Jaguar – Syndication Server

Nissan, Jaguar punished for Formula E cost cap breaches

Jaguar and Nissan have been hit with fines and testing restrictions for breaching Formula E’s cost cap regulations during the 2022-23 season, following the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration process. They are the first-ever breaches of Formula E’s cost …

Formula E introduced a cost cap of €13 million per season from the 2022-23 campaign – the ninth season of the all-electric series, and the first in which the GEN3 car was raced. Additionally, and separate from teams, powertrain manufacturers are only allowed to spend €25 million over the course of two consecutive seasons as of Season 9.

Jaguar Racing and Nissan Nissan Formula E team – the teams, not the manufacturers – were deemed to have committed procedural and minor overspend breaches during Season 9, with Nissan’s breach being 2 percent of the €13 million cost cap, and Jaguar’s breach being by 0.6 percent.

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Nissan’s breach was said to be by €269,252, for incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs relating to simulator and travel costs, car component costs, social contribution costs, the offsetting of apprentice subsidy and other recharges, and costs of services received by its manufacturer partner (Nissan).

Jaguar’s breach, meanwhile, was by £73,849, and related to unrecorded costs of paddock fees, truck rental costs, simulator development costs, an overstatement of marketing activities, and “costs in respect of non-Formula E activities”.

The FIA said that both teams have “acted cooperatively throughout the review process and have sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the Financial Regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence of aggravating factors or that they have sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in fraudulent manner, and nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.”

For its breach, Nissan will pay a fine of €300,000 and will lose half a day (three hours) of running on the first day of pre-season testing for the upcoming season. Jaguar, meanwhile, gets a €100,000 fine and a loss of half a day of running on the first day of pre-season testing. All punishments come as part of an Accepted Breach Agreement reached by both teams with the FIA. Both decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

In response to the ruling, Nissan, in a statement sent to RACER, said, “Following the review of the Reporting Documentation for the 2022-2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship by the FIA Cost Cap Administration, Nissan Formula E Team recognizes to have unwittingly and unintentionally incurred in a minor procedural and overspend breach of less than two percent of the Cost Cap.

“The team has therefore signed an Accepted Breach of Agreement (ABA) as offered by the FIA Cost Cap Administration in order to resolve this matter. Following a very cooperative review process with the Cost Cap Administration and an exhaustive internal audit, Nissan Formula E Team has determined that these minor breaches are exclusively related to the process of interpretation and adaption of the new Financial Regulations at a time when the team was also facing specific challenges linked to its change of ownership, full restructure, and relocation.

“Nissan Formula E Team has since put in place all the necessary precautions to avoid these kinds of miscalculations and oversights in the future.”

The breaches are the first of their kind in Formula E. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

Jaguar, in a statement of its own, accepted the ruling, and said that had it filed correctly, it would have been compliant.

“Like all Formula E teams, we have welcomed the introduction of the FIA Formula E Financial Regulations and have worked transparently and cooperatively with the Cost Cap Administration throughout this first full reporting period covering Season 9,” the team said.

“It’s an extremely complex process and while at all times JRL acted in good faith with honesty, integrity and in a spirit of transparency and cooperation, we acknowledge that procedural filing errors have led to the minor overspend breach of 0.6%, GBP £73,849.

“Following consultation with the FIA, we believe that had we filed correctly we would have been fully compliant with Teams’ Cost Cap and the minor overspend breach would not have occurred. Unfortunately, we understand a re-filing is not allowable by the current Regulations and therefore due to these unintended procedural errors we are in a very minor overspend position. At no time did we seek or gain a technical or sporting advantage, as can be seen and confirmed by the Cost Cap Administration’s findings and the nature of the ABA.

“We will continue to work closely with the FIA going forward on the development and application of the cost cap and in the best interests of Formula E – the pinnacle of electric racing.”

Jaguar finished second in the 2022-23 season, with four wins (all courtesy of Mitch Evans), while Nissan finished seventh, its best finish being a second place in the second race of the Rome E-Prix by Norman Nato, who was recently re-signed by the team for upcoming season after a year with Andretti.

