Tag: Nick Cassidy

Cassidy credits mix of strategy and luck in Berlin E-Prix victory

Nick Cassidy says the split of strategy over luck was “40/60” in his storming drive to first in the first race of the Berlin E-Prix doubleheader this weekend. The Jaguar TCS driver looked very much like an outsider, qualifying ninth and dropping as …

Nick Cassidy says the split of strategy over luck was “40/60” in his storming drive to first in the first race of the Berlin E-Prix doubleheader this weekend.

The Jaguar TCS driver looked very much like an outsider, qualifying ninth and dropping as low as 21st early in the race, but an aggressive top-10-wide fight for the victory, allied with him slipping back and conserving energy allowed him to power through late on and win by an unusually high margin of 4.651 seconds.

“Today I got very lucky, but you need that sometimes in Formula E, so we’ll take it,” he said. “I didn’t actually have a great start, I wasn’t that fast but we played it smart and stayed out of trouble and here we are.”

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While high overtake counts are nothing unusual in Formula E, Cassidy called Saturday’s race “insane,” telling RACER that while races typically have drivers avoiding the lead until late on to save energy, the opposite was the case this time around.

“It just seemed today that everybody was desperate to be leading,” he said. “The race was so aggressive — a lot of crashes, a lot of people pushing forwards, and I think I was one of the few guys that removed myself from that.”

Despite the win, Cassidy still wasn’t entirely satisfied with his day which began by missing out on the qualifying Duels and a shot at pole.

“I’m standing here now, it’s an amazing day and a fantastic moment, but I’m realistic,” he said. “We haven’t really been fast enough this weekend, really. I was the top Jaguar, but I was 10th in qualifying.

“So it’s not really good enough by our own standards — we’ve got a lot of work to do tonight, we need to be quicker so let’s see how tomorrow goes. Things can change very quickly.”

Sunday’s race will be shorter than Saturday’s prescribed 40 laps (it was extended by six laps after two safety car periods) but Cassidy doesn’t expect the overall picture to be radically different, joking that “it’ll change things by two laps, I guess.” Still, he does expect more people to have a go at his winning strategy of saving and staying out of trouble before charging forward, even though the Berlin track’s characteristics ought to lend itself to races where drivers should want to be leading.

“I think more people will be looking at it tomorrow, for sure,” he suggested. “It’s actually not that easy to pass here, even though it looks it. For the lead it might be, but in the pack it’s really difficult to overtake, so I think that’s why everyone was pretty ambitious.”

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.

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

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

Cassidy wins second Diriyah E-Prix for Jaguar

Nick Cassidy won the second part of the Diriyah E-Prix, holding off early leader Robin Frijns and polesitter Oliver Rowland. Cassidy and Frijns swamped Rowland off the start, with the Envision driver sneaking up the inside. Cassidy, however, had to …

Nick Cassidy won the second part of the Diriyah E-Prix, holding off early leader Robin Frijns and polesitter Oliver Rowland.

Cassidy and Frijns swamped Rowland off the start, with the Envision driver sneaking up the inside. Cassidy, however, had to bide his time as Rowland held firm.

Timing of the Attack Mode power boost early on would prove to be crucial in deciding the race outcome, with Rowland blinking first on lap 4. Frijns went a lap later, having pushed in the intervening time to ensure he maintained position. But Cassidy was left out in front after his two rivals for the win went through the activation zone.

Cassidy had track position and set about building a gap, he went for the Attack Mode on lap 7, going for his second activation soon after while he could still capitalize on his advantage out in front.

For the remainder of the race, Frijns and Rowland remained on Cassidy’s tail, but could not find a way past.

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Cassidy’s win, his first for Jaguar TCS Racing, was by just 1.192s in the end, a stark contrast to Friday’s race which was won by Andretti driver Jake Dennis by over 13 seconds.

The top four were covered by less than three seconds by the race’s end, with NEOM McLaren driver Jake Hughes ended the race shadowing the lead trio, having gained two spots from his starting position.

DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top five, ahead of Sacha Fenestraz and Pascal Wehrlein. Jean-Eric Vergne, Maximilian Guenther, and Friday winner Dennis completed the top 10, with Mitch Evans in 11th having followed Dennis through past Sergio Sette Camara at the end of lap 14. Sette Camara — who had made contact with Wehrlein earlier in the race — eventually wound up 17th, second-to-last of the finishers, having started in the top 10, the ERT still struggling with efficiency over a race distance.

His teammate Dan Ticktum was one of three retirements in the race, with Maserati MSG’s Jehan Daruvala and McLaren’s Sam Bird joining him on the sidelines.

