Mitch Evans (Jaguar) has won the first Formula E race in Shanghai. At the premiere on the shortened Formula 1 circuit in China, the New Zealander prevailed ahead of Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and World Championship leader Nick Cassidy (Jaguar). For Evans, it was the second victory of the 2024 season and the twelfth of his career in the Electric World Championship. Wehrlein was under observation by race control after the end of the race because of possible shortcuts on the track.
Evans, who started the race from third place, stayed in the leading group throughout the 29 laps and took the lead from Wehrlein for the first time on lap 13. As expected, the first half on the permanent race track was characterized by strong energy management with lap times that were around six seconds slower than in the final sprint.
Second overall, Wehrlein (third place on the podium) and eventual winner Evans took turns at the top twice in the last seven laps, until the Jaguar driver prevailed with his slight energy advantage on the last lap and took first place across the finish line.
Formula E overall standings 2024
Team order scandal at Jaguar in Shanghai
Although the Jaguar factory team was able to celebrate a double podium finish, the course of the race is likely to cause internal discussions: World Championship favourite Cassidy was asked to hold on to third place behind Wehrlein and team-mate Evans in the final phase – even though he had a clear energy advantage at that point and asked whether he could attack.
Cassidy achieved his eighth podium finish in the eleventh race of the season and leads the world championship with 155 points from second-placed Wehrlein (142 points), Oliver Rowland (130 points) and winner Evans (122 points). Cassidy’s frustration with the course of the race was clearly evident in the post-race interviews. No wonder, he experienced a similar situation in 2023 during his Envision days.
Maximilian Günther loses top 10 result
Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche), world champion Jake Dennis (Andretti-Porsche), record pole-setter Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) and former champion Nyck de Vries (Mahindra) finished fifth to eighth. For the ex-Formula 1 driver from the Netherlands, these were the first points since his return to Formula E. Maximilian Günther (Maserati-DS) and Sebastien Buemi (Envision-Jaguar) completed the top 10. However, the Allgäu native received a 10-second penalty after the end of the race following a collision and dropped out of the points.
The second Formula E race in Shanghai awaits on Sunday, with one lap less (28). The race starts at 9:00 a.m. German time. The new TV channel DF1 will show the race on free TV.