Category: Formula E

Why Formula E is the perfect opportunity at the perfect time for Paretta

The announcement of Beth Paretta joining Formula E as its new VP of Sporting has been a long time in the making. The leading industry figure has had the series in her sights for some time, firstly as Fiat Chrysler’s director of motorsports marketing …

The announcement of Beth Paretta joining Formula E as its new VP of Sporting has been a long time in the making.

The leading industry figure has had the series in her sights for some time, firstly as Fiat Chrysler’s director of motorsports marketing when she looked at bringing either the Fiat or Alfa Romeo brands into the championship in its early days. She then engaged in talks to bring her eponymous racing team into the series, but it was those talks that led to something much bigger.

“I had a conversation, starting back in December, with (Formula E CEO) Jeff Dodds kind of reaching out, interested in learning more about what I was doing in IndyCar with Paretta Autosport, and if it’s something that I would consider looking at in Formula E,” Paretta tells RACER.

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That conversation eventually spawned another, a different one that would see Paretta offered the role of VP of Sporting. It’s a role that might sound different to what an automotive industry exec or race team owner has done before, but Paretta disagrees, and suggests that her resume sets her up perfectly for the position.

“It’s funny, because I think of this – even when I worked in the automotive space, I worked for Aston Martin for years, and in operations, I was effectively the liaison between the dealer network and the manufacturer. And same thing with Volkswagen – I was in finance, same thing, the liaison between the Volkswagen bank and the dealers,” she says.

“It’s tough, just because, when you have multiple stakeholders… this series tries to try to do everything as well as it can, but sometimes you can’t be everything to all people. So where is that common ground? And how do you do the best? And as long as everybody knows that they’re respected and being heard, I think that that’s really the most important thing.”

Paretta’s new role doesn’t mean she’s done being on the other side of the fence, either. Paretta Autosport is still very much going, it just won’t be in Formula E.

“I will still have my race team,” she insists. “(It’s) too early to discuss the details, but we still have a partner team we’ll be working with in IndyCar to start, and are also looking at expanding with that team into other series. We’re expanding with other teams in other series, but the concept of my race team will still exist. Obviously not in Formula E, but I’m fully open to having my team if it was a full-time IndyCar. That’s fine. I can do both.”

Paretta’s new role at Formula E doesn’t necessarily come at the expense of Paretta Autosport – there are plans for the team to return to IndyCar, and to expand into other series. Motorsport Images

Speaking of doing both in parallel, Paretta says, “I think these will complement each other for my bandwidth and what drives me. I get the opportunity to do both, which is really exciting.

“But I think that, because I’m not a racing driver, I’m a business person. A lot of race teams are ex-racing drivers, and they have a different perspective because their brains have been trained to operate a certain way. If you come from the business side, it’s been my experience that we tend to be more collaborative and team building, and we’re happy to be leading a team, because we try to get the best out of each of those teams.”

So while Paretta’s Formula E and team endeavors will be separate, she still sees her job as Formula E as being part of a team – it just won’t be putting a car on track.

“I’m now just joining another team,” she says. “So I get to be on two teams now I’m on this Formula E team. I think that that’s not very different. It’s just an evolution of where I’ve been and where I’m going, and I’m really excited to be part of this team.

“Everybody that I’ve been talking to and have interacted with – and I certainly checked my sources of people that have worked with Formula E for several years – has nothing but the best to say about this group of people. And I think that ultimately, that’s always the thread.

“It’s one thing to have a job that sounds great on paper or looks great on television, but it comes down to the people, and any time I can work with people who are dedicated, driven, and properly interested in doing good work, there’s nothing better than that. S what an exciting time to join, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Paretta joins Formula E at the peak of its powers. Fresh from the reveal of its GEN3 Evo car, and two years ahead of the introduction of the GEN4 machine, it maintains a healthy manufacturer presence as the road car world is ushered into a new era of electrification. It’s a place where manufacturers can promote and develop that technology they’re going to be selling, and it’s a place they can do it at a fraction of the cost of the likes of Formula 1 or NASCAR.

“A car company is racing for two reasons: one is, ideally there’s a technical tie to what they’re doing, maybe use it as that living lab or that proving ground, a test bed,” she said. “But then also it’s the marketing side as well. That brand awareness and brand building and loyalty, and both of those are those are equally important.”