Jaguar’s Barclay soaks up championship glory

Jaguar is one of motorsport’s most fabled brands, but not since the iconic Silk Cut XJR-14 won the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 has it tasted title glory on the world stage. That all changed on Sunday when it emerged from Formula E’s season …

Jaguar is one of motorsport’s most fabled brands, but not since the iconic Silk Cut XJR-14 won the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 has it tasted title glory on the world stage.

That all changed on Sunday when it emerged from Formula E’s season finale with both the teams’ and manufacturers’ titles. A lot was made of Jaguar TCS Racing’s failure to win the drivers’ championship in the all-electric open-wheel series with either Mitch Evans or Nick Cassidy, but for team principal James Barclay, winning two titles out of three for the big cat remained a momentous achievement.

“Back in 2016, our first season, the goal was to come and win world championships,” said Barclay (pictured above). “So (to win) Jaguar’s first world championship since 1991, I’m very proud of the team we’ve created that can beat giants like Porsche in a fight for a world championship like this.”

“So incredibly proud of the men and women that have built our team up from scratch. This is our only motorsport program, and we do a phenomenal job. So I’m firstly, incredibly proud, and I’m incredibly happy we fulfill all of our ambitions.”

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Cassidy started Sunday’s final race of the season from pole, and after taking his two Attack Modes early, had been in a position to cycle through to the race win and take the championship until he was hit by Antonio Felix da Costa — a collision which started a chain of events that would ultimately lead to him retiring from the race. Evans, meanwhile, finished behind TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein after a botched Attack Mode strategy which he branded “unfair.”

Of course, missing out on the drivers’ title, something Barclay admitted will take some analysis to explain, remained a disappointment.

“We’ll go back and have a look at that and analyze. Nick was taken out of a really strong position to win the world championship,” he said.

“We’re incredibly competitive people. We wanted one of our drivers to win the world championship. But, congratulations to Pascal … deserving champion in many respects. It’s not sour grapes.

“I’m really, really proud of this team. So we’ll embrace this, enjoy it, and very much celebrate being teams’ champions.

A few hours after winning the teams’ crown, Jaguar — which also supplies Envision Racing — claimed the Manufacturers’ Trophy after a post-race penalty for da Costa for his coming together with Cassidy. It capped off a stellar year for the brand, which first entered Formula E in the third season of the series’ existence.

“World championships against world-class competition don’t come without absolutely giving everything,” said Barclay. “It’s the last thought at night, the first thought in the morning, the commitment of our company, JLR, to allow us to come and put Jaguar back on the top step of the podium — I always said we should write Jaguar’s next chapter of successes, that’s what this program is about. And I think we stand shoulder to shoulder with some of Jaguar’s best-ever achievements in the sport. So (I’m) very proud of that. But for Mitch, for Nick, I’m gutted. As Mitch said, we’ve maybe done half the job, and we’ll go back and look at that and come back stronger next year.

“But for now, we’ll take stock and absolutely celebrate our first world championship back in world-class motorsport, and we should be very proud of that.”

Jaguar edges Porsche to Formula E Manufacturers’ Trophy after da Costa penalty in London

Porsche lost the Formula E Manufacturers’ Trophy following a post-race penalty for Antonio Felix da Costa. The German manufacturer – represented by the TAG Heuer Porsche factory team and customer outfit Andretti – clinched the title, which was …

Porsche lost the Formula E Manufacturers’ Trophy following a post-race penalty for Antonio Felix da Costa.

The German manufacturer – represented by the TAG Heuer Porsche factory team and customer outfit Andretti – clinched the title, which was newly-introduced this season, at Sunday’s finale in London.

However, in the hours after the conclusion of the second London E-Prix race, da Costa was handed a 5s penalty for hitting Nick Cassidy. The penalty dropped da Costa from fifth to 13th and out of the points. The collision ultimately cost the New Zealander a chance at winning the Drivers’ championship, but ironically ended up clinching the Manufacturers’ crown for Jaguar. The championship implications of the collision were not considered in the decision making process, though.

