MEXICO CITY –Â After starting second, Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans emerged victorious after a flawless Formula E race in Mexico City.
Following Evans across the finish line was DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa, while Nissan e.dams’ Sebastian Buemi completed the podium in third.
Pulling away from the pole, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Andre Lotterer was forced wide through turn one, forcing him back down the order to fourth. Slipping ahead, Evans took the lead.
Nose to tail, the pack headed through Foro Sol stadium before completing a lap. Sitting in sixth, Geox Dragon’s Nico Mueller misjudged the entry into turn one, ploughing into the wall and ending his race with 48 minutes left on the clock. With the new-look BMW i8 Safety Car deployed, the pack followed in formation while Mueller’s car was recovered.
With the racing restarted, Evans pulled ahead with 35 minutes left on the clock. Under the new regulations for the 2019/20 season, all cars received a 5kW energy reduction after following the Safety Car for five minutes. Traveling wide through turn one, Rokit Venturi Racing’s Felipe Massa clipped the wall, damaging his car and ending his race early.
Holding the lead, Evans extended the gap at the front as Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird overtook Nissan e.dams’ Sebastian Buemi to move into second. With the battle for the podium raging, Lotterer slipped even further down the ranks, while damage to his right-front wing left a plume of smoke behind him. Eventually losing the damaged wing on track, the German returned to the pits for new bodywork before retiring from the race.
Jean-Eric Vergne sat behind his teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, as the two DS cars held their place in the points in sixth and seventh. Behind Vergne, was Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s Lucas di Grassi in eighth.
With 17 minutes left on the clock, Mercedes-Benz EQ’s Nyck de Vries (in fifth) failed to stop at the end of the start/finish straight whilst attempting to defend a move from Da Costa. De Vries clipped fellow Dutchman and Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns before skidding to a halt at the end of the straight. Reporting technical problems over the radio, the rookie was left stranded and became the fourth driver to retire from the race.
Having made his way up to fifth, Vergne remained behind his teammate Da Costa in fourth. With less energy than his counterpart, the two DS Techeetah drivers battled over the radio with the management back in the garage, unable to decide on a concrete strategy. Eventually breaking out of his long-held position, Da Costa climbed up to third past Buemi with his extra energy.
With five minutes left on the clock plus one lap to the finish, Evans continued to pull away with Bird and Da Costa following. With increased pressure, Bird misjudged turn 13, clipping the wall and ending his race along with any chance of a podium finish. Da Costa, now in second, stayed ahead as Buemi moved up into third, hoping to claim his first championship points of the season.
After being discharged from hospital with a clean bill of health just hours before the race, following a crash in the first practice, Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt retired with a few minutes left on the clock.
Running well ahead of the rest of the pack, Evans crossed the line trouble free, clinching his and Jaguar’s second victory in the series.
“It is very nice leaving here knowing that you managed to sort the issues from past races. We had a very good pace and it was a tight battle with Andre. It felt like deja vu from Rome,” Evans said. “After overtaking him, I put my head down and tried to gain distance as everybody was quite aggressive in my mirrors. I had to keep them away and the car was working well. I only had to keep hitting the targets. I cannot wait to watch the replay back, as I have heard it was crazy behind me. It feels great to achieve a second victory in Formula E and doing so in Mexico surrounded by such a passionate crowd… it is the cherry on the cake.”