Paretta will serve as the liason between all of Formula E’s stakeholders. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images

Asked if that makes Formula E the best-value championship for OEMs today, Paretta responds, “Absolutely. I think that’s a great way to put it.

“It’s doing two things: it’s new technology, it’s still in its infancy, but the fact that it’s been nimble and been able to go to different parts around the world as well, and that reach has been going to these new venues.”

Paretta’s experience and industry standing should make her the perfect go-between for the series and its participants, while also helping attract new players to the table. But another thing Paretta will be able to help with is Formula E’s drive for equality. As a co-founder of Women in Motorsports North America and a delegate to the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, Paretta’s been at the forefront of the push for equal gender representation across motorsport, and it’s something she hopes she will be able to influence further from within.

“The origin story of my team was to get more women involved in racing and really just be a thought starter for young women. I say, obviously, using racing as the example, but realistically it’s for women considering skill based training, and therefore skills-based careers,” she says. “And although motorsport is the example, and by all means, we’d love for you to join us in motorsport, we know that all these skills are transferable, and then you can go to other things. My background has been in automotive, so that’s the very obvious and direct connection, but as we know, many of these skills can go into other industries.”

When asked if it will be a defined part of her new role, Paretta says, “It’s pretty much understood and it has been part of the conversation. Obviously that’s the space that I’ve been acting in for the past several years.

“What has been driving me is getting women into the sport in a very visible way, but also … I’ve been really the drum on women in all roles, not just the driver, because up until a handful of years ago, all of the efforts made were really just to focus on getting more women drivers, which is great, but of course, but there’s all these other roles too, and there are plenty of places for women there.

“And I say this even again, addressing just that labor shortage. We just need the best and brightest. I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, if you’re willing to work and are willing to learn, we’ve got a space for you and are happy to welcome you in.”

Increasing that visibility will be key to inspiring the next generation. Paretta shines the spotlight on sometime Formula E driver Simona de Silvestro who, while she hasn’t been racing in the series since 2016, has been a key component to Porsche’s success as a manufacturer.

“Simona has been a factory driver for Porsche, and she’s been working with the Formula E team for the past handful of years doing setup and simulator work,” she says. “She’s not doing it this season, but in the past few seasons, if you see them when they’re finishing one-two, she’s part of the team, if not the driver in the simulator that’s setting up the car.

“But you don’t know that story because it’s behind the scenes – which is fine, those of us inside, know, but does that affect a 12 year old young woman watching from home, if she were to know that absolutely, it might make her say, ‘Hey, can we go karting this weekend?’ And the more that say (that), that that’s how you move the needle.”

Paretta joins Formula E as VP of Sporting

Beth Paretta has joined Formula E as its new VP of Sporting, a role that will have her overseeing sporting and on-track matters in the all-electric championship. Paretta will report directly to Formula E co-founder and chief championship officer …

Beth Paretta has joined Formula E as its new VP of Sporting, a role that will have her overseeing sporting and on-track matters in the all-electric championship.

Paretta will report directly to Formula E co-founder and chief championship officer Alberto Longo, and will be the key figure between the series, its teams, and the FIA.

“The idea is to be the liaison between the Formula E series – so interfacing between the series and the FIA, the Formula E series, and all of the automotive manufacturers, making sure that those manufacturers who are in the series are getting what they need from it technically,” Paretta told RACER of her new role. “There’s a broader story there in that it follows what they need marketing-wise, but (also) technically, both where those car companies are today, and then where their future plans are taking them. Because when you have multiple car companies, you have multiple future plans and agendas that they all need to meet. And then ideally also forwarding new OEMS to the series.

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Paretta joins Formula E with extensive industry experience, having held executive leadership roles at Volkswagen, Aston Martin, and Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) on the automotive side, and within motorsport, running Paretta Autosport, co-founding Women in Motorsports North America, serving on the board of directors of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and being a delegate to the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission.

It puts her in an ideal position to work in a series populated by numerous manufacturers that are using it to develop and promote new technologies.

“They speak different languages, and I would like to believe that maybe I can speak a bit of both,” she said. “There are a lot of racing teams that are often owned by ex-racing drivers, and yes, the actual day-to-day operations of going racing, that’s a discipline in and of itself.

“But if we even look at how much the business model of racing has changed, it’s changed in two different ways – one is just the commercial aspect of racing and sport has changed, the business of sport is bigger than it’s ever been, and you can see that across multiple sports.

