A spectacular overtake on the final lap of the Sao Paulo E-Prix gave Sam Bird McLaren’s first Formula E victory.
Bird had led at several points in the Brazilian event after starting fifth on the grid, but was forced to relinquish the lead to Evans with six laps to go when power management and overheating became critical.
Coming into Turn 10, Bird went around the outside as Evans fought back and completed the maneuver during the 90-degree left-hand turn 11 to take the lead into the penultimate corner.
Read also: 2023 UCI World Championships Nathalie Schneitter in detail
Back to Winning
This marks Bird’s first Formula E win since 2021, when he won in New York with Jaguar, having lost his seat with the British marque for this season.
Evans took his first podium of the season in second place, while behind him there was a last corner position change as Oliver Rowland made it back-to-back podiums for Nissan after overtaking both Jake Dennis and Pascal Wehrlein in the final corner.
Pole position winner Wehrlein was unchallenged at the start and built up a sizeable lead on the opening lap, while Stoffel Vandoorne held on for second.
Evans jumped to third on the inside of Jean-Eric Vergne, but the big mover was Antonio Félix da Costa, who from eighth position had moved up to sixth by the end of the first lap.
In the following laps, Evans and reigning champion Dennis took the lead before losing ground after activating Attack Mode, and by lap 15 Bird was back in the lead ahead of Evans, Wehrlein and Dennis.
Behind the top four, championship leader Nick Cassidy struggled to make progress from his ninth starting position.
Behind the top five, da Costa scored his first points of the year in sixth ahead of Vergne and Vandoorne.