Mitch Evans heads to the Jakarta E-Prix this weekend right in the title fight, with the Kiwi having claimed three podiums from the last four races ahead of the tenth and eleventh rounds of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Evans is certainly one of the most in-form drivers on the grid ahead of the race he won last season, something which will likely fill him with confidence ahead of this weekend’s double-header. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver heads to Indonesia having finished second in Monaco once again three weeks ago, with victory at the Circuit de Monaco continuing to elude him.
It was nevertheless another impressive performance by the New Zealander, who moved to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship at the Principality. Evans finds himself twenty-seven points behind Nick Cassidy with seven races remaining this campaign, with the double-header in the Indonesian capital representing a great chance to reduce his fellow native’s advantage.
Looking ahead to the hot and humid weekend in Southeast Asia, Evans recognises that his current form has given Jaguar “some healthy momentum”, with him being keen to keep the team’s spirits high at the “physically challenging” venue.
“The last run of races has been positive for us, and we’ve been able to close the gap in both the teams’ and drivers’ championships. It’s given the team some healthy momentum as we head into the next double-header. Jakarta is a physically challenging race, but I performed well there last season, so we’re feeling positive and we’ll push to bring home some strong points and podiums this weekend.”
“It’s clear we have the performance” – Sam Bird
For Sam Bird, the experienced Briton is targeting a considerably better weekend in Jakarta than he endured in Monaco, where he was awarded with a late five-second time penalty.
Bird was classified as sixteenth in Monaco rather than tenth after he hit Nico Müller on the penultimate lap at the opening corner, causing the Swiss driver to crash. Having shown such strong pace this season, Monco was certainly a round to forget for Bird; however, the veteran has put the previous E-Prix “firmly behind” him.
The Jaguar driver finished tenth in Jakarta last season but will be targeting considerably better than that this weekend, given that there is “twice the points available”. A good weekend will see Bird potentially break back into the top six in the Drivers’ Championship, with him currently finding himself in seventh.
The thirty-six year-old has promised to “give it everything” in a bid to bounce back from Monaco, with the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 likely to be incredibly strong once again.
“Monaco was a tricky race for me and didn’t deliver the results we were hoping for, but I’m putting it firmly behind me and focusing on the double-header in Jakarta. There are twice the points available in one weekend, so it’s all to play for. We’ve been working hard as a team and it’s clear we have the performance – I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