“During the hearing, the driver of car No. 13 (da Costa) was very contrite and the driver of car No. 37, was gracious,” read a steward’s statement. “Both the competitors and teams acted in a very professional manner. Both competitors were clear that they wanted the incident decided as a single incident, not taking into account the surrounding context of the final round.”

Factory team Jaguar TCS Racing had already been declared Teams’ champion following the conclusion of Sunday’s race, with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein claiming the Drivers’ title. The revision means that Jaguar edges Porsche in the Manufacturers’ standings by a slender four points.

Jaguar’s right of review for Evans’ Portland penalty rejected

Jaguar TCS Racing’s right to review the decision which cost Mitch Evans victory in Saturday’s first Portland E-Prix race has been thrown out. Evans was hit with a 5s penalty after a collision with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, dropping him from first …

Jaguar TCS Racing’s right to review the decision which cost Mitch Evans victory in Saturday’s first Portland E-Prix race has been thrown out.

Evans was hit with a 5s penalty after a collision with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, dropping him from first to eighth by race’s end. The penalty came with a spin for Evans’ teammate Nick Cassidy, derailing a hugely strong race for the team where both drivers had an obvious shot at the victory.

“It was clearly a disappointing result in the grand scale of it, but we were on for a double podium in an immensely tense race where a lot of strategy came into place,” team principal James Barclay told Formula E’s broadcast on Sunday morning, before the FIA’s final decision had been made. “The team and drivers executed brilliantly, but that last bit obviously fell away for us. Nick drove 25 brilliant laps so I really feel for him; he really was so close to a phenomenal win.”

Barclay added, “It’s a hard one to judge. The consistency of the penalty is a hard one to take; I don’t think it was deserving of losing a race.

“Our view is that Mitch had a right to have a lane, Jake had rejoined from Attack Mode and Mitch, we felt, was right to be left some room, in a corner that you can run side-by-side. But that’s our perspective. The stewards…ultimately we have to respect their final decision, whatever that may be.”

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With the initial decision made in the race, the penalty couldn’t be directly appealed, but Jaguar had a right to call for a review if it could bring new evidence to the table. Explaining the situation to RACER, Barclay said, “The difference between the right of appeal and the right to review is decisions made which are applicable for a right of appeal means you can put a formal appeal against the stewards’ decision.

“A right to review means you have the option to bring new evidence that wasn’t available at the time the stewards made their decision for them to consider for review. They don’t have to; they have the option to decline it, they have the option to accept it. In a right to review, [if] the option is to accept it, they will look at the new evidence and they will reconsider whether their decision is valid based on the context of that new information.

“If it isn’t, they’ll keep their decision. If it is and it fundamentally means they review their decision to be incorrect based on that evidence provided, they will reconsider either taking the penalty away or applying a different penalty depending on the circumstance.”

The former is what happened, with an FIA stewards bulletin posted ahead of qualifying noting that “the review is unfounded” and the penalty is “upheld.”

“After the race, the Stewards received car data from the lap before and during the incident (laps 3 and 4) at the location of the incident,” read the stewards’ decision. “Team representatives from Jaguar TCS Racing presented the data trace showing speed, vertical acceleration, and throttle application.

“Upon review, the Stewards recognized that the driver of Car 9 made an effort to avoid contact with Car 5, but it is the view of the Stewards that Car 9 could have made even more of an effort to avoid contact, and as such, Decision 18 is upheld.

“The Stewards appreciate Jaguar TCS Racing for their preparation and presentation of this new, significant and relevant evidence.”

Evans leads Jaguar one-two in final Portland practice

Mitch Evans continued his strong Saturday form into the second half of the Portland E-Prix by topping Sunday morning’s practice session ahead of his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy. The session took place in cooler conditions than Saturday’s …

Mitch Evans continued his strong Saturday form into the second half of the Portland E-Prix by topping Sunday morning’s practice session ahead of his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy.

The session took place in cooler conditions than Saturday’s running, with clouds covering the track, and despite locking out the top two spots, both Jaguar drivers had moments during the session, with Evans ending up on the grass at the final corner in the final few minutes, while Cassidy straight-lined the Turn 1 chicane.

