- Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver, Mitch Evans, puts Panasonic Jaguar Racing back on the podium in Santiago, Chile
- Mitch Evans achieved his second ABB FIA Formula E Pole Position and 19 points haul in the first E‑Prix of the decade
- Teammate James Calado, secured his second points for the team in his debut ABB FIA Formula E season
- Panasonic Jaguar Racing now sits fifth in the Formula E teams’ championship
- The British racing team will take to the track again on 15 February in Mexico City
Panasonic Jaguar Racing returned to the podium in Santiago with New Zealander, Mitch Evans securing P3 after qualifying on Pole Position. Teammate James Calado finished P8, to secure double points for the British team in the sweltering heat of the Chilean capital.
Mitch put in a faultless qualifying performance with a clean sweep, topping both group and Super Pole sessions. He secured his first Pole Position of the season and his second in Formula E. The Kiwi driver led the pack off the line but then encountered an issue receiving his energy information. Once the team had successfully recovered the system issue, he had over consumed on energy and also had to manage his battery temperature. This energy deficit meant that Mitch had to run a more conservative pace which allowed Max Günther, on Attack Mode, to overtake as well as António Félix da Costa later on in the race. Despite this early issue the team and Evans recovered well and delivered a race strategy that allowed him to maintain P3, securing a well‑deserved podium after a challenging day and conditions that proved difficult for many teams and drivers behind.
In his first race on Santiago soil, British driver, James Calado, took the chequered flag with P8, securing his second points for the team. Following a difficult qualifying which left him P18, Calado again converted the Jaguar I‑TYPE 4’s race pace into points and moved up 10 positions during the 45 minute + 1 lap race, scoring four valuable points.
Returning to the podium is a great feeling for the team in only the third race of the 2019/2020 season and proves the pace of our Jaguar. There are undoubtedly things we will learn from this race – we faced early system issues that compromised our race strategy and meant we couldn’t fight for the win this time out. I am proud of how the team recovered to secure the podium and very positive about our qualifying performance and speed. Getting both drivers in the points and achieving a podium this weekend was our aim and despite issues on track we achieved this. Mitch dominated qualifying and kept a strong head in a difficult race. James again showed great race craft to come through the field today in only his third FE race. Lots to learn from but also positives to take away ahead of the next challenge in Mexico City next month.
James Barclay
Panasonic Jaguar Racing Team Director
I was feeling pretty good after qualifying P1 and my second Super Pole visit this season but unfortunately we couldn’t convert this during the race. We faced some challenges which affected our energy management and this made it difficult to get into a rhythm. However, the main objective was points and podiums and we achieved that this weekend so we can leave Santiago happy. During the next few weeks we will learn from today to make sure next time we convert P1 qualifying into top step of the podium.
Mitch Evans
#20
I had a comprising qualifying but from my cockpit, the race was superb – the Jaguar I‑TYPE 4 was great today. We gained plenty of places ‑ 10 in total. P8 from P18 is a solid result and the E‑Prix was also another invaluable opportunity to learn on the race track. Next time we’ll look to improve on qualifying performance, but it was undoubtedly a positive weekend my side and I’m looking forward to the next one. I’ll be on the podium soon, it’s only a matter of time.
James Calado
#51