“Therefore, the sponsors and those stakeholders need to get any sort of investment, you need to get a lot out of it. And sometimes the on-track product isn’t enough, like it used to be 20 years ago, 30 years ago – it’s very much changed. And if we as a sport don’t change with it, then it doesn’t succeed.

“So there’s that element of where people with a business perspective can thrive here, because that is much needed. Obviously, the on-track is critical, but those things have to work together and are complimentary – that commercial side and competition side.”

While she has already had a presence in the Formula E paddock recently, Paretta’s first event as VP of Sporting will be next week’s Berlin E-Prix double-header, which will be followed by the series’ official rookie test.

“My first order of business is really just getting to know all of these stakeholders,” she said. “Really get to know the teams, understand their current needs, and then kind of their wish list to understand.

“Everybody has a different wish list, so trying to find some common ground there, see what we can do, and then forge the relationship with the FIA and make sure that that we have this comfortable dialogue back and forth, because they’re a critical part of of the future and where we’re going.”

Formula E program step one on the comeback trail for Lola

More than a decade after disappearing from the motorsport landscape, a sleeping giant is getting ready to awaken. Till Bechtolsheimer gained control of the Lola name, intellectual property, headquarters and wind tunnel back in 2021, nine years after …

More than a decade after disappearing from the motorsport landscape, a sleeping giant is getting ready to awaken.

Till Bechtolsheimer gained control of the Lola name, intellectual property, headquarters and wind tunnel back in 2021, nine years after the original company went bankrupt and entered administration. Since then he’s been working to bring back one of motorsport’s most iconic manufacturers and now the reborn Lola is ready to be unleashed.

But while it’s famous for building chassis for IndyCar, Formula 1 and sports car categories, Lola’s revival will begin in a series where entrants can’t produce their own chassis. Instead, Lola’s comeback will be in Formula E, where it will develop a powertrain alongside Yamaha.

“(Motorsport has) certainly changed since Lola first started,” Lola’s motorsport director Mark Preston tells RACER. “Carbon monocoques are de rigueur now in just about every series all the way down to F4. We’ve been away for 10 years, so it’s not the best way to differentiate ourselves when we come back racing.

“And now you look to the future of motorsport and there is a huge amount of electrification. You look at F1, it’s going to be 50-percent electrified. WEC, obviously, has got a huge amount of electrification in LMH. So when you look at the future of motorsports, just like automotive — and you’ve got to remember that we are all working for the automotive industry, because we’re meant to be cutting the path for automotive — the future is electrified powertrains of some degree.”

It was a curious move to some — even sacrilegious to others — but as Preston explains, it’s actually a natural direction for Lola to take, and one it probably would have taken anyway had it not gone away.

“We see that one of the roles that will be interesting for Lola is systems integration, because it’s an electrified powertrain,” he says. “There’s a VCU (Vehicle Control Unit) software which has to put together control of the front powertrain, rear powertrain, efficiencies, energy management — there’s a huge amount of software and that’s the same as road cars.

“One of the last cars that was done (by Lola) was the Drayson Lola that did the land speed record. Certainly the powertrain was pioneered by Lola with Lord Drayson — he and I actually went and had a look at that car recently — (and) Lola was involved in the beginning of Formula E with Lord Drayson, so it’s a natural continuation in that way.”

One of Lola’s last projects was the B12/69 EV electric land speed record car with Lord Drayson. Jeff Bloxham/Motorsport Images

Lola’s upcoming Formula E foray is just one of what Preston calls “three pillars” to the modern day Lola business — all of which center around the idea of alternative technologies and fuels.

“Electrification was pillar one, so this is why the Formula E World Championship is the best place to be,” he explains. “Second pillar is hydrogen. They’re (the FIA) putting a focus on how hydrogen comes into racing … so the hydrogen element is very interesting. If you have a fuel cell, hydrogen Le Mans car, you will have a large amount of electrification because the hydrogen fuel cell needs an electric powertrain in order to be efficient — and even just work. And even a hydrogen internal combustion engine would most likely run with a large amount of electrification because in order to bring up the efficiency, you need to regenerate the energy on the car.

“The third pillar is sustainable fuels and materials — so might be where we get back into chassis (building), made of some sustainable materials and those elements. And also, obviously, there’s a lot going in the world of biofuels and E-fuels and all of those elements, which are coming into motorsports at the moment.”

