Evans into top three

Mitch Evans has moved into third in the drivers’ standings of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after finishing second in the Madrid E-Prix behind teammate Antonio Felix da Costa.

The New Zealander, who drives for Jaguar TCS Racing, has 65 points from the opening six rounds of the 2025/26 season. 

Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, who finished third in Spain on March 22 (NZ time), leads the competition with 83 points.

Evans, pictured, started from 16th on the grid but was left to rue missing out on the podium’s top spot after less than one second separated the top four at the chequered flag in Madrid.

“I should have won the race, but I don’t want to take anything away from Antonio, he drove a mega race,” says Evans. 

“Starting P16 is never where you want to be, but I knew if I managed the energy well and stayed patient, we could make something of this race.

“The car felt great all the way through, and once we got into the second half of the race, I could really start attacking. The battle to climb all the way to P2 from the back feels amazing.

“A Jaguar one two doesn’t come around often, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

His fellow Kiwi, Nick Cassidy, qualified on pole for the race and set the early pace before challenges in balancing the performance and energy management of his Citroen Racing car led to him eventually finishing 17th. He is now fifth in the drivers’ standings with 51 points.

“It was an up and down day for me, but that’s Formula E,” reflects Cassidy. 

“We did a great job in qualifying and the team gave me a really strong car, which was encouraging. The pace was there in the race as well, but we struggled a bit with overall efficiency, which made things more difficult as the race unfolded.

“I think we were unlucky with how the strategy played out, especially with how tight the pack was and how sensitive the energy management was today. 

“We did pretty much everything we could with what we had, but small factors can make a big difference in this kind of race.

“It’s frustrating not to come away with a better result because the potential was definitely there, but we’ll take the learnings from this and focus on putting everything together next time.”

The championship resumes on May 2 and 3 with a double-header in Berlin, Germany.