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Mitch Evans: “I'm at a stage in my career where I'm used to winning, and I don't want that to stop.”

FEATURE 04 Sep 2026 6 Mins

After a decade with Jaguar, Mitch Evans is set to show up with Formula E newcomers Opel GSE next season, making it one of the biggest driver moves ahead of the GEN4 era.

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feature mitch evans

During his decade in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Mitch Evans has been synonymous with Jaguar TCS Racing, achieving 16 victories, 38 podiums, and 10 pole positions with the British-based squad. As of the end of the 2025/26 season, the New Zealander has won the most races of any driver in the history of the all-electric championship.

The 32-year-old was also the first driver to bring home silverware for the iconic manufacturer, when he crossed the line third at the Hong Kong E-Prix in 2017. The following season, he went one step further by claiming victory in Rome, securing both his and Jaguar’s first triumph in the all-electric series.

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Evans has consistently delivered promising performances and has rarely been out of title contention since those early seasons. He joined Formula E at 22 years old, having just come off a GP2 series campaign in which he totalled five wins and 13 podiums - his success in the series following his championship winning GP3 season in 2012.

His arrival in the Formula E paddock would ultimately become the start of a long career, one that helped shape Evans both professionally and personally.

“I've got some more grey hair since I joined Formula E with Jaguar," he jokes. "But as a driver, as a person, we all grow older. I've been really fortunate to grow with them and the championship.

“Being in Formula E during that period has really helped me and challenged me. I look at things differently now, which obviously always comes with age. As a driver, it's really challenged me from a technical point of view, thinking outside the box, which is what Formula E is about when it comes to developing systems and software, which are areas that I never had growing up.

“Formula E is not all about going as fast as possible. There's a lot of aspects to that, it's really strengthened the way I view the championship in terms of racing and getting the most out of it. I've had some amazing memories and achievements, but some difficult periods where I've missed out on championships. I think you learn a lot about yourself in those situations, the good and bad. I'm a better driver or person than I was 10 years ago, which is the main thing, and I’m still hungry to succeed more.”

Hunger for success has always been one of Evans' greatest traits, and one that has been particularly evident in recent seasons. He has twice finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship, in Season 9 and Season 11, while he finished third in Season 8 and (most recently) Season 12. His latest title challenge came this year, when the New Zealander entered the London finale weekend as one of nine drivers mathematically in title contention heading into the final double-header, before the fight narrowed down to three on Sunday - Evans included.

The first half of the round saw Evans take eighth in qualifying, while his title rivals, Andretti’s Jake Dennis and Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein lined up fifth and on Pole Position, respectively. Wehrlein made the perfect start from the front of the grid, while teammate Nico Muller kept Evans behind him.

The Porsche driver capitalised on a late Full Course Yellow to take victory, adding 28 points to his tally as Dennis followed him in second. Evans, meanwhile, was left with nothing but frustration as the result left him 21 points behind in the standings.

Sunday, the final race of the GEN3 era, presented Evans with one final opportunity. Victory was the only result that would give him a realistic chance of overturning his deficit, following his costly result in the previous race.

He qualified fifth, while Wehrlein started third and Dennis could only manage 16th in his lime-green car. However, despite his best efforts, Evans was unable to produce the result he needed, finishing the race in fourth. This result left him third in the final drivers' standings with 160 points.

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But there was a silver lining, as Evans still managed to help Jaguar TCS Racing secure their second Teams’ Championship title, alongside his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa, rounding up a total of 288 points - a final gift to the team who have played such a key role in his Formula E story.

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As the championship prepares to kickstart the GEN4 era, it's most exciting era to date, Evans admits that he’s ready for a new challenge, though it means leaving a team he’s built a career and life with. “Obviously coming off the back of London, with mixed emotions. On one hand missing out on the driver's championship, and on the other hand, leaving a team that I've been with for 10 years. It was a strange feeling.

“GEN4 was a big reason why I wanted to move. I decided that I will look elsewhere, and there was some good interest from a lot of top teams. I have considered it in the past, and it's not the first time I've considered leaving Jaguar, although it's the first time I've really acted on it, I was with one team for so long, and you are always intrigued to see what other offers are out there or what other teams are up to.

“From the initial chats with Jörg (Schrott) and everyone at Opel, I felt really positive about their approach to Formula E. I visited their facilities in Satory, which really helped me, in terms of seeing their vision, seeing their resources, and seeing how seriously they're going to take the GEN4.

NEWS: Opel announces entry into Formula E from 2026/27 season

“For me it was relatively new territory for me to go down this route with another team. Opel is going to be a new team, a new brand coming to Formula E, but we have got high hopes and aspirations to hit the ground running come the season starting. I was filled with confidence, although there's an element you don't really know how it's going to go, but that comes with any decision you make.”

While the move represents a significant change for Evans, his new teammate, Theo Pourchaire is hardly an unknown quantity in motorsport. Pourchaire was crowned FIA Formula 2 champion in 2023 after finishing runner-up in the 2022 standings behind Felipe Drugovich.

“I've obviously never worked with Theo (Pourchaire) before," Evans says. "He's a few years younger than me. He's coming into Formula E at a similar age to when I did. But look, Theo's track record speaks for itself, he's had amazing success in junior formula. He was the youngest winner in F3, at 16, and he beat me by 4 days when he was in F3. I have to have a word with him about that.

“He's achieved some amazing things, and he deserves this opportunity. It's an exciting partnership because he's a rookie on paper, but he's going to come in with fresh energy, and prove himself. He's going to add a lot of value. and then obviously on my side, you've got the older guy, which is kind of weird to say, but I think he's not going to need much help in terms of getting up to speed. I'm expecting really big things from him.”

NEWS: Théo Pourchaire joins Formula E grid with Opel GSE Formula E Team

Evans had been through three generations of Formula E cars and demonstrated an ability to adapt to the championship’s constantly evolving technology. Even so, he is approaching his first season with Opel GSE with realistic expectations.

“I'm not setting any crazy targets," he says. "But we're pushing to be able to achieve podiums and ideally race wins in our first season, that'd be amazing. Do I think we can achieve it? Yes, but it's too early to say, it's a bit of a punt.

“The early signs have been really positive in terms of testing and what we're seeing amongst other teams we've been testing. We're in good shape, but there's a lot of development and a lot of things that can happen between now and the first race or throughout the season. There will be a massive development race, while we learn these cars.

“If we can keep development up, then I'm quite confident that we'll be ideally fighting at the front. I wouldn't be jumping to Opel if I didn't think that was possible. I'm at a stage in my career, where I'm used to winning, and I don't want that to stop.”