Nevertheless, with a best time of 1m 08.659, Evans’ fastest lap was 0.044s quicker than Cassidy who spun out of the lead during Saturday’s race, handing victory on the road to Evans, who ultimately lost it as well due to a penalty for a collision with Jake Hughes.

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NEOM McLaren driver Hughes, who dropped out of the lead battle early on Saturday after the collision with Evans, was third quickest ahead of the declared Saturday winner, TAG Heuer Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa, with Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi fifth.

Dan Ticktum continued to show strong pace for ERT, ending the session sixth, ahead of Andretti’s Norman Nato, Envision’s Robin Frijns, and Edoardo Mortara of Mahindra. Both Nissans of Sacha Fenestraz and Caio Collet were next up, in 10th and 11th, with Nyck de Vries 12th in the other Mahindra.

Jean-Eric Vergne was 13th for DS Penske, making him comfortably the highest-placed Stellantis driver, while Porsche-powered duo Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and Jake Dennis (Andretti) finished a lowly 14th and 15th, some way off their counterparts.

Sergio Sette Camara was 16th in the second ERT, ahead of Abt Cupra’s Nico Mueller, DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther, and McLaren driver Sam Bird, with Lucas di Grassi and Jehan Daruvala completing the field for Abt Cupra and Maserati respectively.

RESULTS

Portland a case of ‘right place, right time’ for da Costa

Antonio Felix da Costa knows a thing or two about losing a clear win because of a stewards’ decision. Only this time around, he was the beneficiary. At the first race of the Misano E-Prix, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver ended a dismal run of form to …

Antonio Felix da Costa knows a thing or two about losing a clear win because of a stewards’ decision. Only this time around, he was the beneficiary.

At the first race of the Misano E-Prix, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver ended a dismal run of form to win on the road, only for an illegal part to disqualify him later on. In Portland, Mitch Evans crossed the line first, but a penalty for contact with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes dropped him down the order.

Da Costa knows exactly how it feels, but that didn’t stop him enjoying the moment.

“I’ve got to say congrats to Mitch because he did win this one on the track and I know how it feels to have one taken away, so hats off to him,” he conceded. “But we’ll take it; we did everything right today. It’s always hard fighting against two cars of the same team, but we were able to put the Jags under pressure there, and with Nick making a mistake at the end…”

After a relatively anonymous race for his championship-challenging teammate, da Costa was fighting a solo battle for Porsche against the strong Jaguar pairing of Evans and Nick Cassidy, but with Evans’ penalty and a late race spin for Cassidy – which cost him a probable win – the Portuguese driver came out on top.

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“I just really wanted to keep it clean and be there at the end and see how it unfolded,” da Costa said. “It looked like I was going to finish third and then Nick made a mistake, Mitch had a penalty, and we took the win there at the end so it’s an amazing run of races to be honest.”

The win, whatever form it might take, is da Costa’s third of the year and third from the last four races. It’s a remarkable turnaround in form for a driver who not only failed to register a podium in the first nine races of the year (including the stripped win in Italy), but also was the subject of paddock rumors regarding his future within the Porsche team.

“I will never ever, after what I’ve been through this year, take any win or any podium for granted. I got lucky today to get this win so I’ll make sure to enjoy it for sure,” he said of his rebound. “I’ve learnt a lot about myself, I’ve learnt a lot about people, about sports, about everything. I think when you have bad times and you take the good stuff out of it, you become a little bit stronger.

“Everyone here’s been up and down in their life at some point in racing so – today we were lucky – I’ll never take them for granted. I’ll be happy, I’ll celebrate because I know how hard it is to win a race these days, so I’ll definitely take this one.”

Evans takes Jaguar to Portland E-Prix pole ahead of Andretti’s Nato

Mitch Evans will start the first race of the Portland E-Prix from pole position after defeating Andretti’s Norman Nato in the Qualifying Duels final. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver’s time in the final head-to-head was 1m08.820s, 0.196s quicker than …

Mitch Evans will start the first race of the Portland E-Prix from pole position after defeating Andretti’s Norman Nato in the Qualifying Duels final.