Preston says Lola should have a better idea of a timeframe for when it might venture into the hydrogen game by the end of the year, once its integration into the WEC has been nailed down by the FIA. He also suggests Lola is keeping an eye on Extreme H, the upcoming rebrand of Extreme E which will become the world’s first all-hydrogen motorsport series next year, saying “it is of interest.”

For Preston, Formula E marks an ideal re-entry point for Lola as it looks to make its mark again in motorsports utilizing alternative technologies and fuels. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

Lola’s work in developing new technologies for motorsport could see it involved in wider applications by pure circumstance, too, with Bechtolsheimer eager for motorsport to regain its role as a place when innovation can be fostered.

“(Till is) very keen on motorsports leading again,” Preston says. “The core of the software that we’re developing for Formula E, we’ve made 70 to 75 percent of the core to work across any four-wheel-drive electrified powertrain. So it’s probably overkill for a petrol-powered engine with just one ECU, but for anything that’s going to have a high level of electrification, it’ll be a good starting point.”

For now the focus is on Formula E, which it is entering alongside Yamaha. The Japanese company has been involved with everything from Formula 1 to golf buggies, and brings vital knowledge from that expansive portfolio to the table which Lola will benefit from.

“They’re very interested in the electrification of powertrains as well because obviously their biggest markets are two wheels and marine,” says Preston. “They have a huge amount of powertrain knowledge in general — that’s their base that they work from. They do powertrains across a huge amount. If you ever go to the (Yamaha) museum in Iwata, just south of Tokyo, there’s everything from drones to ATVs, the amount of different powertrains they do is phenomenal.

“(Formula E) is the top level of electrification in motorsport at the moment; it’s logical that this would be the place to work on powertrains. So we’re working closely together with them on the powertrains.”

While it might be natural to assume that the giant powertrain company would be taking the lead over the revived legacy brand on the technical side, Preston insists that’s not the case and that it’s been a wholly collaborative effort throughout.

“One thing about a modern electrified vehicle is you don’t just stick an engine in the back with an ECU on it and a throttle cable to the throttle pedal,” he says. “It’s a huge amount of work in brake-by-wire, the brake balances, front powertrain, regeneration, brake bias — it’s an incredibly different machine than just a powertrain.

“That’s where Lola comes in, working together with Yamaha and collaborating heavily on everything to do with the powertrain itself from a hardware point of view. And then once the hardware is frozen, that’s homologated over the two years of GEN3 Evo, then we kind of all focus on the software together.

“So working together on integration, and bringing our knowledge of Formula E and integrating powertrains and all the elements, cooling, all those kinds of things that have to go on, still in a modern race car.”

Unlike Yamaha, though, one thing you won’t see Lola doing in the foreseeable future is venturing directly into the consumer arena, although it isn’t being ruled out as something that could be explored further down the line.

“Lola’s never made road cars and Till’s very keen that we won’t make road cars in the future,” Preston insists. “But you never know. If we do want to have a road car variant, then it would be obvious that Abt would help us do that. So that would fit together in a business world. But that’s for the long term future.”

The Abt, that Preston refers to, is Abt Sportsline — like the revived Lola’s business plan, the Formula E venture is a three-pronged attack, with the German company’s Abt Cupra Formula E team running the Lola-Yamaha powertrains from next season.

“Lola has traditionally never run a race team. So we also would like to be the manufacturer and support an operational race team, such as Abt who are obviously very experienced at that.

“It’s been a while coming and we’ve been chatting over the last year or so and it all came together, kind of at the last minute over the last few weeks.”

Works and client teams have been the norm in Formula E, but Lola-Yamaha will be different, at least to begin with. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images

The somewhat late nature of the decision to align with Abt Cupra means that Lola and Yamaha isn’t looking to supply a second team — to create a de facto four-car squad like Jaguar and Envision or Porsche and Andretti – and while Preston admits there are downsides to that, he is content focusing on just two cars at one team and making sure they’re competitive.

“Doing four cars would be probably too much for us at the beginning, even though by the rules, we do have to be able to provide another team,” he admits. “So we were kind of planning for that just in case. It is more beneficial to have more cars, but I think we’ve got enough on our plate to make sure we do a good job in the first year.

“So I’m probably happy that we’re running with one team at the beginning, and the future code changes as things go on.”

But in partnering with Lola, therefore aligning the team with former Aguri and Techeetah team principal Preston, it’ll create a partnership that the Australian estimates has won approximately one-in-four Formula E races to date when their respective achievements are tallied together.

