Monaco E-Prix winner Mitch Evans has said he felt that the pace of the two Jaguars was clear of their competitors across the whole day of competition, and that both he and team-mate Nick Cassidy will both be given a chance to challenge for the FIA Formula E title.
The Kiwi driver, after three consecutive podium finishes without a win, finally took the chequered flag around the iconic streets of Monaco to score his first win of Season 10, putting him firmly back into title contention, along with his countryman partner, who completed a 1-2 for the team.
Whilst Evans was naturally disappointed with failing to secure P1 in qualifying, he told Motorsport Week that his confidence in the race never wavered.
“On the one hand, I was disappointed to miss out on pole,” he said, adding: “I messed-up a bit in the semi-final from the first corner.
“There was pace in the car but I thought I was in a slightly better position than P1, I was P1 in Misano and that was the worst race in the world to be on pole.
“It wasn’t as extreme as that, but I felt from turn one, I felt in a good position to have a good crack at the race.
“There was good pace in both cars all day.”
Evans also responded to Stoffel Vandoorne’s assessment of the race, the Belgian telling Motorsport Week that he felt the second Safety Car was a huge factor in the DS Penske team missing out on victory.
“To be honest, I was pretty confident, the Safety Car didn’t influence it much.
“Stoffel went for his first attack and there was a yellow flag at the attack zone, so he got a free one because I couldn’t overtake him and then the Safety Car came out, so if anything, I helped him in that case.
“I think we played the race better than them, simple as that.
“We had a slight upper hand in track position, but if JEV was ahead of Nick, it’s a different story, because Nick and I were line astern and we had control over them.
“Throughout the whole race, I felt we had them covered, and I think just from a strategic point of view and a pace point of view, I felt a bit stronger so regardless, I think we wouldn’t had them covered.
“It might’ve been slightly more difficult to get a 1-2 potentially, but I think the result would’ve been the same.”
Given that now both Evans and Cassidy are back in the title fight, Evans put to bed any notion that one driver might be favoured over the other at this stage of the season by the Jaguar team.
“I think it’s too early to say.
“We both are within a shot of this title, so it’s far too early to put all your eggs in one basket.
“Yes, he’s the lead Jaguar at the moment but we’re only halfway through and I’m only one win off the lead.
“The team will be very fair with that – last year, when Sam [Bird, team-mate last season] was out of the title fight, and then he when he could help, he was asked to, so unless one of us has a shocker between now and the end of the season, we’ll have a fair opportunity to go for this title. In the races, it just depends on circumstance.
“If you look back to Riyadh, I helped Nick in the race with his Attack Modes, he helped me out and I helped him out and I expect it to be like that until one of us is out of contention.
“We are working really strong together, we want to keep building that points gap for the Teams’ Championship, and I can’t see the team focusing on just one driver.”
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