Three victories in the last four E-Prix, Antonio Felix da Costa’s winning streak in Formula E continued in Portland. But this time the Portuguese Porsche driver had to thank the Jaguar pit wall that failed to manage its drivers. Nick Cassidy paid the consequences in particular, spinning on the penultimate lap when he was firmly in the lead. Robin Frijns and Jean-Eric Vergne also took advantage of this, completing the podium of the first race in Portland.
Starting from pole, Mitch Evans was immediately overtaken by Jake Hughes. Losing first place did not prove to be a big problem for the New Zealander from Jaguar. In fact, on the Oregon track, as already seen on other permanent circuits, we could witness a race made up of long trains and numerous changes of position. Furthermore, most of the drivers tried to immediately take advantage of the Attack Mode so as not to compromise the battery life.
Traveling in wake created quite a few headaches. The loser was Hughes who, during the fifth pass, was touched by Evans. It was the McLaren driver who suffered the worst, suffering a right rear puncture and also going off the track. Race direction then sanctioned Evans’ maneuver with five seconds to be added to the end of the race. Having taken the blow, the Jaguar driver tried to get back into the top positions to minimize the penalty.
Meanwhile Cassidy, starting from the tenth position, immediately established himself in the top positions. The New Zealander from Jaguar was among the first to activate Attack Mode, taking the lead of the E-Prix on the tenth lap. After the second power boost, activated on the seventeenth lap, Cassidy found himself in second position behind da Costa’s Porsche. The two exchanged first position several times until, six laps from the checkered flag, Cassidy broke through and took the lead of the race.
Evans, following what his teammate did, replicated the maneuver with four laps to go, establishing himself in second place. As has happened in other situations, the Jaguar pit wall left its drivers free to fight on the track. This choice proved to be a double-edged sword because Evans, despite the penalty to be served, tried on several occasions to overtake his teammate. Cassidy, under pressure, made a mistake during the penultimate lap, missing the braking point at turn 10. The New Zealander then spun, falling to the bottom of the standings. A real defeat for Cassidy who, by taking the victory, could have put a serious threat on the drivers’ championship.
Despite crossing the finish line first, Evans slipped to eighth place due to a five-second penalty. So, da Costa inherited the Portland E-Prix victory. A deserved second place for Frijns, the Envision driver was constantly in the top positions. The lowest step of the podium for Vergne who, starting fourteenth, was the protagonist of a race that was all about recovering. Best result of the season for Edoardo Mortara, who did well to bring his Mahindra to fourth place.
Nico Müller completes the top 5. The Swiss from Cupra ABT preceded the reigning champion Jake Dennis. The British driver from Andretti was unable to be incisive in the final stages of the race, also suffering attacks from Sam Bird, seventh at the finish line. Stoffel Vandoorne also made good progress as he managed to close the E-Prix in ninth place behind Evans. Pascal Wehrlein completes the points. Last to activate both Attack Modes, the Porsche German was never able to move up to the top positions, thus losing the opportunity to close the gap on Cassidy.
Saturday 29 June 2024, Race 1
1 – Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) – Porsche – 27 laps
2 – Robin Frijns (Jaguar) – Envision – 0″415
3 – Jean-Eric Vergne (DS) – DS Penske – 1″440
4 – Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) – Mahindra – 1″701
5 – Nico Müller (Mahindra) – Cupra Abt – 2″086
6 – Jake Dennis (Porsche) – Andretti – 2″634
7 – Sam Bird (Nissan) – McLaren – 2″858
8 – Mitch Evans (Jaguar) – Jaguar – 5″183
9 – Stoffel Vandoorne (DS) – DS Penske – 5″493
10 – Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) – Porsche – 5″653
11 – Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra) – Cupra Abt – 6″325
12 – Nyck De Vries (Mahindra) – Mahindra – 6″477
13 – Norman Nato (Porsche) – Andretti – 6″487
14 – Sergio Sette Camara (ERT) – ERT – 6″857
15 – Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) – Nissan – 8″686
16 – Jehan Daruvala (DS Maserati) – Maserati – 9″031
17 – Dan Ticktum (ERT) – ERT – 9″186
18 – Caio Collet (Nissan) – Nissan – 15″005
19 – Nick Cassidy (Jaguar) – Jaguar – 15″445
20 – Sébastien Buemi (Jaguar) – Envision – 58″409
21 – Jake Hughes (Nissan) – McLaren – 1 giro
Fastest lap: Jake Hughes 1’11″327
Retired
Maximilian Günther (DS Maserati) – Maserati
The drivers’ championship
1.Cassidy 167 points; 2.Wehrlein 143; 3.Evans 140; 3.Rowland 131; 5.Dennis 121; 6.Vergne 116; 7.da Costa 109; 8.Günther 69; 9.Vandoorne 55; 10.Hughes 46.