“Yeah myself and Thomas (Biermaier, Abt CEO and team principal) reckon we’ve probably won 25 percent of the races and championships between us,” Preston says with a smile. “That was our rough (estimate) dinner, we’re gonna try and come up with a statistic.”

And while being something of a superteam when you look at the names involved, Preston isn’t getting too carried away — but he still wants “to be competitive and always be on a positive gradient.”

“My experience at Techeetah was from the time we started in Season 3, we were always on the up,” he says. “First year we won a race at the end, second, we won a drivers’ championship. Now I’m not saying it’s going to be easy — it looked to be so easy, perhaps, from the outside — but it’s always got to be going upwards, upwards and to the right.

“So, more points, more prizes, and yeah, keep on a good positive gradient. Use the experience of Abt to get us into the window as fast as possible and experience of many of the team members that are involved in the Lola team.”

Team tactics satisfy both Jaguar teammates in Monaco

Mitch Evans praised “team player” Nick Cassidy as the pair secured a one-two finish for Jaguar TCS Racing at the Monaco E-Prix. Evans won by 0.946s over Cassidy, who himself had a 2.889s advantage over DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne at the end of the …

Mitch Evans praised “team player” Nick Cassidy as the pair secured a one-two finish for Jaguar TCS Racing at the Monaco E-Prix.

Evans won by 0.946s over Cassidy, who himself had a 2.889s advantage over DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne at the end of the race, but it was Cassidy’s control over those behind him that allowed Evans to maintain the lead after taking both of his Attack Modes.

“We knew it was going to be a tough race, we knew it was going to be all about the strategy around the attacks — obviously Nick and I started side-by-side so that kind of helped things as the race evolved,” said Evans. “We had a rough game plan before going to the race but I really owe this win to Nick — he really helped me when it mattered, I helped him when it mattered. I really appreciate the team player he was today.”

Expanding on the strategy discussions, Evans acknowledged that while races can often turn out differently to how they’re predicted, Monaco matched the Jaguar team’s expectations.

“Obviously we discuss all potential scenarios but the majority of the time when you get on track the race happens completely differently,” he said. “But the way it turned out, I think it was as expected and we knew we were going to be racing with each other on track instead of tripping over ourselves — we may as well help each other (and) it’s quite a bit Attack loss here.

“I think the DS guys were trying to do the same thing as well but we executed that perfectly. Obviously we discuss this pre-race but also other scenarios that could potentially happen, but it played out exactly as we wanted it.”

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While the result was a landmark one for Jaguar, it was also a big moment for Evans who was a six-time podium finisher across GP2 and Formula E prior to his win on Sunday.

“It’s just an amazing achievement for the team, and for me to finally get my first win here after trying — even before Formula E I was trying, in GP2 and everything — so to finally get on the top step here means the world,” he said.

Evans’ first Monaco win was also his first of the season, a season which has so far been disappointing for the New Zealander, who started the year as one of the championship favorites.

“I haven’t started the way I would’ve liked,” he admitted. “I came off the back of a really strong end of last season with many wins and podiums so I was expecting the same to start, or at least early on in the season.

“Obviously I had Brazil which was a second place, almost a win, but it’s not really gone the way I would’ve liked so far. So while this win’s come at a really good time, a really critical stage of the championship, to get my first win finally is nice — to get that first win of the season always feels like a monkey off your back and then you can try and carry that momentum through the rest of the championship.”

Cassidy, who won last year’s Monaco E-Prix for Envision Racing prior to switching to the factory Jaguar team this year, paid tribute to Evans, noting that he’d been the team’s leader in practice and qualifying at Monaco,

“Today’s about Mitch — he won the Monaco E-Prix, he’s a very deserving winner,” Cassidy said. “(He’s had) many, many podiums here (and been) very close. I was lucky enough to be in a position with him, the other way round, last year and got the win here. It’s very very special.

“We had the performance today — I think not quite as much as Mitch in practice and qualifying, we struggled a little bit, but we were there when it counted and it’s a great team result.”

