Jaguar roar back to dominate podium at Brazil’s inaugural Formula E race

Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing led home a one-two-three for the Jaguar powertrain, with Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) and Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) crossing the line virtually together.

The trio finished just half a second apart to close out a dramatic inaugural Julius Baer Sao Paulo E-Prix in front of more than 23,000 passionate motorsport fans.

It was a flat out push to the finish at the rapid 11-turn Sao Paulo Street Circuit, with Evans managing to navigate his way through constant position changes to take the checkered flag first, from third on the grid. The New Zealander took the initiative and the race lead from his compatriot Cassidy as the race headed into extra laps following multiple safety car incidents.

His move on lap 32 proved to be decisive, with neither Cassidy nor Evans’ teammate Bird able to undo the leader’s defensive driving — despite Bird having collected a couple of extra percentage points of usable energy during his climb from 10th on the grid at the start. Cassidy had led the race more than once but will be more than satisfied to score three consecutive podiums for the first time in his Formula E career.

The victorious Evans said: “This has come at the perfect time. We had a tough start but the car has been quick so to finally get the victory and some points is incredible. A Jaguar one-two-three. Nick pushed me all the way — we pushed each other — both teams executed brilliantly. This is down to a lot of hard work, there is a lot of graft that goes in with simulations. To try and put these races together regarding strategy is not easy. I wouldn’t have wanted it much closer than that.”

Defending world champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) started in pole position and led the way early