Mitch Evans took a commanding win on the streets of Monaco to take his first FIA Formula E victory of the season, leading home a brilliant Jaguar TCS Racing 1-2, with Nick Cassidy following home in second.
Just one day after confirming its commitment to Formula E until 2030, the British team owned the whole race weekend, showing brilliant one lap pace in both practice sessions, with minor mistakes in qualifying robbing both drivers of pole position, but there would be no such problems in the race.
DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne completed the podium, with team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne fourth. Pole-sitter Pascal Wehrlein could not maintain his qualifying pace, finishing fifth, with Oliver Rowland taking sixth from 15th on the grid.
Antonio Felix da Costa produced an impressive recovery drive after an early incident to finish seventh, with Sacha Fenestraz making it three points finishes in three races with eighth. Maserati MSG Racing’s Max Günther finished ninth, with Norman Nato 10th for Andretti.
HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED
At lights out, Wehrlein kept his lead into Saint Devote, with most concertinaing harmlessly, but Nyck de Vries’ Mahindra did lose his front wing, and went backwards down the order.
The first couple of laps would see a hugely different style of racing to Misano, with many keeping their positions. The biggest move would come from Vergne, who overtook Günther around the outside at the hairpin, but true Formula E style drama would jolt the race into excitement on lap four, with Sébastien Buemi and Felix da Costa tangling at the hairpin, leaving both pinned close to the wall, dropping them down the order. Sergio Sette Camara attempted to sling his ERT down the inside of the Envision Racing car, pitching it briefly half into the air, leaving da Costa nowhere to go but into the back of it.
One lap later, the drama escalated further as Nato’s Andretti lost its front wing as it approached Saint Devote. The Safety Car would then be deployed swiftly after Edoardo Mortara’s Mahindra got sent nose-first into the wall at the swimming pool section, running out of room when side-by-side with Dan Ticktum’s ERT on the approach to the chicane.
The chaos left Sette Camara eighth, Rowland up to ninth and Jake Dennis tenth, with both Englishmen up after starting way down. Taylor Barnard, a late replacement for the injured Sam Bird, kept out of the troubles and found himself up a hugely impressive six positions. The Norwich youngster, in the process, became the youngest-ever Formula E driver, a few weeks away from his 20th birthday.
Vandoorne led the way as the Safety Car came in, but found himself under attack from Evans straightaway, with himself and team-mate Cassidy both looking racy as the Jaguars were well-placed with energy to make a move on the Penske. Rowland sailed up the order to sixth, with Dennis and Sette Camara dicing for tenth.
On lap ten, both Jaguars sailed past Vandoorne on the exit of Casino Square, and Evans pulled out a gap. Behind, Dennis suffered contact in the tunnel, with smoke pouring from the left front of the Andretti, sending him to the back of the order after a tyre change.
With Evans’ Attack Mode over, the Jaguar pulled-out a gap of nearly three-and-a-half seconds, and then one lap later, would opt for his second of the race. Sette Camara’s promising race would be compromised after receiving a five second penalty for the Buemi incident.
Günther looked racy, getting the better of Wehrlein on lap 14. Behind the top six, the Nissan duo of Rowland and Fenestraz were overcoming their qualifying problems, working their way to sixth and seventh. Ticktum worked his way up to ninth, with de Vries getting himself into the top 10 after his early problems.
Jaguar’s strategy was now evident, with Cassidy taking Attack Mode and taking the lead from Evans. Frijns suffered damage of the front wing, and repairs sent him down to the back with Sette Camara and Dennis.
On lap 17, Cassidy took his second Attack Mode, handing the lead back to Evans with both Penskes dicing with each-other behind them. Nato’s bacon was well and truly saved by the Safety Car, getting repairs after his earlier shunt and subsequently working his way through up to ninth.
One lap later, Günther and Rowland found themselves in an entertaining battle for sixth, with the German giving the position back to the Nissan after running over the run-off at the harbour chicane, but would make the position stick eventually on lap 19. Rowland then forced his way back past the Maserati at Mirabeau, who then looked to take Wehrlein, but failing to do so. Da Costa made the most of the situation by taking seventh off Günther, who cut the same chicane again, handing eighth to Fenestraz.
Da Costa would then muscle past Rowland for sixth at the hairpin on lap 21, the current hard luck man of Formula E proving he has lost none of his aggression. His team-mate Wehrlein opted for Attack Mode a lap later, maintaining fifth.
On lap 25, Müller was tipped into the wall at Rascasse by Jake Hughes’ McLaren, bringing out the Safety Car for the second time, ensuring an extra two laps would be added.
Lap 26 and racing would resume, with Evans and Cassidy leading the way, closely followed by both Penskes, both Porsches and both Nissans, with Rowland breaking the uniform order and overtaking da Costa for sixth.
As the field began the extra two laps, the order was largely unchanged as the Jaguars continued to lead the way, and on the final lap, Evans was clear of Cassidy with four percent of battery. The Kiwi compatriots would cross the line to complete a 1-2 for Jaguar that sees them reset their season and put them firmly back into contention in both Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships. The result was an emotional one for Evans, who previously had finished on the podium in Monaco three times but without a victory.
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