- Nick Cassidy claims a brilliant first podium of the season at the Monaco E-Prix, climbing from P14 on the grid to third place
- In a race held in damp conditions after a wet qualifying session, the Jaguar TCS Racing #37 driver and the team delivered a strategic masterclass to end the Monaco E-Prix double-header on a high
- Mitch Evans finished P18 after a bold strategy to move up the order did not pay off
- Jaguar TCS Racing moves up to seventh in the Teams’ World Championship, and third in the Manufacturers’ standings
- The British team now looks to take this positive momentum to Japan for the Tokyo E-Prix double-header (17-18 May)
Nick Cassidy and Jaguar TCS Racing returned to the podium in stunning style, climbing up from fourteenth on the grid to third in the second E-Prix of what was an historic Monaco double-header weekend.
It was a masterful recovery drive from the Kiwi, who expertly negotiated the tricky conditions, as well as a brief safety car period, to move up the order from the seventh row and claim a well-deserved first podium of Season 11.
After a very strong showing in the morning’s Free Practice session with Mitch fastest and Nick sixth, a treacherous wet qualifying session without time to fully switch to a wet set-up saw both drivers eliminated in the group stages, Nick starting the race fourteenth and Mitch seventeenth.
As a number of teams used their Attack Modes very early in the 30-lap race, Cassidy and the team were patient, taking their first two-minute Attack on lap nine, and their second six-minute Attack on lap 21. This patience paid off as Nick fought through the field and finished the race strongly in his #37 Jaguar I-TYPE 7, holding off Porsche’s António Félix da Costa in the closing stages to seal a top three finish.
Mitch Evans was unfortunate not to score a strong result despite qualifying seventeenth on the grid. The Jaguar TCS Racing #9 driver made good progress in the early stages, climbing four positions with both Attack Mode deployments still to use, but opting for an alternative strategy by pitting under the Safety Car period for tyres set to pressures suited to the dry did not pay off, Mitch finishing outside the points.
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal: “A fantastic result from the team today – a brilliant strategy and drive from Nick to get that podium P3 from fourteenth on the grid was an incredible result. It was a really treacherous race and it would have been easy to get caught up in other people’s accidents, but Nick drove brilliantly and the team executed the strategy fantastically well.
“Unfortunately for Mitch we took a bit of a gamble on the strategy with the tyres which didn’t pay off, but he had great pace in the dry and looked likely for a points finish before the rain set in ahead of qualifying. Overall, a positive weekend with good pace in the Jaguar I-TYPE 7. It’s been frustrating in recent races that we couldn’t show that – so it is great to leave Monaco with a podium and lots of learnings which we’ll take on as we move forward to Tokyo and the races beyond. It’s great to get a podium and get ourselves back on track.”
Jaguar TCS Racing driver Nick Cassidy, #37: “To be on the Monaco podium for the third year in a row is a great feeling, especially considering our start to the year. We need to be fighting consistently for wins and podiums, and I hope we’ve turned a corner. We had strong pace in the I-TYPE 7 in the dry FP3 today and, while wet qualifying wasn’t good, in the wet race I was able to fight through the field thanks also to great strategy and car speed. We’ll look to take this momentum to Tokyo.”
Jaguar TCS Racing driver Mitch Evans, #9: “With where we started on the grid and the changeable conditions, we opted for a different tyre strategy during the safety car, but it wasn’t the right call. I was far more comfortable with the race prior to boxing than in the wet qualifying so there is something there. We’re working hard and are at times making progress – we’ll analyse the data from this weekend and look to bounce back in Tokyo in two weeks.”
The result moves Cassidy up to thirteenth in the Drivers’ World standings, level on points with Evans who sits twelfth. Jaguar TCS Racing is now up to seventh in the Team’s World Championship and third in the Manufacturers’ standings.
Sebastien Buemi from Envision Racing – Jaguar’s customer team – won the second race of the Monaco E-Prix double-header, ensuring a Jaguar-powered car has won in the Principality for the third year in a row.
The next round of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship takes place in Tokyo, Japan, with a double-header across Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May.
