Jaguar’s Mitch Evans and Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis emerged victorious in both Formula E races held in Rome over the weekend, setting the stage for an intense battle in the world championship. Sunday’s race, in particular, could prove decisive as Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein now has only a slim chance of clinching the title.
During Saturday’s 13th race of the season, Mitch Evans, a Jaguar factory driver from New Zealand, achieved an impressive feat by securing a hat-trick of wins in Rome. Having triumphed in both races last year, Evans extended his winning streak to three consecutive victories in the Eternal City. Notably, he not only started from pole position but also recorded the fastest lap, earning him the maximum possible haul of 29 pointsā25 for the race win, 3 for first place on the grid, and 1 for the fastest lap.
While Evans took the spotlight, his teammate Sam Bird encountered misfortune. Bird lost control of his Jaguar on a bump during a high-speed corner, crashing into the wall and halting in the middle of the track at a blind spot. Some drivers managed to narrowly avoid the collision, but Sebastien Buemi in the Envision-Jaguar and Edoardo Mortara in the Maserati were unable to do so. Subsequent collisions followed, resulting in further disruptions. Thankfully, all drivers emerged unharmed from the pile-up.
After a 41-minute interruption, only 14 out of the 22 Gen3 cars were able to resume the race. This pause turned out to be a stroke of luck for Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, who had been leading the championship for a significant portion of the season. With his race car damaged and his chances of scoring points diminished, Wehrlein fell far behind. However, the restart from 12th position enabled him to regain some points, ultimately finishing in seventh place. Unfortunately, due to a time penalty, he ended up in ninth place, just two points behind.
Despite Wehrlein’s efforts, he was unable to influence the battle for the top position. The competition intensified between Evans and the two frontrunners in the championship, Nick Cassidy driving the Envision team’s Jaguar and Jake Dennis behind the wheel of the Andretti team’s Porsche. However, Dennis struggled with energy management on Saturday, causing him to slip back to fourth place in the closing minutes. Evans secured the victory, followed by Nick Cassidy in second place and Maximilian GĆ¼nther in the Maserati in third. Additionally, Nico MĆ¼ller’s sixth-place finish marked Abt-Cupra’s best result of the season thus far.
On Sunday, Jake Dennis improved his energy management skills and surpassed Evans’ impressive performance from the previous day, accomplishing a grand slam of pole position, race win, and fastest lap in the 14th race of the season. Norman Nato surprised with a second-place finish in the Nissan, earning his first podium of the season. Sam Bird, racing in a spare car constructed overnight after his vehicle was wrecked in Saturday’s accident, secured third place for Jaguar.
Notably, Sunday’s race in Rome potentially played a crucial role in the world championship. In the early stages of the race, there was a collision between Saturday’s winner, Evans, and the then-championship leader, Nick Cassidy. Evans retired from the race immediately, likely ending his championship aspirations. Cassidy, despite bringing his damaged Envision-Jaguar to the finish in 14th place, failed to score any points.
Heading into the Formula E season finale scheduled for July 29 and 30 in London, Jake Dennis leads the drivers’ standings with 195 points, followed closely by Nick Cassidy with 171 points. Dennis holds a 24-point advantage over Cassidy, while Evans trails by 44 points and Wehrlein by 49 points. As the remaining two races offer a maximum of 2x 29 points, Dennis cannot afford to rest on his laurels, as a single misstep could put Cassidy back in contention for the title. Evans and Wehrlein, however, have only theoretical chances of emerging victorious.
In the team standings, Envision Racing enters the final as the leading team with 253 points, followed closely by Porsche with 239 points and Jaguar with 228 points.