Monaco podium return bittersweet for Vandoorne

Stoffel Vandoorne hasn’t been on a Formula E podium since winning the 2021-22 championship, but he finally snapped the unfortunate streak by finishing third in the Monaco E-Prix. But despite returning to the rostrum, the DS Penske driver conceded …

Stoffel Vandoorne hasn’t been on a Formula E podium since winning the 2021-22 championship, but he finally snapped the unfortunate streak by finishing third in the Monaco E-Prix. But despite returning to the rostrum, the DS Penske driver conceded that he was disappointed after failing to mount a sustained challenge for the win on the streets of Monte Carlo.

“It feels good although I’m almost a little disappointed because I think we had a strong car today,” he said. “We qualified very well, we managed the first part of the race very good.

“Where I feel like we lost the race is when I took the second (Attack Mode). We nearly pulled it off, to slot in between both Jaguars. I think if we would have managed that it would have been a different race and we might have had a real chance at winning it.”

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Jaguar TCS Racing’s mastery of Attack Mode strategy allowed Mitch Evans to effectively take two free passes, holding onto the lead as Nick Cassidy held up the field behind him.

“Having both of them in front of us, that’s where all the games started to play out and where the gaps got created and where they could just take their Attack Modes for free, basically,” Vandoorne said.

Nevertheless, Vandoorne says the podium is a confidence booster for him, and his team with the Stellantis package used by DS Penske improving in relation to the pace-setting Jaguar and Porsche powertrains in race trim.

“It obviously helps. It’s always good to pull off a good result and I think our races have been the difficult point — I think we’ve always been able to qualify well but we’ve never really been able to capitalize on that and really play the race well,” he admitted. “I think now we’ve got a better understanding of that, we’re improving our car race-by-race as well and that’s starting to pay off, so I think we’re on the rise.”

Jaguar dominates Monaco E-Prix as Evans leads Cassidy home

Mitch Evans won the ABB Formula E championship’s Monaco E-Prix, leading home Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy, after a chaotic race on the streets of Monte Carlo. Both Jaguars started on the second row of the grid and wasted no time moving …

Mitch Evans won the ABB Formula E championship’s Monaco E-Prix, leading home Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy, after a chaotic race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Both Jaguars started on the second row of the grid and wasted no time moving forward, pressuring second-placed starter Stoffel Vandoorne into Sainte Devote on the first lap. The DS Penske man held firm, though, and the Jaguars had to wait to move into second and third.

Polesitter and race leader Pascal Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche went for the Attack Mode power boost on lap three, opening the door for Evans to take the lead — a position he would not relinquish for the rest of the race. Cassidy followed him through, but was facing pressure from a charging Jean-Eric Vergne.

A lap later, the race got its first safety car, after Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara slammed into the wall in the Swimming Pool section after an apparent brake failure. On the same lap, ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara forced Envision’s Sebastien Buemi up onto two wheels and then into the barrier at the Grand Hotel hairpin. Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa was also collected in the scuffle, while Sette Camara was slapped with a five-second penalty as a result.

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The race resumed on lap 9, with Evans taking his Attack Modes on laps 11 and 13. Such was Jaguar’s control at the front of the field, with Cassidy serving as a rear gunner to Evans, Evans was able to maintain the lead despite both times he took the slower, longer line.

Cassidy served his final Attack Mode pass-through on lap 17, and five laps later had it confirmed over the radio that the team was looking to maintain position — thus it was formation flying for the tow Jaguars out in front for the remainder of the race.

A brief second safety car didn’t deter them, either. The caution period came about after NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes forced ABT Cupra driver Nico Mueller into the wall at Rascasse on lap 25 of what was initially a 29-lap race, but extended to 31 as a result of the two safety car periods.

It was a first Monaco victory for Evans — who topped both practice sessions at the start of the day — and the factory Jaguar team, but second consecutive win in the Principality for it as a powertrain supplier following Cassidy’s win for former team Envision last season.

Stoffel Vandoorne took his first podium finish since his championship-winning season in 2021-22. He ended the race third, almost four seconds adrift of Evans, while Vergne maintained the two-by-two formation at the head of the field by finishing behind his teammate in fourth, the first safety car period destroying his challenge on Cassidy.

Wehrlein couldn’t recover from slipping down the field during his Attack Modes and wound up fifth, while Oliver Rowland put on another fine display for Nissan, clawing through from 15th on the grid to take sixth.

Da Costa recovered from the incident with Sette Camara and Buemi at the Grand Hotel hairpin to finish sixth, ahead of Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther, and Andretti’s Norman Nato who rounded out the top 10.

