After a disappointing outing at the inaugural Hyderabad GP, Jaguar TCS Racing bounced back at the Sao Paulo E-Prix, with a one-two finish. Leading the line here was Mitch Evans, followed by Sam Bird who crossed the chequered flag together with Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy.
With an attendance of 23,000, the 11-turn Street Circuit saw Evans constantly battling through the pack to the top position on the podium, starting from third on the grid. Despite collecting extra percentage points of usable energy, Bird failed short of navigating through Evan’s defensive driving to lead the race.
The race was packed full of drama with multiple instances of safety car deployment and constant position changes during the 14th lap. Defending champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) started in pole position, leading the way early on until the halfway stage. However, in the end, he’d had to be contented with the sixth position after struggling for usable energy during his time at the front.
Current leader Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) made an impressive recovery from the 18th position on the grid to finishing 7th. However, Wehrlein still maintains his lead with 86 points in the championship.
Speaking on the occasion, Evans, the race winner said: “This has come at the perfect time. We had a tough start but the car has been quick so to finally get the victory and some points is incredible. A Jaguar 1-2-3. Nick pushed me all the way – we pushed each other – both teams executed brilliantly. This is down to a lot of hard work, there is a lot of graft that goes in with simulations, and to try and put these races together regarding strategy is not easy.
Further adding “We obviously thought about track position and where you want to be at certain phases in the races. I had a good energy advantage from quite early on, but it was just about trying to find the right time to use the energy advantage.
I thought I maybe went a bit too early, once Nick got behind me he was able to accumulate some energy and he was able to stick to my toe, but we got the victory so we obviously managed to do the right job. Super happy to get some big points on the board.”
Image credits: Jaguar TCS Racing