Daruvala’s race ended on lap 27 after an apparent regen failure at Turn 18 which brought out a full-course yellow. Bird, meanwhile, made contact with a wall moments after a failed overtake attempt on Fenestraz through Turns 18 and 19.

Formula E now enters a seven-week break following the cancellation of the Hyderabad E-Prix, with the next round taking place in Sao Paulo on March 16.

RESULTS

Cassidy leads final day of Formula E testing

Nick Cassidy kept Jaguar TCS Racing at the top of the timesheets as Formula E pre-season testing concluded in Valencia. In an extended day of running, to negate the time lost by Tuesday’s fire, the New Zealander set a best time of 1m24.617s, taking …

Nick Cassidy kept Jaguar TCS Racing at the top of the timesheets as Formula E pre-season testing concluded in Valencia.

In an extended day of running, to negate the time lost by Tuesday’s fire, the New Zealander set a best time of 1m24.617s, taking the top spot in the final 20 minutes of the day.

It was a busy final hour, with Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther on top initially as the clock ticked into the final 60 minutes. Guenther, who had gone fastest at three of the last four pre-season tests in Valencia, looked set to add to that record until Mitch Evans in the other Jaguar bettered him with half an hour to go. But just when it looked like Evans was to complete a clean sweep of pre-season — having topped the other two days of running — Guenther responded, before he was dethroned again, this time by Cassidy.

Evans’ Tuesday best remained the fastest time across all of testing, with power subsequently cut by 50kW to 300kW as a precaution for the test after Tuesday’s fire.

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Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns was fourth fastest, making it three Jaguar-powered cars in the top four, despite having been sidelined for part of the day after being forced to make a battery change. Pascal Wehrlein completed the top five ahead of Andretti Global’s Norman Nato, who was 0.094s quicker than teammate and reigning series champion Jake Dennis.

Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes split the Andretti pair, with DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne rounding out the top 10 ahead of Sebastien Buemi who completed a day high of 127 laps, a stark contrast to his Envision teammate Frijns whose lap count was lowest (60) after his issues.

After having its operation slimmed down after the WAE fire in an adjacent garage, Nyck de Vries took over Mahindra’s sole remaining car, and went 17th fastest, bettering the Mahindra-powered Abt Cupra entry of Nico Mueller by 0.059s.

Ahead of general testing, the day began with a 27-lap race simulation to give drivers a chance to run through things like start and pit procedures — the fast-charging pit stops being simulated too. Frijns finished that first, ahead of Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, but the result of the dress rehearsal was inconsequential and no points were on offer.

Formula E runner-up Cassidy joins Jaguar

Nick Cassidy has joined Jaguar TCS Racing for the 2023-24 Formula E season, replacing Sam Bird who raced for the team for the last three seasons. The move comes after Cassidy finished second in the 2022-23 season with four race victories driving for …

Nick Cassidy has joined Jaguar TCS Racing for the 2023-24 Formula E season, replacing Sam Bird who raced for the team for the last three seasons.

The move comes after Cassidy finished second in the 2022-23 season with four race victories driving for Envision Racing – a Jaguar customer operation which took the Teams’ championship.

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“I’m very excited to be joining the Jaguar TCS Racing team for the 2024 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and I am looking forward to racing for a team like Jaguar that has such a successful motorsport history,” said Cassidy. “This season has been my most successful to date, so I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 and fight for points, podiums and wins.”

Cassidy will line up alongside compatriot Mitch Evans, who was also a 2022-23 title contender and matched Cassidy’s season-high wins tally.

“Looking forward to having Mitch as a teammate, we have known each other since we were kids and have raced against each other for years, so I’m proud that we will be racing together and hope to continue to put New Zealand on the map in motorsport.”

Jaguar team principal James Barclay hailed the signing of the 2017 Super GT and 2019 Super Formula champion, and declared his team’s new all-Kiwi lineup as “one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid”.

Cassidy and Evans will be teammates from next season. Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images

“We are thrilled to announce that Nick Cassidy has joined Jaguar TCS Racing,” he said. “Nick’s track record speaks for itself and is someone we have always had our eye on back to his time racing in Japan.

“Since joining Formula E he has gone from strength to strength and his 2023 season was very impressive. Nick was highly motivated to join the team and we are proud to welcome him into the Jaguar family.

“We head into the new season with one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid and paired with the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 and our talented team we will be looking to once again challenge for both the Drivers and Teams World Championship titles.”

