Tag: Portland E-Prix

Portland’s podium rebound doesn’t stop Evans seething

Mitch Evans is still seething from his Saturday penalty, despite finishing on the podium in the second race of the Portland E-Prix and closing the gap to the championship lead to just 12 points. Evans won on the road on Saturday but was hit with a …

Mitch Evans is still seething from his Saturday penalty, despite finishing on the podium in the second race of the Portland E-Prix and closing the gap to the championship lead to just 12 points.

Evans won on the road on Saturday but was hit with a 5s penalty for contact with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes. His Jaguar TCS Racing team requested a review of the incident, but that was quickly thrown out. Evans then went on to finish third in Sunday’s race, but despite ending the weekend on a positive note, the events of the first race were still lingering.

“I’m still frustrated,” he said on Sunday evening. “Honestly, I think the decision yesterday was a bit of a disgrace, the end decision and doing it in the race. That one really hurts and I’m really [angry] about it to be honest. Really not happy about that; overnight, that’s not going to disappear.

“With that result I’d be leading the championship right now, so I hope the guys in that room up there realize that. I’ve made it very obvious that I’m not happy and I think we need to maybe internally discuss some of the processes that need to be done in the future, and the consistency I think is becoming really inconsistent, consistently, ironically. I’ll try and leave it there because the frustration’s still very much in my blood.”

Sunday’s result was a decent one – Evans’ third place is his fourth podium of the year and brings him within touching distance of teammate Nick Cassidy in the championship fight – but despite that, he still felt that he had more to give.

“Today I was hoping for a slightly better qualifying. Qualifying 11th wasn’t part of the plan after being quick all weekend, and it was really difficult to make progress in the race. I was hoping to get to the front earlier but I just couldn’t.

“[I] left my Attack late, which wasn’t really part of the plan, but I just couldn’t really get in the position to take it, had to really get my elbows out throughout the race. It was a tricky one, and doing the Attack so late really cooked my energy. I had a small advantage throughout the race and that disappeared and I just had to survive the last few laps to get home.”

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While Cassidy is now firmly in his crosshairs, Evans admitted, “I really feel for Nick as well,” and despite the brewing title rivalry between both, he knows defeating TAG Heuer Porsche in the Teams’ championship and beating the German manufacturer in the Manufacturers’ Trophy remain his team’s main goals as the series heads to London for the final two races of the season.

“A huge focus for us is to beat Porsche and it’s going to be a really big fight, and hopefully Antonio (Felix da Costa) stops winning so it gives us a bit of a chance, but it’s going to be a good fight,” he said. “We were quick there last year. It should be a track that suits our car, but we know that the Porsche, they’ve got a really strong package, and [da Costa] and Pascal (Wehrlein) are really performing well, so it’s going to be a big fight.”

There has been tension between Evans and Cassidy at points over the season, but Evans insisted that there will be respect between the two as they look to take the title for Jaguar.

“It will be what will be,” he said. “Whoever does a better job will come out on top. [I] just hope for a really clean fight and…looking forward to it.

“Me and him know, we’ve got so much respect for each other. Nick has had such a great season,” he added. “Maybe it’s going to be a conversation that we’ll have, or will have to have or not, but I think we understand what’s at stake and he’s the last person that I want to fight too hard with as well.

“It’s not going to be easy if we get to that situation, but it’s a situation that we may be in. It’s a good problem to have, having both drivers fighting for the championship, but we’re going to have to manage it as much as we can and hopefully either him or myself come out on top. That’ll be amazing.”

Frijns makes breakthrough with Envision as he races for his future

Robin Frijns left Portland with a smile on his face after securing back-to-back podiums, ending a barren run for he and the Envision Racing team. The two-time race winner returned to Envision Racing this season after a year with Abt Cupra, but aside …

Robin Frijns left Portland with a smile on his face after securing back-to-back podiums, ending a barren run for he and the Envision Racing team.

The two-time race winner returned to Envision Racing this season after a year with Abt Cupra, but aside from a second place in the third round of the season in Diriyah, it’s been a challenging campaign for the Dutchman.

“Yesterday was a bit, I wouldn’t say ‘a relief,’ but it showed that we can still do it and today we showed it again, so it gives a better feeling,” he said on Sunday after finishing second behind Antonio Felix da Costa for the second consecutive day. “The team did a good job, we prepared well for these races and we made a huge step forward as we showed with the double podium.”

Despite the breakthrough weekend in Portland, Frijns doesn’t think the his and the team’s turnaround has been circuit-specific, instead crediting a wholesale change in the Jaguar customer team’s overall approach to events, and avoiding bad luck.

“It’s hard to say because we always had the pace during the season and we’re always quick, or quickish in practice … but I was always at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “Looking at other drivers, both Jags were always in front so we changed the way we approached the race and the team’s helping me a lot with this now.

