Coming into Season 10, all eyes were on Nick Cassidy. The former Envision Racing driver made the switch to the Jaguar works team, and was to race alongside his longtime friend Mitch Evans. It was dynamite duo and one of the strongest teammate pairings we have seen in Formula E, and that has been reflected by the fact Jaguar are currently top of the Teams’ World Championship.
However, after his trio of consecutive podiums in the first three races of the year, Cassidy hadn’t been back in the top three until this weekend.
He failed to finish in São Paulo after his front wing caused him to crash from the points and a disqualification in Tokyo qualifying saw him start 19th, but he put in a solid shift to cross the chequered flag in eighth to win the ABB Driver of Progress. Another failure to finish came his way in the first of the two Misano races, before he finally made it back into the podium places to finish third in Round 7.
Mitch Evans, his teammate, had also had a rollercoaster start to his year. As well as getting the Julius Baer Pole Position for Round 6 in Misano, he narrowly missed out on a win after NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird pulled a stunning last lap overtake in São Paulo. Evans also has a mix of three fifth place finishes, but scored no points at his 100th race in Tokyo and Sunday’s event in Misano.
With the strong performance of the TAG Heuer Porsche powertrain, and lots of the remaining races looking like it could suit energy efficiency which is one of their strengths, Cassidy stated he thinks the team is in for a “really tough season”.
“Compared to the Porsches, we have a lot of work to do,” the six-time race winner added. “I think the Mahindras, the ABT CUPRAs, the Nissans and the McLarens, the DS PENSKEs all proved they were strong packages today. So it’s pretty nice that we’re getting a podium considering that, but the race team has a lot of work to do. It’s going to be a tough, tough few weeks.”
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Cassidy was able to slip past the ABT CUPRA of Nico Mueller in the final metres of the race to claim third, in a blockbuster fight for the final podium spot.
“I’m happy with the result today. It has been tough three races for me, so I'm really pleased to be back on the podium. The late battle with Nico until the end made for a close finish. Thank you to all of the team and now we turn our focus on Monaco.”
Previewing Monaco which is next up on the calendar on 27 April, the Kiwi was happy to reminisce on the “super nice memories” he had from winning in the iconic principality last year.
“Nissan were three of the top for qualifying last year. So this year could be a lot more difficult, but of course we will do our best.”
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Reflecting on the third place result, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay added:
“It was a fantastic technical and strategic race today and another podium for Nick is a great achievement in this challenging peloton format. We managed the traffic well, took our ATTACK MODE activations at the right time and just managed to snatch that third-place finish on the line from Nico Müller. It was a fantastic race from everyone at ABT CUPRA, but a much-deserved podium for Nick and the team and I am very proud of everyone.”