehrlein and then Frijns to sit second, but the Envision driver responded to take the place back in his 100th Formula E race.
Evans settled for third, with a damaged front wing, ahead of a wing-less Wehrlein, who kept his championship hopes alive with fourth.
Despite having better energy, Cassidy’s charge forward ended at 13th, leaving the Kiwi without a World Championship point for the second consecutive race.
With only the London E-Prix double-header remaining in the 2023/24 season, only 12 points separate the top three in the championship.
Porsche has also reduced the gap to Jaguar TCS Racing in the Team’s Championship to 33 points, setting up a blockbuster final round over the weekend of July 20-21.
Header Image: Jaguar TCS Racing