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“I sat down with them before Shanghai and we do understand it way better and it’s come our way now because I think we’ve put ourselves in a better position all the time.”

Frijns’ podiums come at a crucial time as speculation regarding his future is a paddock hot topic. Frijns only has a one year deal with Envision, and he knows he’s racing for his future now.

“I’m trying to prove a point, for sure,” he admitted. “It’s not nice seeing those rumors but I came back to Envision from Abt last year to be successful, but coming for one year, that’s been clear.

“It’s been a struggle and I do think we were not really prepared for some occasions at some races, which we have [been] today, but we learn from it and I think we showed this weekend that we can be competitive.”

Polar shift in da Costa’s fortune is keeping his internal fire lit

Three wins in a row, four from the last five races – it’s quite the contrast for Antonio Felix da Costa who spent the first part of the year struggling for form. After inheriting Saturday’s race victory from a penalized Mitch Evans, the TAG Heuer …

Three wins in a row, four from the last five races – it’s quite the contrast for Antonio Felix da Costa who spent the first part of the year struggling for form.

After inheriting Saturday’s race victory from a penalized Mitch Evans, the TAG Heuer Porsche driver managed a chaotic Sunday race perfectly to win on the road ahead of Robin Frijns and Evans. He’s now firmly in championship contention with two rounds to go, but despite being Formula E’s flavor of the month, he’s not taking anything for granted.

“When I won yesterday it was already impressive in a good way, but these moments don’t last forever,” he said. “I think all three of us (on the podium) have gone through incredible runs of races and we’ve gone through slumps, so I’ll just make sure to enjoy it and never take it for granted, appreciate it. It could be the last podium of my life, we never know. Hopefully not.

“The truth is we’re navigating through these races really, really well, the car is quick and we’re doing it in a smart way – I’m having fun doing them and navigating through these races with my team. [It’s an] impressive run of races, I’m not going to deny it, and considering where we started the season, if you told me four or five months ago that I would have won four or five races this year I would not have believed you. It feels good.”

His tear in the latter part of the season followed a disqualification at Misano that denied da Costa his first win of the year. It would be easy to buy into the theory that the stripped victory has fuelled him since then, but it’s not something he’s buying into himself – at least not wittingly.

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“I hope not, because I don’t ever want to go through a slump like that ever again,” he said. “It’s one thing to be in the middle of the pack, but we were really slow, so that was a serious problem in the beginning of the year.

“Hopefully that’s not… I don’t think when I’m angry I go better, but I will evaluate it, and if that’s the case, then we have a problem, because I’ve got to get angry a lot.”

One motivating factor, however, could be putting himself in motorsport’s shop window. He was denied a shot at the World Endurance Championship this season after driving for Porsche customer Hertz Team Jota last year, and it’s no secret da Costa yearns to be back there in addition to racing in Formula E.

“Obviously that’s the goal for me. I’ve never denied it that I want to be doing the WEC as well,” he said. “I love racing, and if I could race every weekend, I would.

“Last weekend I was racing in Brazilian Porsche Cup – they came to my hometown race and my hometown track and I got permission to do that race and that’s just the way I like to go.

“For now, I’m getting married at the end of the year, maybe some kids hopefully if everything goes well very soon, and maybe that will all change, but as I’m still fit, quick and youngish, I really want to take the opportunity to race as many cars as I can.

“There’s a few of us here that like to do that. It doesn’t make me better, it doesn’t make me worse, it’s just what I want to do and that’s the goal…”

Surging da Costa makes a clean sweep of Portland E-Prix

Antonio Felix da Costa’s late season surge continued with a third consecutive Formula E victory and a clean sweep of the Portland E-Prix weekend. In an intense race that saw multiple collisions and damaged front wings due to concertinas into heavy …

Antonio Felix da Costa’s late season surge continued with a third consecutive Formula E victory and a clean sweep of the Portland E-Prix weekend.

In an intense race that saw multiple collisions and damaged front wings due to concertinas into heavy braking zones, it was after a safety car to clear up the debris from those shunts that da Costa came into his own, snatching the lead as the green flag flew on lap 21 of 26 (later extended to 27 as a result of the safety car) and never looking back.

With his title-challenging TAG Heuer Porsche teammate Pascal Wehrlein looming in fourth, da Costa queried if he should assist the German or run his own race. The team responded, “We will not risk the race win,” leading to da Costa dropping the hammer for the final two laps.

Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns closed to within a car length by the final corner of the last lap, but it wasn’t enough to snatch victory.

Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans finished third, having tussled with Frijns for second in the final few laps. Before that duel, Wehrlein called for da Costa to let Frijns past to negate a potential race-winning threat from his title rival Evans, but Frijns ultimately managed to keep the Kiwi at bay.