Taylor Barnard took 14th, behind Lucas di Grassi, Nyck de Vries and Dan Ticktum, on his debut for NEOM McLaren in place of the injured Sam Bird. He initially finished behind teammate Jake Hughes too but Hughes was handed a five-second penalty for his avoidable contact with Mueller. Mueller was subsequently one of two retirements along with Mortara.

Jake Dennis was the final runner to cross the line, in 20th, following a pit stop after sustaining front wing damage after being squeezed by Robin Frijns in the tunnel on lap 10. Frijns sustained front wing damage of his own on lap 17 after contact with da Costa. He finished 17th.

RESULTS

UPDATE: Hand injury forces Bird out of Monaco E-Prix

UPDATE: McLaren has confirmed that Bird has broken a bone in his left hand and will undergo further treatment upon his return home. “Sam has been undergoing an x-ray and CT scan to help clarify the nature of the injury,” the team said. …

UPDATE: McLaren has confirmed that Bird has broken a bone in his left hand and will undergo further treatment upon his return home.

“Sam has been undergoing an x-ray and CT scan to help clarify the nature of the injury,” the team said. “Unfortunately, scans have confirmed that he has broken one of the bones in his left hand and will require further treatment. Sam’s injury will be treated further upon return home to the UK.

“The team wishes Sam a speedy recovery and will be supporting him and his recovery as best as possible, to ensure he can compete again as quickly as possible.”

***

Sam Bird has withdrawn from the Monaco E-Prix following a crash in first practice.

The NEOM McLaren driver locked up on the approach to Sainte Devote in the final 10 minutes of the session, and made contact with the right-side wall in the run-off area. While it didn’t appear to be a major hit at the time, Bird could be seen checking his left hand after he got out the car.

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Bird was sent to hospital for an X-ray, and that the team’s reserve driver, 19-year-old Taylor Barnard — who was quickest in the rookie practice session at the Misano E-Prix two weeks ago — will be stepping in for the rest of the day.

“The NEOM McLaren Formula E team can confirm that Sam Bird will not be participating for the remainder of the Monaco E-Prix,” said the statement. “Following his on-track incident, there are signs of a potential hand injury, which needs further medical attention. Sam will be going to hospital for an x-ray to help clarify the nature of the injury.

“As a result, and pending approval from the FIA, Taylor Barnard will be stepping in for Sam for the remainder of the event, driving the No. 8 car. The team are already preparing the car ready in time for FP2 following the damage. Further updates will be provided via the team when these become available.”

Bird, a driver in Formula E since the first season a decade ago, has only missed two other races in the series’ history. He didn’t race in the Cape Town E-Prix last year after a crash in qualifying, while technical problems forced him off the grid moments before the second Jakarta E-Prix race last June.

Wehrlein takes Monaco E-Prix pole ahead of Vandoorne

Pascal Wehrlein secured his second consecutive Formula pole, and third of the season, by defeating Stoffel Vandoorne on the streets of Monaco. The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m29.861s was 0.433s quicker than the DS Penske man, with both …

Pascal Wehrlein secured his second consecutive Formula pole, and third of the season, by defeating Stoffel Vandoorne on the streets of Monaco.

The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m29.861s was 0.433s quicker than the DS Penske man, with both making it through to the Duels final after defeating both Jaguar TCS Racing drivers in the semifinals.

Wehrlein defeated Mitch Evans, who’d topped both practice sessions earlier in the morning, but an error at the Nouvelle Chicane cost him. Vandoorne recovered from a mistake at the start of his lap to overhaul Nick Cassidy who lost time at the swimming pool section towards the end of the lap.

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Ahead of the Jaguar Duels, Wehrlein beat Maximillian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing) while Vergne knocked out his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne. Evans and Cassidy defeated Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) and Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) in their respective opening Duels.

Wehrlein’s route to pole began by finishing second to Evans in the first part of group qualifying, ahead of Guenther and da Costa, with Robin Frijns (Rnvision), Sergio Sette Camara (ERT), Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra), Nyck de Vries (Mahindra), Oliver Rowland (Nissan), Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra) and Norman Nato (Andretti) all failing to advance.

Vandoorne, meanwhile, topped his group, ahead of Cassidy, Buemi, and Vergne, with Jehan Daruvala (Maserati), Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra), Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan), and the British quartet of Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren), Jake Dennis (Andretti), Dan Ticktum (ERT), and Taylor Barnard (McLaren) all failing to advance.

