Maiden Formula E wins for Jaguar and Evans

The 2019 Rome E-Prix saw Mitch Evans earn his and Panasonic Jaguar Racing/Michelin’s first ever victory in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The New Zealander was joined on the podium by pole-winner André Lotterer (DS Techeetah/Michelin) and Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA Racelab/Michelin).

The fast warm-up performance and versatility of the Michelin Pilot Sport were vividly showcased in the Italian capital when heavy rain fell during qualifying for Season 5’s seventh round.

The conditions were still extremely damp for the start of the race and, given that tyre warmers are not authorised in the all-electric series, the drivers’ Michelin tyres only had the slow-speed formation lap to get up to their working temperature ahead of the green light.

The opening lap was marked by the antics of Jose-Maria Lopez (GEOX Dragon/Michelin) who got away to a poor start before colliding with Sam Bird (Envision Virgin Racing) and, finally, hitting a wall which caused the race to be red flagged.

Action resumed an hour later, by which time the cars’ Michelin Pilot Sport tyres had had ample time to cool down. Even so, just four laps after the re-start, they helped Alexander Sims (BMW i Andretti Motorsport/Michelin) to post the fastest race lap up to that point. The fact that his time remained benchmark practically all the way to the chequered flag speaks volumes for the warm-up ability of Michelin’s bespoke Formula E tyre.

Lotterer spent much of the race’s second half keeping Evans and Vandoorne at bay. With 15 minutes remaining, however, the Jaguar driver succeeded in finding a way past thanks to a daring manoeuvre. His DS rival responded by piling on the pressure until the closing stages when both men eased off to save energy and take the flag in first and second places.

Not only did the New Zealander collect his first Formula E win by becoming the seventh different driver to win this season (after da Costa, D’Ambrosio, Bird, Di Grassi, Mortara and Vergne), but he also notched up Panasonic Jaguar Racing/Michelin’s maiden victory in the series.

Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing/Michelin) and Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams/Michelin) rounded out the top five, while outgoing champ Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah/Michelin) ended up out of the points in 14th place after a tough afternoon. The provisional table-topper Antonio Felix da Costa (BMW I Andretti Motorsport/Michelin) was forced to settle for ninth spot.

The next round of the 2018/2019 FIA Formula E Championship will take teams to Paris, France, on Saturday, April 27.

Rome E-Prix – final positions:

1. Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing),

2. André Lotterer (DS Techeetah), +0.979s

3. Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA Racelab), +6.399s

4. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing), +9.181s

5. Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams), +9.778s

6. Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams), +11.262s

7. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler), +24.340s

8. Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing), +28.633s

9. Antonio Felix da Costa (BMW I Andretti Motorsport), +30.651s

10. Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra Racing), +30.735s

Etc.