Wehrlein took fourth, despite driving more than 20 laps without a front wing following contact with Edoardo Mortara at the start of lap six.

The TAG Heuer Porsche driver was one of several to complete the race with parts missing from the front of his car, with the race originally slated to be a lap shorter than Saturday’s, leading to more useable energy being on tap, ramping up the speed and intensity of the competition.

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Wehrlein’s wing initially got trapped under his car, signaling a potentially early end to his race, but eventually worked its way free. That came at the expense of NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird who collided with the loose part and had his own race stunted by it. He was joined by teammate Jake Hughes and the Mahindra duo of Mortara and Nyck de Vries in retiring.

Polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne came home fifth, ahead of Nico Mueller, Norman Nato, and Maximilian Guenther. Sebastien Buemi benefitted front the safety car to move up to ninth by race end after serving a drive-through penalty early on for a pre-race MGU change (a penalty which would have been a 20-place grid drop had he qualified further up the field), while Jake Dennis registered the final point with tenth.

Nick Cassidy was a notable absentee from the points positions for the second day in a row. After being caught in a concertina at Turn 1 on lap 13, he pitted – along with Dennis, De Vries, and Caio Collet – to repair the damage, and the safety car that followed at the start of lap 19 ought to have brought him back into contention, but he ultimately couldn’t recover higher than 13th.

He heads to the final two rounds of the season in London still with the championship lead, but only by 12 points over teammate Evans and Wehrlein.

Da Costa is the first driver to win three races in a row since he did it across the Marrakesh and Berlin weekends in the 2019-20 season. With four wins from the last five races, including the three in a row, he has moved into serious championship contention, just 33 points off the lead with 58 still on offer. Had he not been disqualified from the first race of the Misano E-Prix, da Costa would be second in the points, just eight off the lead.

Although he didn’t compete in Portland due to illness, Oliver Rowland also remains in with a credible shout at the championship, sitting just three points back from da Costa.

RESULTS

Vergne shoots to pole for second race at Portland E-Prix

Jean-Eric Vergne claimed his third pole of the season in the second half of the Portland E-Prix, narrowly defeating Saturday race winner Antonio Felix da Costa in the qualifying Duels final. DS Penske driver Vergne’s time in the final of 1m08.77 was …

Jean-Eric Vergne claimed his third pole of the season in the second half of the Portland E-Prix, narrowly defeating Saturday race winner Antonio Felix da Costa in the qualifying Duels final.

DS Penske driver Vergne’s time in the final of 1m08.77 was a mere 0.025s quicker than TAG Heuer Porsche’s da Costa, who will start on the front row of the grid for the first time this season.

Vergne survived a slide at the final turn in his first Duel to see off championship leader Nick Cassidy of Jaguar TCS Racing – who ran wide at Turn 7 – and Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns en route to the final, while da Costa beat teammate Pascal Wehrlein in his opening duel before defeating NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird in the semifinals.

Da Costa topped his group session ahead of Bird, Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries, and Wehrlein, with the Andretti pairing of Jake Dennis and Norman Nato among the high profile casualties in that session. Dennis ran wide at the final turn as the clock ran down, but ended up so far off course that the yellow flags didn’t fly and he wasn’t saved from a flurry of late times that relegated him from a transfer spot.

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Vergne was second quickest in the opening group, advancing with a late lap to slot in second behind Frijns. Jake Hughes was another latecomer, going fourth quickest to be the last driver to advance, behind Cassidy.

The late times from Vergne and Hughes ensured that Saturday polesitter Mitch Evans wouldn’t advance, dropping out late on along with Maserati MSG’s Jehan Daruvala

Vergne’s pole, his 17th of his career, means he’s now the undisputed holder of Formula E’s all-time poles record, moving ahead of Sebastien Buemi whom he had shared it with since the first race at the Shanghai E-Prix last month.

Bird will line up third, behind da Costa and ahead of Frijns, with his McLaren teammate Hughes fifth, Cassidy sixth, Wehrlein seventh, and de Vries, Daruvala, and DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne completing the top-10.

Evans will start Sunday’s race 10 spots beck from where he began Saturday’s encounter, lining up 11th, alongside Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra), with Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra) 13th, Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) 14th, the ERTs of Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara 15th and 16th, and Buemi, Dennis, Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra), Nato, Maximilian Guenther (Maserati), and Caio Collet (Nissan) completing the grid.

RESULTS

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.”

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.”

Contenders falter as da Costa nabs another win in Portland

Antonio Felix da Costa won for the third time in four races in the first part of the Portland E-Prix as Formula E’s key championship protagonists all faltered. Mitch Evans was the winner on the road, but a 5s penalty after a collision with NEOM …

Antonio Felix da Costa won for the third time in four races in the first part of the Portland E-Prix as Formula E’s key championship protagonists all faltered.

