ONES TO WATCH: Porsche versus Jaguar on the streets of Monaco?

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ONES TO WATCH: Porsche versus Jaguar on the streets of Monaco?

As the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship passes the midway point there's a power(train) shift as Jaguar are closing the gap to the all-conquering Porsche from the start of the season. Who will master Monaco?

wehrlein tag heuer porsche 2023

La Rascasse, Casino Square and Grand Hotel Hairpin - few corners evoke motorsport legend than the winding streets that line the Monaco circuit, and the whole field will want to add their names to the victory list for this one. As we pass the midway point of the season, the chips are down in the hotly contested championship fight.

Get ready for another bout of Formula E predictor, play along in the app for the chance to win exclusive prizes and be in the shot for the TAG Heuer Connected watch.

For the win

TAG Heuer Porsche must score big on Saturday, especially with the gap closing drastically after Berlin. But Monaco could be a shift for the German outfit, with two drivers who have demonstrated that they are capable of leading, and winning around the legendary streets of the Principality.

Where Pascal Wehrlein was looking like the title favourite in the opening rounds, the German is falling into the clutches of his rivals as the rest of the pack are quickly catching up, his large points advantage now whittled down to just four points.

Monaco could be the push he needs. The Porsche driver has gone well here in the past, it wouldn't go his way ultimately but last year saw him leading the race and in a shout for a victory when a technical fault took him out of contention.

wehrlein monaco 2022 lead
TAG Heuer Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein retired out of the lead of the 2022 Monaco E-Prix

Wehrlein's last appearance in a Duel final came in Monaco last year and he's a two-time front-row starter, having also qualified second in his rookie season, a race he would eventually finish in fourth.

One of his biggest rivals could come from the other side of the garage. In that memorable race from Formula E's first trip around the full 3.3km circuit, Antonio Felix da Costa took the pole and then plunged into the lead and later into the pool to celebrate that career-defining victory.

JACK NICHOLLS: 'Porsche's slipping, we have a new favourite'

The powertrain battle has been intriguing in Season 9, as the pendulum has been gradually swinging away from Porsche and the advantage shifting to Jaguar.

Mitch Evans took two wins on the bounce, winning in Sao Paulo and carrying over this success into the first race in Berlin - his best finish in the German capital and getting the gremlins off his back from that fateful race at the end of Season 7.

The New Zealander has been in the mix around these Monegasque streets for the past two seasons, his brave move up the hill at Beau Rivage won't be forgotten any time soon.

The Jaguar TCS Racing driver was on pole position in Monaco last year and has bettered his result in every successive race, finishing 10th, sixth, third and second - a distinction that he can only maintain by winning this Saturday...

It's another Jaguar-powered driver and another Kiwi that is putting the pressure on the Wehrlein's lead in the Drivers' standings. The early season form went to the German, but Envision Racing's Nick Cassidy is the current driver riding on a high.

Cassidy wins in Berlin

From the last five races, Cassidy has finished on the podium an impressive four times, culminating in an impressive victory last time out in Berlin. 

He's only four points behind the lead, having outscored Wehrlein by 54 points in the last five races, helped by his four podium finishes to the German's zero.

Podium potentials

Jake Dennis' podium last time out in Berlin was a relief after the Brit described being in a 'deep-dark place' following four pointless finishes on the bounce, a far cry from his dominant performance in the opening round in Mexico City.

READ MORE: Dennis - 'I was in a deep, dark place... we needed that'

All of the Avalanche Andretti driver's points finishes in 2023 have come from podium finishes in Season 9, and the drive in Berlin could be the spur he needs to get into that form.

Dennis finished ninth from 15th on the grid in last year’s Monaco E-Prix, and the Andretti name is seeking a first-ever podium finish on the streets of Monaco, having never achieved it as a team in Formula E, nor when Mario or Michael Andretti were racing in Formula 1. 

DS PENSKE is the only team to have two Monaco victors in their stable Jean-Eric Vergne taking the chequereds in 2019 and reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne had his Monaco moment last season.

While Vandoorne's championship defence hasn't really gone his way, the Belgian is currently down in 11th with a best finish of sixth, but he did have a solid qualifying in Sao Paulo after coolly taking pole position - could his fortunes turn in Monaco with a return to the podium?

vergne hyderabad trophy
Vergne has two podiums in Monaco, victory in 2019 and third last year

JEV is fairing better out of the black and gold pair and he will be hoping that in the roulette of the race, black will be prove to be lucky and deliver some gold in Monaco - sorry, couldn't resist! 

As mentioned, the two-time champion has past success in Monaco, taking victory in his second championship-winning campaign and could be on to add to his Hyderabad victory with another after a decent showing last time out with third in Berlin. The Frenchman will be hoping to take 25 big ones, if Monaco is to become his 75th career point-scoring race. 

One-lap pace

Starting from pole used to be the key to success around Monaco, and even though Season 7 saw an impressive 28 overtakes between the top six - it was still pole-sitter da Costa who came out on top.

With GEN3, we have yet to see a driver convert pole position to victory and if last year's Monaco E-Prix is anything to go by with Vandoorne going from fourth to first, this year's running might see Season 9's tradition continue.

The only driver to have two poles in Monaco is Sebastien Buemi, back when we raced around the shortened layout. The Envision Racing driver went on to take lights-to-flag wins in both of those races.

The former champion became the first driver to score two pole positions this season and break a streak that went back to the 2022 London E-Prix. Whilst still without a podium, his qualifying performance has been impressive, making it to the Duels in all but one race in Season 9.

The group stages in qualifying have seen some big names taken out of contention this season, and one team and driver who has done this has been Dan Ticktum and NIO 333.

The Brit has flown over one lap and made it through to the Duels on three occasions in 2023, and after finishing fourth at Round 7 in Berlin, Ticktum matched his best qualifier of the year.

Ticktum had an impressive launch from the line in that race, carving around the outside hit the front and lead NIO's first race in five years. He's had some past success in Monaco, having won the Formula 2 sprint race in 2021.

Who will add their name to the Monaco legend? Download the Formula E app to get logging those predictions now for the chance to win.