Era a beaming Mitch Evans the one who presented himself in front of the microphones of post-race press conference of the Monaco E-Prix. The New Zealander, 1st under the checkered flag of the Principality after sprinting 4th, he definitely has what to be happy about: the Monegasque success not only delivers him very heavy points from a championship perspective, but it also allows him to look with renewed optimism and enthusiasm following a championship that so far had not gone as he would have liked.
A victory with a special flavor: here’s how, in a nutshell, Mitch Evans he defined his triumph in the Monaco E-Prix, 8th seasonal event of the FIA Formula E 2024. The New Zealand driver, 4th on the starting grid, thanks to a good strategy and excellent teamwork carried out with Nick Cassidy – 2nd at the finish line for a Jaguar TCS Racing double-header – he managed to hit the mark the first victory in Monaco in his entire career. A very important result, therefore, and not only for reasons related to the ongoing championship.
“We knew that it wouldn’t have been an easy race, and equally we were aware that it would be a question of strategy” – began Evans – “When our opponents used Attack Mode Nick and I (Cassidy, ed.) we worked as a team. I believe this was it fundamental in the development of running, we really worked together from the point of view of the strategy to bring home the result. I think I owe my victory to Nick, that he really gave me a big hand when it came to helping me, exactly like I had done. So today I was the one who won I can’t help but appreciate his being a team player here in Munich: This is a great result for the team”.
“From a purely personal point of view, Getting my first win here after several attempts in other categories means everything to me” – added the New Zealander – “It was a decidedly positive working day, let’s put it that way. Regarding the strategy, it is obvious that we had analyzed before the race all possible scenarios. It is not uncommon however that once you get on the track the E-Prix takes a completely different turn compared to what had been studied at the table. This time, however, I believe things have worked out more or less as we expected. We knew we would be neighbors on track, in a certain sense we almost tripped over each other, but in the end we managed to help each other and that’s what matters. I think the guys at DS Penske thought about using Attack Mode exactly like us, then the functioning of our team play was nothing short of fundamental”.
“As far as the season is concerned, I feel like saying that I didn’t start as I would have liked” – Evans continued – “Last year I had a championship finale in crescendo, with important victories and heavy podiums, and I would have expected to start over exactly the same way. I finished in 2nd place in Brazil, it’s true, but so far It didn’t go the way I wanted. This victory really comes at the right time, in a critical moment of the championship: finally getting my first success feels good, it feels good of having shaken off a weight. At this point I can also allow myself to think to exploit this positive wave in the rest of the championship. Nick also got important points today and I think other drivers with good position in the standings have also strengthened their position, but 25 points it was just the loot I needed at the end of this weekend. I guess for me they have a further specific weight because it had already happened to me here in Monaco to be in front of everyone for most of the race and then see the victory fade away at the best moment, so the fact that none of this happened today can only make me happy”.
The New Zealander from Jaguar TCS Racing now has 77 points in the championship, 25 less of the new leader of the ranking Pascal Wehrlein: will Evans be able to ride the enthusiasm of the success on Monegasque soil and thus close the gap over the next 8 races of the series?