Mitch Evans was the winner on the road, but a 5s penalty after a collision with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes on lap five dropped him down to eighth. The coming together left Evans with front wing damage and Hughes with a right rear puncture that ended any hope of him challenging for victory.

Evans slammed the penalty as “absolutely disgraceful,” with him insisting that Hughes moved across on him as he held position.

It looked as if Evans’ Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy was going to be the victor, having taken the approach that paid off in Berlin by conserving energy within the pack before vaulting forward. Having been as low as 12th, it took him just 12 laps to get to the front and was leading on the penultimate lap of the 27 lap race when he lost control through Turn 11, spinning out and handing the advantage to Evans and da Costa.

Polesitter Evans lost the lead early on to Hughes, then kept da Costa and Cassidy in his crosshairs as they swapped the lead after cycling through Attack Mode activations. He got by da Costa on lap 24, and was given the green light to race Cassidy despite his penalty, and it was that pressure that led to Cassidy’s mistake that cost him the win.

With Cassidy and Evans both missing out on the win, it would have been a perfect time for Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein to pounce and make up ground in the championship race, but after a quiet day, in which he was the last to drop into the Attack Mode activation zone, he could only finish 10th.

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Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the bad day for the championship frontrunners was Oliver Rowland, who wasn’t even racing due to illness.

With Cassidy’s non-score and Evans’ and Wehrlein’s lowly points finishes, he hasn’t lost as much to his rivals as he ought to have. Wehrlein’s finishing position could yet drop lower with his race ending under investigation for a collision with Maserati MSG driver Maximilian Guenther.

Robin Frijns was classified second, giving him his first podium since February’s Diriyah E-Prix, with Jean-Eric Vergne third, having shot to the lead on lap 17 after climbing from the seventh row of the grid.

Edoardo Mortara took Mahindra’s best result of the season in fourth, ahead of Abt Cupra’s Nico Mueller and Jake Dennis (Andretti).

Sam Bird was seventh for McLaren, ahead of the penalized Evans, with Stoffel Vandoorne ninth, joining his DS Penske teammate Vergne in converting a poor qualifying performance into a points finish.

Da Costa ends the day as the first three-time winner of the year – an accolade he would have already had were it not for his disqualification in Misano in April – but it’s too little too late with regard to his championship hopes after a poor start to the campaign.

Cassidy maintains the championship lead, albeit with the gap over Wehrlein now at 24 points with three races to go. Evans is a further three points back, with the absent Rowland still remaining in mathematical contention with 131 points.

RESULTS

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

Porsche stays on top with da Costa in second Portland E-Prix practice

Antonio Felix da Costa kept Porsche powertrains on top in second practice for the Portland E-Prix, going quickest ahead of Andretti’s Norman Nato. The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m08.787s was 0.126s quicker than Porsche-powered Nato, …

Antonio Felix da Costa kept Porsche powertrains on top in second practice for the Portland E-Prix, going quickest ahead of Andretti’s Norman Nato.

The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m08.787s was 0.126s quicker than Porsche-powered Nato, with championship leader Nick Cassidy third for Jaguar JCS Racing, a further 0.103s back.

Jake Dennis was fourth in the second Andretti entry, while Caio Collet gave Nissan something to smile about by going fifth fastest.

Already missing Oliver Rowland through illness, the team’s other driver Sacha Fenestraz had his session brought to a premature end after losing control on the entrance to Turn 10, then spinning across the grass at Turn 11 before hitting the wall just nine minutes into the session. He was able to make it back to the pits, albeit with suspension, steering, and bodywork damage.

One the session resumed, just two minutes later Cassidy went off in the same place, but avoided any contact with the barriers and continued.

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ERT’s Dan Ticktum finished behind rookie Collet in sixth, ahead of the Envision Racing pair of Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns, both of whom spent time at the top of the timesheets early in the session.

Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird rounded out the top 10, ahead of Nico Mueller Abt Cupra), Mitch Evans (Jaguar), Sergio Sette Camara ERT), with Mahindra’s Edorardo Mortara 14th, and Lucas di Grassi 15th in the second Abt Cupra. Jake Hughes was 16th in the other McLaren, with Nyck de Vries — who sustained front wing damage after a brush with a wall towards the end of the session — slipping down the other to 17th after a strong Friday practice performance.

The four Stellantis cars were next, with Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther 18th, DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne 19th, and their respective teammates Jehan Daruvala and Jean-Eric Verge 20th and 21st. Fenestraz was classified 20th after his early shunt.

Ahead of the session DS Penske was hit with a €5000 Euro fine after it was judged that someone on a guest pass had been working for the team and taking tire usage notes, in what the FIA deemed “a clear infringement by exceeding the number of working passes.”

RESULTS