Sitting second in the Formula E Championship, Mitch Evans spoke to Motorsport Week about his mindset coming into the Monaco E-Prix as the second half of the season looms.
After a difficult Season 11, Evans has had a stellar start to Season 12, taking victories in Miami and Berlin and podiums in Jeddah and Madrid. The Kiwi driver lives in Monaco and views the race as a home weekend.
“I always feel good coming here,” he exclusively told Motorsport Week, “I love the track, I love the event, it’s my favourite one of the year. So that always brings positive, good vibes.
“On top of that, yeah, we’ve had a good run of results, so I really want to try and keep that rolling. And it’s always been a good track to me; it’s always been quicker. Last year was a tough, tough weekend, but I think it’s my first tough weekend here ever. So yeah, that’s always going to happen at some point.”
Despite the struggles in Monaco last year, Evans still took positives away, with the Jaguar driver going fastest in FP3, which he’s taking into this weekend.
“We were quickest last year in FP3, so try to use those little wins to carry that into this year as well. But it’s going to be super tight.”
Evans admitted that Season 11 was one he was happy to see come to an end. After feeling like he ‘couldn’t do anything right’ the Jaguar driver was looking forward to resetting in Season 12. Since the first two rounds, Evans has been on a strong run of form, pushing him to second in the Championship Standings.
“Strangely, nothing’s really changed. I just had a year last year during which I couldn’t do anything right. And it happens in sport. I had loads of reliability problems, I had weird accidents, sometimes just very slow. It was weird, but I was quite keen to see the end of last year and have a big reset.
“Luckily, it’s turned things around this year, and we’re back to my normal ways. But yeah, that always plays in the back of your mind that things can turn quite quickly.”
The Jaguar driver emphasised that his focus is on a race-by-race basis, trying to make the most of strong performances as they come and not take them for granted.
“At the moment, things are in a good place, and I just want to try and keep that rolling and try not to let last year affect me too much or create any doubt.” He told Motorsport Week, “We have to keep on top of things because we are quick and we are doing well, but the margins are so fine. If you don’t turn up on the day, you can be quite easily out the back door.
“As I said, nothing’s really changed my mindset, to be honest. Things may be pulling my way a little bit more than last year, but generally having cleaner races and good execution from the team and me, that feels a bit more normal for me than last year. So hopefully that was just a one-off, and I won’t have to worry about that happening again.”
A track that needs confidence
Monaco comes down to the finest margins, with every mistake punished due to the imposing walls. Evans spoke about how driving around the famed track comes with confidence and precision.
“You need a lot of confidence here, especially with it being a traditional proper street track. So hopefully we start well in FP, I’m feeling good, and then ideally start to lose time and then race some more. Off the back of a few good weekends, that always helps. Ideally, I just want to keep that rolling.”
With two races across the Monaco weekend, Evans spoke about his approach to balancing the risks around the track versus the chances to gain positions.
“It’s a tough one. I think this track is one of the tougher ones to try and balance because you have to be taking risks here to be quick. But if you don’t do it too early, it can penalise you a lot if you make a mistake and have a crash or something.
“So yeah, at some point you’re going to have to just commit, go all in. On top of that, our practise sessions are very limited in laps. So you have to be on it quite early; you can’t just ease into it. So you need good confidence from the first few laps, you need the car in the right window. Because around street tracks, your confidence builds. You start risking a bit more in the braking zones, playing with the walls.
“So that’s crucial to be good around here. Around here, yeah, you have to balance that risk and reward a bit more than other tracks. But every time I’m quick here, it’s because I’m very confident, and you need that. I’m just hoping we can start strong and then just let that build from there.”
The championship fight
Although the season is heading into its second half, the championship isn’t too fixed on Evans’ mind. He spoke about how this year has been unique in how close the standings are with each of the top drivers managing a level of consistency that’s increasingly difficult in FE.
“I’m satisfied and happy with where we’re at in terms of the Championship standings and what we’ve been doing. Ever since my win in Miami, it’s been a pretty good run. But on top of that, everyone else is in good form as well. Every time I’m winning, or on the podium, someone that I’m close with in the Championship is there as well.
“It’s weird to have such a good run of points and form and podiums and stuff and not be leading. A few years ago, that would have been a different story. But everyone’s operating really well, and everyone seems to be doing a great job. It’s still very tight, but everyone’s had great results. I think that’s just going to continue.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, he recognised that the pressure is mounting with perfection being demanded of him in the face of fierce competition.
“The pressure’s on to keep performing and getting podiums and wins here is so hard. But you’re going to have to keep it up if you want to give yourself a chance at the end of the season.”
New team for Gen4
In April, Evans announced his departure from the Jaguar TCS Racing team at the end of Season 12. After spending 10 years with the team, the Jaguar driver has come close to winning a title but has just fallen short. He reiterated that his focus is on this season and that his hope is to win a title for Jaguar.
“Feeling all good. It was going to come at some point, so that time is now. It’s been a great 10 years. Obviously, I’m looking towards the future, but at the moment, my focus is firmly on this season.
“I’m still a JAGUAR driver, so I’d love to try and see my chapter with him. With a driver’s championship, that would be fantastic. We’re going to try our best to make that happen.”
However, looking to his journey beyond Jaguar, Evans admitted it’s going to be very ‘weird’ no longer being with the team with whom he’s built his Formula E career.
“Obviously, it will become very weird at the end of London. Once the season finishes and the new challenges that I’ll be facing. On the one hand, I’m excited for that.
“On the other hand, it’s business as usual. I’m trying not to think about it too much. I’ve got a great opportunity this year, so I don’t want to let things, me leaving and all that, try to derail that or distract it. It’s what it is. We’re going to try to see how this chapter is. We’re going to do the best we can.”
Evans has come close to a title time and time again, and with his current run of form, another title fight will likely be on the cards. From the Jaguar driver’s side, Monaco will require a mistake-free weekend.
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