Behind the front row of Wehrlein and Vandoorne, it will be Cassidy in third and Evans fourth on the grid, with champions Vergne, Buemi, and da Costa behind in fifth, sixth, and seventh. Guenther will start eighth, with Frijns and Daruvala completing the top-10 grid positions.

Sette Camara will line up 11th, ahead of Mortara, de Vries, Fenestraz, Rowland, and Hughes, with de Grassi, Dennis, Nato, Ticktum, Mueller, and Barnard completing the grid.

Mueller initially qualified 13th, but was dropped to the penultimate position due to a discrepancy with the torque being applied by his car’s rear wheels.

RESULTS

Evans remains on top in Monaco E-Prix FP2

Mitch Evans remained on top in second practice for the Monaco E-Prix as once again Jaguar powertrains took the top two spots. Factory team driver Evans set a best time of 1m29.521s, 0.129s ahead of Envision Racing driver Robin Frijns, while TAG …

Mitch Evans remained on top in second practice for the Monaco E-Prix as once again Jaguar powertrains took the top two spots.

Factory team driver Evans set a best time of 1m29.521s, 0.129s ahead of Envision Racing driver Robin Frijns, while TAG Heuer Porsche improved to muscle into the top five. Pascal Wehrlein was third, 0.151s off the top spot, with Antonio Felix da Costa improving two places from his FP1 performance to finish fourth, albeit 0.308s off his teammate.

Maximilian Guenther was fifth for Maserati MSG Racing, ahead of ERT’s Dan Ticktum and Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, with DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne, Nyck de Vries of Mahindra, and Andretti’s Norman Nato rounding to the top 10.

Nick Cassidy was 11th in the second Jaguar TCS Racing entry, one spot ahead of Edoardo Mortara who spent much of the session in the top-five, until he crashed out of the session in the final five minutes.

In an incident reminiscent of Sam Bird’s in FP1 — which has forced him to sit out the remainder of the day — the Mahindra driver locked up going into Sainte Devote and slid into the wall, the hard contact breaking his car’s steering.

Jehan Daruvala wound up 13th in the second Maserati, ahead of Jake Hughes and Jake Dennis of Andretti and NEOM McLaren respectively, Nico Mueller of Abt Cupra, Sacha Fenestraz of Nissan, and DS Penske driver Jean-Eric Vergne.

Lucas di Grassi was 19th for Abt Cupra, ahead of Envision’s Sebastien Buemi and Sergio Sette Camara who once again faced issues with ERT. Taylor Barnard rounded out the field, the McLaren driver playing catch-up after the late call for him to step in for the injured Bird.

RESULTS

Evans leads opening Monaco E-Prix practice

Mitch Evans set the pace in the opening practice session for the Monaco E-Prix as Jaguar-powered cars swept the top-three positions. His best time of 1m30.414 was 0.299s quicker than Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, with his Jaguar TCS Racing …

Mitch Evans set the pace in the opening practice session for the Monaco E-Prix as Jaguar-powered cars swept the top-three positions.

His best time of 1m30.414 was 0.299s quicker than Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, with his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy a further 0.393s back in third. NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes was fourth, ahead of Andretti driver Jake Dennis, the top-five covered by just over a second.

TAG Heuer Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa was unhappy with the balance of his car in the session and wound up sixth, 0.043s off Dennis. Behind him was the Mahindra pairing of Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries, with Andretti’s Norman Nato and Sebastien Buemi in the second Envision rounding out the top-10.

Maximilian Guenther finished the session in 11th for the Monaco-based Maserati MSG Racing team, ahead of series champions Lucas de Grassi (Abt Cupra) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), with Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and Dan Ticktum (ERT) 14th and 15th respectively.

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Misano Race 1 winner Oliver Rowland was 16th quickest, despite a spin at the Grand Hotel Hairpin in the final minute of the session. The Nissan driver finished ahead of Nico Mueller in the second Abt Cupra entry, Jean-Eric Vergne int he other DS Penske, teammate Sacha Fenestraz, and Maserati driver Jehan Daruvala.

McLaren’s Sam Bird finished the session 21st after going into the barriers at Sainte Devote in the final 10 minutes following a lockup of his right-front tire. The incident didn’t bring out a red flag, although there was one halfway through the session after an advertising hoarding was pulled onto the track on the run down to Mirabeu.

ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara completed the field, albeit more than 11 seconds off the pace.

RESULTS