The Jaguar TCS Racing driver’s time in the final head-to-head was 1m08.820s, 0.196s quicker than Nato who finished both practice sessions in the top two as well. He won’t start on the front row, though, with a 10 place grid penalty for accumulated driving infringement reprimands this season dropping him down the order.

Ahead of the final, Evans defeated Abt Cupra driver Lucas di Grassi and Jake Hughes, Evans having been beaten by the NEOM McLaren to the top of the first group session too.

Nato, meanwhile, saw off ERT driver Dan Ticktum – making his first Duels appearance of the year – and Envision’s Robin Frijns who lost time after a scrappy first couple of corners.

Pole, and the subsequent three points, for Evans is a massive shot in the arm for his championship ambitions, with Oliver Rowland sidelined for the weekend and both teammate Nick Cassidy and TAG Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Weherlein (currently second in the points) both missing out on the head-to-head Duels.

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Cassidy could only muster eighth in the opening session, as Hughes, Evans, Sergio Sette Camara (who later lost his spot in the head-to-heads to Edoardo Mortara after being penalized for impeding) and di Grassi all advanced.

It seemingly opened the door for Wehrlein to pounce in the second group, but he too fell, finishing fifth behind the advancing Ticktum, Antonio Felix da Costa, Frijns, and Nato.

Hughes will line up alongside Evans on the front row of the grid as a result of Nato’s penalty, with Frijns and da Costa occupying the second row. Ticktum will start fifth, ahead of Mortara, Nico Mueller, Wehrlein, Sebastien Buemi, and Jake Dennis, who completes the top 10, two spots ahead of his teammate Nato. Cassidy splits the Andretti pair in 11th, with di Grassi behind Nato in 13th.

Caio Collet continued his impressive debut weekend filling in for Rowland by outqualifying his more experienced Nissan teammate Sacha Fenetraz. He will line up 14th, with Fenestraz 16th, Jean-Eric Vergne splitting the two as the highest-placed Stellantis driver. DS Penske teammate Stoffell Vandoorne will start 17th, ahead of both Maseratis — Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala — while Sam Bird, Nyck de Vries, and the penalized Sette Camara complete the grid.

RESULTS

Cassidy saves up for late charge to win first race of Berlin E-Prix

Nick Cassidy emerged victorious from a thrilling first Berlin E-Prix race, climbing from ninth on the grid to win by 4.651s. But that relatively comfortable victory margin wasn’t a true reflection of the race, which was the most competitive of the …

Nick Cassidy emerged victorious from a thrilling first Berlin E-Prix race, climbing from ninth on the grid to win by 4.651s.

But that relatively comfortable victory margin wasn’t a true reflection of the race, which was the most competitive of the year so far. As with Misano, the Berlin track’s fast nature and resultant high energy consumption led to a race with an abundance of overtaking with nobody comfortable enough to pull away until the late stages.

Cassidy played that game to perfection, dropping as low as 21st early in the race as he saved energy. With power in the bank, he was able to storm into the lead conversation after the race’s allotted 40 laps were up, the contest being extended by six more tours after two safety car periods.

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On the restart from the second safety car period — caused by Maximilian Guether slamming the wall on the exit of Turn 9 — 12 laps from the end, it was Nissan’s Oliver Rowland who emerged from a four-wide battle for the lead at Turn 6, but Evans slipped by at the next corner.

A lap later it was DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne on the point; Cassidy was a lowly 13th then, but continued to hack away at the pack ahead, thanks to the energy conserved in the thick of the field while those in front squabbled over the prime positions. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver then moved to the fore with four to go, and dropped the hammer to gap those behind him.

Vergne was the winner of the lottery for second, ahead of Rowland who completed another impressive climb — from 15th on the grid — to complete the podium, with Evans fourth. The DS Penske man was an early leader along with teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, polesitter Edoardo Mortara and the TAG Heuer Porsche duo of Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa.

Such was the frequency of passing throughout the field, an early safety car — brought out to clear the stricken Envision Racing car of Joel Eriksson after he came to a stop on the exit of Turn 4 — was extended to re-rack the field, with Vandoorne having swept by Wehrlein for second into Turn 1 as the yellows came out.