Cassidy’s signing follows news that Evans recently signed a new “multi-year” contract with Jaguar, continuing a relationship that began in 2016, making it the longest driver and team pairing in Formula E history.

“Having been with Jaguar TCS Racing since 2016, it was the natural choice to continue our successful partnership,” he said. “We’ve had some incredible moments over the last seven years and I’m looking forward to writing our next chapter together. I am proud to race for Jaguar and play my part with the team in JLR’s Reimagine strategy.”

After his exit from Jaguar, Bird is expected to join NEOM McLaren for the 2023-24 season.

Cassidy masters the wet to win second London E-Prix

A day on from the frustration of seeing his championship chances evaporate via a collision with his teammate, Nick Cassidy put on a masterful display amid challenging wet conditions in the second Hankook London E-Prix for a fourth win of the season. …

A day on from the frustration of seeing his championship chances evaporate via a collision with his teammate, Nick Cassidy put on a masterful display amid challenging wet conditions in the second Hankook London E-Prix for a fourth win of the season. In the process, he helped ensure his Envision Racing team of its first ABB Formula E World Championship teams’ title.

After a series of delays for the wet weather to recede, Cassidy took charge from the start and strode to a comfortable win, heading home fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and newly crowned champion Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) to deliver the teams’ crown to Jaguar drive train customers Envision Racing, ahead of the factory Jaguar TCS Racing squad.

Cassidy led from pole, lights-to-flag and set the fastest lap of the race, keeping Evans at arm’s length throughout, while the lead pair drew out some 10 seconds over next-best Dennis in the brutal conditions. Not only did the Envision Racing-run Jaguar I-TYPE 6 have the pace advantage but it also looked better on energy, too, and Cassidy led Evans home by 4.934s to clinch the runner-up place in the drivers’ table.

“That was really hard, especially being the race leader — I didn’t know how hard to push,” said Cassidy, who admitted the lights-to-flag run felt oddly simple after the ups and downs of Saturday’s race. “I felt comfortable and it felt strange to have a race as difficult and not have any big moments.”

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Sebastien Buemi took sixth in the sister Envision car, fending off Sam Bird in the other Jaguar TCS Racing entry to make doubly sure of teams’ honors.

Norman Nato (Nissan) and outgoing champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske) were sandwiched between the front three and the squabbling Buemi and Bird, while Nico Mueller (ABT CUPRA) finished eighth.

Dan Ticktum, on home soil in the NIO 333, made a smart early move on Maserati MSG Racing’s Edo Mortara to break into the top 10 and steered to an eventual ninth, ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein.

Envision Racing beat out the factory Jaguar TCS Racing team by 12 points in the teams’ title race, while Porsche customers Avalanche Andretti also edged the factory TAG Heuer Porsche team to third, by 10 points.

Dennis wound up 30 points clear of Cassidy in the drivers’ running, with Evans third and Wehrlein fourth.

Dennis, Cassidy at opposite ends of emotional spectrum after London title-decider

Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost …

Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost activations and a tense interlude with a Porsche factory driver, who failed to give him the space the Porsche-powered Andretti driver thought he’d get.

“It’s a huge relief,” Dennis said after finishing second to secure the title. “I didn’t expect it coming into today with Nick Cassidy on pole and Sebastien Buemi (both of Envision Racing) in third. By lap 8 I was like, ‘Yeah this is gonna be hard.’ Nick had taken both Attack Modes and Sebastien was the best wingman for Nick possible. But then it all fell apart for them and we managed to keep out of trouble.”

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In the late stages Dennis radioed his team that he was surprised at TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein declining to move out of the way for him despite pre-race conversations having given him the impression the works Porsche cars wouldn’t hinder him. Porsche supplies the Andretti team with its powertrains.

“That was a private conversation but ultimately, I felt like we had a bit of an agreement going into the race and it just obviously didn’t quite pan out the way I expected it,” Dennis said. “It was just one of those things.”

The start of Saturday’s race could hardly have gone better for Nick Cassidy or Envision Racing, but things soon unraveled after that. Nick Dungan/Motorsport Images

Another one of those things was the bizarre end to Cassidy’s title challenge, after starting up front with his Envision teammate Buemi in third. Buemi got a great start to emerge in second and help Cassidy pull a gap to the field, pushing Dennis down into third. However, the two Envision teammates ended up coming together, damaging Cassidy’s front wing and wrecking his championship hopes.

