Mitch Evans left Rome second in the FIA Formula E championship after another strong weekend for Jaguar Racing around the Italian capital, but he knows the hard work is still to be done this season.
Despite being compromised by being in group one in Qualifying for Saturday’s opening race and starting from twelfth on the grid, Evans drove superbly to rise through the field, taking his chances to overtake when he could and utilising his attack modes to his benefit.
Evans took his second podium finish of the season with third place, and coupled with team-mate Sam Bird’s second place, it ensured Jaguar’s first double podium in Formula E, much to the delight of the New Zealander.
“It’s such a great moment for the team with our first double podium in Formula E,” said Evans on Saturday. “It was a great race, in very difficult conditions, where things can go wrong really quickly but I’m happy to reward the team with this result after all the hard work they put in.
“Sam did a great job too, we both moved forward in the pack together and executed a brilliant race. It was a great moment and milestone for the team, and we look forward to tomorrow.”
Again being compromised in Qualifying by being in group one, and with his group enduring the worst of the weather conditions, Evans made gains from twelfth on the grid to finish sixth and score more good points towards the championship.
He now sits second in the standings, only four points behind team-mate Bird, but he knows Jaguar will need to work hard to stay at the front of the pack.
“Today’s race pace was strong, I had good energy in comparison to some of the cars ahead, but the late Safety Car unfortunately meant that we couldn’t challenge for the podium,” said Evans.
“Overall, we’ve scored good points this weekend and to get this result – leading the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championship is really positive. It’s great to start the season like this but we can’t get complacent.
“We know we need to go back to base, do our homework to try and be competitive in Valencia too.”