When the race restarted on lap 17, Vergne was able to hold on out in front with Wehrlein behind him, but a dip into the Attack Mode activation zone dropped Vandoorne back, and he’d be out of the win fight entirely after being slowed by a collision between Dan Ticktum and Lucas di Grassi ahead of him that help up multiple drivers. He eventually recovered to seventh behind the two factory Porsches after initially falling further back as the race progressed.

FOUR WIDE FOR THE LEAD IN BERLIN 🤯@SUNMINIMEAL #BerlinEPrix pic.twitter.com/Rz1XkD2rNP

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 11, 2024

Mortara finished eighth having fallen away from the leaders relatively early on. Sacha Fenestraz and Taylor Barnard — scoring his first points — finished ninth and 10th, staying out of trouble to come from 16th and 13th on the grid respectively.

Joining Guenther and Eriksson in failing to finish were Jake Dennis and di Grassi. Dennis put in a stellar performance to climb from the back of the grid into the top three, but a lock-up at Turn 3 ruined his day and a subsequent puncture ending it entirely. His Andretti teammate Norman Nato also suffered a puncture, but was able to finish the race in 18th and with the fastest lap.

RESULTS

Evans looking to double down for Jaguar as Formula E season doubles up

Mitch Evans is entering the second half of the Formula E season on a high note after a perfectly timed victory in the Monaco E-Prix two weeks ago. Now he’s hoping he can carry the momentum of that victory forward as he seeks a first title in the …

Coming into the season, the Jaguar TCS Racing driver was a championship favorite for many, but didn’t notch up a first win until Round 8 of 16. Now, on the eve of the Berlin E-Prix, which kicks off the second half of the year, Evans is hoping that Monaco win can be a sign of things to come as he looks to put a “a really strange start to the year” behind him.

“The win came at a really good time — obviously doing it in Monaco is extra-special, but from a championship perspective, I really needed a win like that at that time of the season,” he told RACER. “I would’ve preferred it to come earlier — I was close in Sao Paulo — but I’ve just had a really strange start to the year.

“Hopefully it puts us in a good place, performance-wise, to continue our form that we had in Monaco. The tracks now are all completely different to that so we’re going to have to keep on top of (things) on the performance side.

“I’m feeling good. It was good to get that win, it takes a little bit of relief out of our bodies, but it’s now crunch time in the season so we’re shifting focus onto that.”

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Unlike the start first half of the season, the second is comprised of only doubleheaders, with events in Shanghai, Portland, and the UK in addition to this week’s races in Berlin filling out the remaining eight rounds of the calendar. It’s not something Evans is particularly fond of.

“I’ve never really been a fan of doubleheaders,” he admitted. “I like that single event, grand prix style, when you focus on that one race and then you go onto the next one. I think it’s just a little bit fairer because if a powertrain’s dominant in one location, they get two stabs at it and sometimes it’s difficult to turn things around over the course of a doubleheader.

“We’ll have to wait and see. I hope it plays out, but if I had my own way, I’d rather have eight different locations.”

Of the four stops on the schedule left, Evans feels that there will be an even split of tracks that will benefit Jaguar’s package and that won’t, with the temporary courses playing more into the team’s hands.

“Hopefully here (Berlin) and I think London will definitely suit us,” he said. “Portland and China are probably more my concerns — those types of tracks don’t tend to suit our package as much.”

Monaco breakthrough was a relief for Evans (at left) as well as a step ahead of Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Cassidy, who figures to be among his strongest rivals in the title race. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images

Another thing Evans will have to juggle in the championship run-in is his relationship with teammate Nick Cassidy. After the Monaco race, Evans hailed Cassidy, saying “I really appreciate the team player he was today.” But with both still firmly in the championship fight, could it lead to an intra-team conflict? Evans doesn’t think so.

“At this time of the season we’re both in with a shot of the title so it’s too early to be putting any eggs in the one basket,” he said. “Hopefully we both are in with a good shot come London, but it will be up to me and him to manage and the team to manage. But as long as it’s fair between both of us, if one of us is out of contention come the end, you kind of expect some sort of help.

“It’s a good problem to have.”

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.”