“I don’t know what to feel,” said a despondent Cassidy. “I just can’t believe the series of events. The start was a dream. There’s not too much I can add. Probably just take the moment to say well done to Jake [Dennis]. He had a really solid season and really deserved the championship. I think that we had all the ingredients and a potential to also get the job done, but there’s no would, could, should in motorsport — the results and kudos to him, so well done.”

Cassidy noted that he let Buemi pass later on in the race to help Envision.

“We’re also fighting for the teams’ world championship and I like to think I’m a good team player. Maybe I’m too good a team player,” he mused.

They get another chance in today’s second half of the doubleheader, in which Cassidy will start from the pole after beating Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans by just 0.01s. That earned three more points for Envision in its fight with Jaguar for the teams’ championship.

For Dennis, the second London race is an opportunity to get his own back on drivers who he felt took advantage of his need for caution Saturday.

“They can and they’d be stupid not to [exploit it], so they divebomb and take high-risk maneuvers even if they think realistically it’s not on but you’ll probably give space,” said the Andretti driver. “There were some moves which I had to allow to happen because I would have crashed, but I am looking forward to enjoying (Sunday).”

Cassidy storms from 10th to win Formula E’s first Portland E-Prix

Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy clambered from 10th to the top step of the podium with a perfectly judged drive to win the inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix, Round 12 of the ABB Formula E World Championship. He led home the Avalanche Andretti entry …

Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy clambered from 10th to the top step of the podium with a perfectly judged drive to win the inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix, Round 12 of the ABB Formula E World Championship. He led home the Avalanche Andretti entry of Jake Dennis and TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, while just seven seconds split the first 17 runners.

Cassidy measured his race to perfection from P10 on the grid as the 22-strong field jostled for superiority over the 32-lap encounter, where Formula E’s unique balancing act between energy efficiency and outright pace came to the fore. The strategic battle for top spot was evidenced from the opening lap as positions and race leaders changed corner by corner in groups five and six wide at points.

The New Zealand driver led several times but got the better of da Costa on lap 28 with the decisive move — only a few turns after the Portuguese had seized the initiative. Cassidy first hit the front on lap 3 while da Costa rose through the pack from eighth at the outset to pile the pressure on the Envision Racing driver right to the flag, but Cassidy held fast for his third win of the season.

Polesitter Dennis led the opening stages but wouldn’t time his late-race charge as precisely as Cassidy managed to. The Avalanche Andretti driver took second late from da Costa, enough to keep the drivers’ standings lead by a single point over Cassidy.

Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) recovered from 20th on the grid to fourth — ensuring he’s still well in the fight for the title with four races to run.

As it happened…

Formula E’s unqiue balancing act between energy and outright pace is always the challenge and the strategic battle took as many turns as ever in Portland.

Dennis flew away from pole as the pack filtered through the first chicane, with Fenestraz in tow while the big climber over the opening couple of laps was the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum — the Briton up eight places to seventh by lap 3.

The strategic battle began to play out immediately, with drivers unwilling to head the way and lifting early into the big stops — energy was widely expected to be a priority for the teams on the quick, sweeping circuit. The order would hardly be representative of the final shakeup in the opening stages but strong progress from 10th on the grid for Cassidy saw the second-placed driver in the standings briefly lead on lap 3 before he became the first driver to jump for two of eight mandatory minutes’ ATTACK MODE. A brief break in racing action followed a lap later with Roberto Mehri’s Mahindra stranded on-track after suffering technical trouble and requiring recovery.

During the ssfety car, Fenestraz pitted to replace his broken nosecone — heartbreaking for the front-row starter but it was his own error, the French-Argentine running into the back of Dennis’ Andretti. Back under racing conditions on lap 8, the lead group went for their first 50kW boosts — Cassidy taking his second early and Mortara holding off entirely.

On lap 9, Nato was the incumbent leader, with da Costa, Guenther, di Grassi, Cassidy, Mortara, Dennis, Rast, Ticktum and Hughes the top 10 – though this order was changing several times over a given lap. Lap 10 saw a big shunt for Nico Mueller in the ABT CUPRA who fired off the track at high speed into a 27G impact with the wall at Turn 10, reporting “no more brakes.’ Safety car number two ensued. Just prior to the neutralisation, Cassidy retook the lead and pole position in the title fight — but this would by no means be the last word on the race order.

After a long delay, the restart on lap 17 had Nato leading Cassidy, Guenther, Mortara, da Costa, Dennis, Rast, di Grassi, Ticktum and standings leader Wehrlein rounding out the top 10. The leader and the Maserati pair jumped for ATTACK MODE immediately, along with Rast — for their second boosts. Cassidy retook the lead from da Costa and Nato with the whole pack split by only three seconds.

