- Jaguar TCS Racing – reigning ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Champions – begin the 2024/25 season with victory in the São Paulo E‑Prix as Mitch Evans wins after starting in P22
- Mitch makes history as first driver to win a Formula E race after starting last on the grid
- He joins Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi as the drivers holding most the victories in Formula E history (13 each)
- The Kiwi leads the Drivers’ standings following a dramatic start to Season 11 which saw two red flags across the 35‑lap race
- Jaguar TCS Racing driver Nick Cassidy was forced to retire from the São Paulo E‑Prix whilst battling for a possible win or podium position after suspension damage caused in a racing incident with DS Penske’s Maximilian Günther and Porsche’s Pascal Wehrl
The New Zealander, taking his thirteenth Formula E victory with the team, becomes the first driver in the championship’s history to win a race having started from the last position on the grid. Mitch also now equals Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi as the drivers with the most wins since Formula E began in 2014.
The incredibly dramatic race followed a difficult first Qualifying session of the season in which Nick narrowly missed out on the Duels by a tenth of a second – meaning he started the race in tenth. Separately, a technical problem for Mitch prevented him from setting a lap time at all in Group B and, consequently, a race starting position all the way down in P22.
At lights‑out, the new All‑Wheel‑Drive launch saw both drivers deliver a positive first lap with Nick moving up one place and Mitch progressing to P15 with an incredible five‑car overtake in turn four. Despite a brief period under the Safety Car on Lap 3, both drivers continued to make strong progress through the field. Executing Attack Mode early to climb up the order, Nick managed to take the lead of the race on Lap 8 and Mitch ran as high as third by the halfway point.
Mitch Evans 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
Mitch Evans 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
Mitch Evans 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
A red flag on Lap 21 brought all drivers back into the pit lane, pausing the race. Upon restarting, Nick was in P6 and Mitch in P10, both with a second Attack Mode still to take. After taking his, Nick quickly moved up the order and closed in on the race lead, taking back first place on Lap 28 once Nissan’s Oliver Rowland pitted to serve a drive‑through penalty. Mitch had jumped up to second by this stage making it a Jaguar TCS Racing one‑two, and with some of his Attack Mode remaining he overtook Nick to take first place.
As the field bunched together, Nick was then sandwiched between DS Penske’s Maximilian Günther and Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, the impact breaking his I‑TYPE 7’s steering. On the following corner Nick was then a passenger and unable to avoid a further impact with Wehrlein, which saw the Porsche driver’s car flip over bringing out another red flag.
When the race restarted again, an amazing effort from Jaguar TCS Racing’s mechanics meant Nick was able to return to the race albeit in 15th place, only to be forced into retirement with a lap remaining.
Upfront, having taken the restart in the lead, Mitch defended his position in an incredibly intense final four laps, securing the Jaguar TCS Racing #9 driver his second victory in São Paulo.
Nick Cassidy 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
Nick Cassidy 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
Nick Cassidy 2024 São Paulo E-Prix
After an incredibly intense and dramatic race, the most important place to begin is to say that I’m delighted to hear that Pascal did not sustain any injuries. No‑one likes to see a car upside down, but it’s testament to the strength of these latest GEN3 Evo cars that he’s unharmed and I wish him all the best for the next race.
“I feel for Nick, too. He’d executed an incredible race to the point where contact – through no fault of his own – damaged his car and led to the incident with Pascal, when he’d worked perfectly with the team on strategy throughout. Nick was on for the possible win or podium and his performance today was once again world class.
“What a drive from Mitch and the team though – he came from last to win which is quite simply incredible at this level of motorsport. It’s an absolutely brilliant and memorable result for us all. It’s testament to the entire team here at the track and back at base. We also know there’s still much work to do. The pace in the Jaguar I‑TYPE 7 is clearly there, but we need to work hard on optimising its full potential. Rest assured, that’s what we’ll be focusing on ahead of Mexico.
JAMES BARCLAY
JAGUAR TCS RACING TEAM PRINCIPAL
I am still trying to process this one – it was a crazy race. I made up 10 places on the first lap and found myself in the mix quite quickly. After that my focus definitely shifted to getting some big points and possibly a podium, so to come away with a win is incredible. I had some good fortune out there with the red flags, and obviously it was great to see Pascal walk away from that accident, but we managed the strategy really well and the team guided me through, so credit to everyone at Jaguar TCS Racing – that was a sweet one.
MITCH EVANS
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER, #9
First of all, I’m relieved to know Pascal is ok. That's the most important thing. I felt like I was a passenger as I had no steering. Obviously, it’s terrible for him and for me, but I’m really glad to know he’s OK. As for the race before then, I approached today in a different way than I ever have in Formula E and I think it worked for me. I’ve come off the lessons I’ve learned from last year. There’s a new group of people on my car and they’ve done a really, really solid job to put us in the box seat again.
NICK CASSIDY
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER, #37
Mitch Evans leads the Drivers’ World Championship with 25 points, with teammate Nick Cassidy in 16th, whilst Jaguar TCS Racing are positioned second in the Teams’ World Championship.
Round 2 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship takes place in Mexico City on 11 January 2025.
