An elusive first win in the Monaco E-Prix was on the cards for Mitch Evans in Formula E over the weekend, only for the Kiwi to fall agonisingly short to finish second behind compatriot Nick Cassidy.
It’s the third time the Kiwi driver has finished on the podium on the iconic street circuit, the first coming in 2021 where he finished third before finishing second in last year’s event.
The Jaguar TCR Racing driver admits he had great pace in the race but was compromised after sustaining early damage.
“I was feeling relatively good during the race,” Evans said after the race, where he finished second for a second consecutive year. “The strategy involved meant car positioning is absolutely critical. You’ve got everyone doing different things to try and predict everyone else’s races. It’s really tricky to navigate because some guys are doing some wacky stuff and just trying to keep out of certain people’s races is not always easy.
“I felt strong but got some big wing damage which affected me slightly. I was lucky to get away with it. I made a silly judgement behind Dan Ticktum (NIO 333). I’ll probably hear about that on Team Radio when that edit comes out in a couple of days.”
“There were moments in the race where I thought the win was for me,” he added. “The switch into leading I thought was maybe slightly early but I was feeling good and I felt like I had a slight energy advantage on Nick and Jake (Dennis) was coming in pretty hot as well.
“I wasn’t expecting Nick to attack when he did – I’d have defended harder if I could run it again, and been more aware. If I’d kept him behind for a couple more laps I think it would have been a different story.
“Our energy targets became quite high at the end so we kind of became a bit locked out. There are a few moments in the race I wish I could do again to try for a different outcome but it is what it is.
“He timed it right though and full credit to him and his crew – it’s yet another almost for me this year. The bigger picture is it’s 18 points towards the championship.”
Evans had led the race early having started from sixth on the grid, battling with Dennis and Cassidy over the second half of running before the Envision racer made an early attack for the lead and hold on for a historic victory.
The win in a row, making it four wins on the trot for the Kiwi duo, the most by a single nation in series history. Cassidy has won the last two races while Evans won the two prior to that.
Cassidy now leads the Drivers Championship over Pascal Wehrlein with Dennis in third, just two points ahead of Evans.
Formula E next returns with the Jakarta E-Prix double-header on June 3-4.
Quotes and Image: Supplied (Formula E)