The concertina effect caught out Wehrlein into Turn 1 on lap 18 — the Porsche’s front wing damaged and the German relegated down the order to 16th.

It was six wide into Turn 1 on lap 20 with drivers jostling for position and reluctant to be the first to make the jump and seize the initiative though Cassidy still held P1 — as he did in Berlin on the way to his race two victory — with Jakarta race two winner Guenther just behind. At the start of lap 22, Porsche’s da Costa made the jump on the leaders to hit the front as the field. From there, the former champion began to stretch his legs and dictate the pace, drawing out just under a second on Cassidy in P2.

Four laps were added on for those lost under the safety car. It was da Costa from Cassidy, Dennis, Guenther, Bird, Mortara, Vergne, Evans and Wehrlein.

On lap 26, Cassidy once again jumped to the head of the pack into Turn 1. Track position was becoming king and Cassidy was defending hard as da Costa and Dennis behind looked for an opening. The latter made a nice move stick on da Costa through the first sector for second but he couldn’t hold the Portuguese back for long as the pair swapped positions again halfway around the same tour. Da Costa then set about Cassidy — and made it by the leader on lap 28 with a surprise leap into Turn 11. It wouldn’t last any more than a few seconds, though, as Cassidy forced his way by once again into Turn 1.

On the final lap, da Costa held fast under severe pressure from Dennis but the Andretti driver made it count to pinch second spot at the last from the Porsche driver, but had nothing left for Cassidy who held on to win by 0.294s.

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Cassidy triumphs in Monaco to take Formula E championship lead

Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a storming drive from ninth on the grid to win the race in an absorbing 2023 Monaco E-Prix. Cassidy led home Mitch Evans, having fended off his countryman until a …

Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a storming drive from ninth on the grid to win the race in an absorbing 2023 Monaco E-Prix.

Cassidy led home Mitch Evans, having fended off his countryman until a late-race safety car made the win certain.

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The 150mph game of chess ebbed and flowed as leaders vied for control and to set the pace but Cassidy’s decisive early-race moves yielded the ultimate result. Once his engineer gave the green light for a six-lap sprint finish, Cassidy didn’t look back – despite the close attention of Evans’ factory Jaguar.

“It’s insane, I’ve got nothing against Berlin – but this feels amazing! This is so, so special. I’m lost for words,” said Cassidy. “It is going to take a bit to sink in, man we had such a tough day, I was 21st I think in both Free Practices which struck me a lot. I qualified 10th and I was really happy with that, so that was kind of how our day was going. Credit to our guys, both car crews and everyone in our garage helped out with the issues. I am so happy we got the reward after the work.

“There is a long way to go, this guy right here Mitch (Evans) he showed today how bloody strong he is. It is going to be a really cool fight, but for the moment let’s just enjoy the fact we won in Monaco.”

Evans had himself clambered from sixth on the grid to second at the chequered flag and was within touching distance of the Envision right up to the safety car three laps from the race finish. That New Zealand one-two made it four wins in succession, a new Formula E record for a single nation.

The Formula E field navigates the famous Grand Hotel Hairpin. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images)

Jake Dennis couldn’t quite live with the lead pair but he had torn through from 11th on the grid to make the final step on the podium.

Sacha Fenestraz , who thought he had sealed pole position only for a post-session penalty to hand that honour to Jake Hughes, steered home to fourth, unable to compete with the lead trio’s benchmark combination of speed and efficiency. Hughes followed him across the line, with Dan Ticktum hanging on for sixth position despite a couple of late-race scrapes and some damage to his car.

Long-time Drivers’ standings leader Pascal Wehrlein could only improve to 11th from starting 12th on the grid, which resulted in both the driver and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team losing their grip on their respective championships.

Fellow title contender Jean-Éric Vergne recovered to seventh from the very back of the grid after DS PENSKE’s tyre pressure infringements saw them disqualified from qualifying. The 15-position overtaking masterclass earned Vergne the inaugural ABB Driver of Progress race award, honouring intelligent, efficient driving resulting in the most places gained in a race.

Reigning world champion and DS PENSKE teammate Stoffel Vandoorne was also able to climb to the points with ninth place.

Cassidy’s 121 pts moves him ahead of Wehrlein on 100 pts in the Drivers’ table with Jake Dennis now third on 96 pts and Evans just behind on 94 pts. Vergne leaves Monaco fifth in the running.

Envision Racing now leap to the top of the Teams’ standings on 182 points, 14 points ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team on 168 points, while Jaguar TCS Racing sits third on 157 points.