Coming into the Season 12 finale, Mitch Evans looks to his championship hopes as he sits on the precipice of a Formula E Driver’s Championship title at the London E-Prix.
Evans is no stranger to the title fight; in the last five seasons, he’s finished in the top three four times. However, despite his capabilities to consistently fight at the front, he’s been able to claim the one victory that means the most: the championship.
A difficult journey to redemption
In Season 11, Evans took the worst results he’d seen in years, going from losing the championship in the final round of Season 10 to finishing the following season 13th in the order.
The fall from grace for the consistent championship contender was difficult. However, it’s made his rise back to the front even sweeter. Evans described the upcoming weekend to Motorsport Week as a ‘mix of emotions’.
“It’s a mix, it’s a complete mix of emotions. It was difficult, I mean, I think any Title fight is difficult, right?”
It goes beyond just a title fight for the Kiwi who ends his ten-year partnership with Jaguar. Evans joined the team in 2016 for his rookie season in the all-electric category.
Since then, he’s remained with them through various iterations of the Jaguar team, but at the end of Season 12 he says goodbye to the team he built his career with, which has naturally added to the importance of the championship battles.
“Everything is on the line now, but I guess from my side there is an extra element to it, because it’s the final time with the team.” He said. “And we’ve been working towards this for a while to try and get it across the line.
“So yeah, I want to leave this team as world champion; I want to get it done. I want to put my name in the history books of Jaguar as world champion, and it would be the best title for me to finish my journey in.”
The ‘extra motivation’
He told Motorsport Week that it hasn’t added pressure to the weekend but rather an element of reminiscing and motivation.
“So I guess it adds an extra; it’s not difficulty or pressure, it’s just extra motivation to try and get it done. It’s already kind of hit me this weekend: this is my last race.”
Despite the memories, Evans refused to let the occasion distract from his goals.
“I’ve got my final Sunday; I’ve got my final trips to Gate and stuff. But we’ve still got a job to do; we’ve still got to be focused, and I think we’re all up for it.
“We all want it; we all want to see me as world champion in this team. Yeah, we want to try and get it done.”
With just two points separating him from Jake Dennis out in the championship lead, Evans felt like it was a clean slate coming into London. Leaving the Kiwi with just one aim for the weekend: ‘become world champion’.
“Well, I hope to become world champion.” He said, “But yeah, I think in any 10-year relationship, partnership, whether it’s marriage or racing with the same team, you’re going to have ups and downs.
“We’ve had a lot of ups; we’ve had some tricky moments. I want to try and use some of those difficult moments and learn from them.”
The end of an Era
This season has brought the hope of ending the journey on a high between the team and Evans, and he spoke about how each season has brought growth within the team and as a driver.
“I’ve done things differently; the team did it as well, and I hope we’ve learned from some of those moments, especially in those critical moments where we’ve lost championships and stuff like that. I think that’s quite fair, and I hope we’ll move on from those situations.
“There are moments that I wouldn’t really want to forget, but I still have to learn from them. But I hope going out on the start will reward everyone with a lot of work and effort, and it’s been integral in terms of the progress of the team, and I really feel a part of that, so yeah, it feels like a home to me.
“It still does, and it really will, even when I leave. But yeah, ending the journey in the right way is the most important to me.”
When asked if he had a message or something to say to sum up his ten years with the team, Evans said:
“In terms of a message, it’s hard to give one really, a clear one or a simple one. It’s ten years of memories, and I hope that the one thing we’ve not achieved together, which is the driver’s championship, so if I can do that, that’d be mega.”
Teammate help
Evans isn’t the only driver teetering on the edge of the championship. His teammate, Antonio Felix Da Costa, sits in sixth in the championship, still in the fight but on the outskirts of it.
However, in the battle for the championship title, Evans recognised that he may need his teammate to help defend or play a hand in the strategic aspect of the weekend.
“I think so. He’s open to saying this is going to be a race where we can help, and whatever capacity that is, if he goes from being qualified to doing some of the races as well, some of the strategies, and so on.
“He does still have a slim hope to win, but I’ve been in that position before in season nine, where we’re just getting quite a bit of hit, and it’s a lot to try and pull back in a couple of races.
“So yeah, I think he also knows that the guys I’m plotting, their teammates will be going out to support them, where the drivers that are in contention. He’s open to where strategy is just, you’re banning him, you’re joking to him, which is great for his side, and hopefully we won’t need it.
“I want to win this on my own terms as well, but I can plan to play him in a set of eight, and we will.”
The next generation
London also marks the end of the GEN3 cars in Formula E, with the sport moving to its next generation, which has a significant level of hype around it. The GEN4 is due to push the cars a step faster, leaving the entire grid excited for the future.
Evans shared in this excitement with Motorsport Week; he said: “It’s exciting times for us, we’re getting more, we’re getting new announcers in class, new brands coming in.
“It’s a big turning point for the category, and you’re going to be part of that. I will be on the green next year, so I’m not concerned about that.
“I never was, but I’ve been taking my results over the last number of years to show that I can be there. In time, you guys will find out where that will be.”
After ten years in the category, Evans said he looked forward to what he deemed as a ‘huge’ step forward.
“I’m excited to be part of this next chapter of the category. I think it will be pretty huge for it. As a driver, I haven’t been here from day one, but I’ve been here for a long time.
“It’s exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Gen4 produces as a product. Hopefully, it’s a good stepping stone in the right direction for the championship to take it to the next level.”
Discussion about this post