Formula E dawned with a new leader after Envision Racing driver Nick Cassidy took the honors in the traditional E-Prix of Monaco. The driver made a spectacular comeback from ninth on the grid to take the top spot on the podium.
Strategy was once again vital in the competition for control and to set the pace, but Cassidy’s decisive moves at the start of the race paid off in the end.
Once his engineer gave the green light for a six-lap final sprint, Cassidy didn’t look back, despite the attentions of Mitch Evans’ factory Jaguar.
Evans himself had climbed from sixth on the grid to second at the checkered flag and was within striking distance of the Envision until the Safety Car with three laps to go. That one-two from New Zealand made it four wins in a row, a new Formula E record for a single nation.
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Tough Fight
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis was not quite on par with the leaders, but had worked his way up from 11th on the grid to take the final step on the podium.
Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan Formula E Team), who thought he had sealed Julius Baer Pole Position only for a post-session penalty to hand that honor to Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren Formula E Team), headed home in fourth place, unable to compete with the leading trio’s benchmark combination of speed and efficiency.
Hughes followed him across the line, with Dan Ticktum (NIO 333 Racing) clinging on to sixth despite a couple of late-race brushes and some damage to his car.
Pascal Wehrlein, long-time frontrunner in the drivers’ standings, could only improve to 11th from 12th on the grid, resulting in both the driver and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team losing control of their respective championships.
Fellow title contender Jean-Éric Vergne regained seventh position from the back of the grid after DS PENSKE infringed on tire pressure and disqualified them from qualifying.
The 15-place overtaking masterclass earned Vergne the inaugural ABB Driver of Progress race award, which honors intelligent and efficient driving that results in the most places won in a race.
Formula E will be back next June 3-4, with the stop in Indonesia.
