Sambadrome was poised to deliver a crazy spectacle, and it did just that. What did the drivers have to say after the race? Let’s have a look.
Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
São Paulo – the home to many motorsport legends across all categories, definitely had a lot of expectations from around the globe in regards to hosting their first Formula E race weekend. And oh boy, it delivered beyond those expectations – but it seems like in Season 9 every venue we visit sets the bar higher and higher. After such a fantastic weekend, what did the drivers have to say about their performance? We’ve picked five drivers and recapped on how the São Paulo E-Prix panned out for them. Ready?
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing:
“This win has come at the perfect time, because we’ve had a tough start and the Jaguar has been quick. To finally get a victory is incredible – Nick pushed me all the way. This is all down to the hard work of the team, there’s a lot of graft that goes in, so much work into the strategy, to try and put it together is not easy so I’m super happy to get some big points on the board.”
After a difficult start to the season, a heartbreak in Hyderabad and P11 finish in Cape Town, Mitch Evans comes through in true Evans fashion and delivers an outstanding performance in São Paulo. He claimed the victory starting initially in P3, and charged through the race like there was no tomorrow. He kept his head down in the moments that matter, and after some rough beginnings in the opening races of the season, we hope he’ll cherish this one a lot, as it’s a well deserved P1. Class from Evans. Class.
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Nick Cassidy, Enivsion Racing:
“Before the race I said that I would be super happy with a podium finish,” said Cassidy after the race. That was Formula E at its best, so much fun from a driver’s point of view, and I hope it was a good watch for the fans. It was a pretty strategic race, and to finish with Jaguar-powered cars one, two and three is pretty cool. I knew to get the win I would have to do something pretty special to beat Mitch (Evans), but that would have been a big risk in terms of losing out and ending up third.”
Mr. Consistent does it again, scoring a hat trick of podiums – only so bad he did not yet claim a victory, which we’ll sure will come this season. Cassidy’s performance so far has been truly remarkable, bringing a lot of points to his Envision team that allows them to clench onto P2 in the championship standings. His recent point-scoring crusade catapulted him into P3 in drivers standings, and we’re absolutely sure this is not the last time Cass pays a visit to the podium. His reliability as a driver will definitely keep him in the front of the grid, and who knows – maybe the consistency will in the end be what makes the difference by the end of the season. We’re definitely keeping a close eye on the Kiwi.
Credit: Formula E Media Bank / LAT Images
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing:
“Amazing for Jaguar TCS Racing to get the podium locked out. Massive hats off to the team here and back at base, it’s a brilliant result. I got fastest lap too, it’s good points for the team and now we can look forward to Berlin.”
After the heartbreak of Hyderabad, when he took both himself and Evans out, to have a 1-3 podium is truly a remarkable result for Jaguar, and Bird remained calm in the moments when it mattered the most. Despite having 2% more energy than Evans and Cassidy in front of him, he sticked to P3 and brought it home safely, resulting in a 1-2-3 podium for the cars with Jaguar powertrains. Let’s not forget he started the race in P10, so to bring it to the podium in such a (fantastically) chaotic race deserves a round of applause. His points scoring so far in the season, combined with the result from Evans catapulted Jaguar into P3 in the teams championship, so let’s see if the black-and-white duet can continue the campaign for the rest of the season. Remarkable results!
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Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche:
“After a difficult qualifying session, it was more or less about damage control in the race. To move up from P18 to P7 and score important points is something we can be happy with. However, more would have been possible today. If we’d done better in qualifying, the race would’ve been easier too. At least we extended our lead in the drivers’ and team standings. We’re working hard to keep improving from race to race.”
The German driver’s weekend was definitely not an easy one, but that turned out to be a positive round. A difficult qualifying round left him in P15, and the three places grid penalty he had received in Cape Town saw him start further at the back of the grid in P18, but the Porsche driver made his way back up in the top 10. During the race it appeared he had the pace for even aspiring to the top podium position, for what could have been a record breaking result coming from such a low starting grid position, in the top 5 fight with his teammate Da Costa, but in the end Wehrlein‘s race saw him end up in P7. The points scored today allow him to keep the championship lead, further increasing the gap to Jake Dennis to 24 points.
Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
Jake Dennis, Avalanche Andretti:
“Two races now just driving my own race and then some plonker 100 metres behind me forgets to brake and smashes into me,” said Dennis, who now sits 24 points behind Wehrlein in the standings. It’s typical, I don’t know what else I can do. I don’t know what he was thinking. I’ve seen the onboard and it’s like he’s in his own little world. I’m pretty annoyed with Dan. It hurts a lot. Myself and the team spend a week doing the full preparation away from home and all the work behind the scenes before that just for some geezer to forget to brake. It’s ridiculous.”
The British driver’s weekend was rather disappointing. After a tough qualifying session, which left him starting in P14, he was forced to do a recovery race in order to enter in the top ten. However, just as he was in P11, almost in the top ten, Dennis was hit by Dan Ticktum, and forced to retire from the race, It’s the third race he hasn’t been able to score points in a row, and his first retirement. However, the Andretti driver has managed to hold on to his P2 in the drivers‘championship, even if much further behind the championship leader Pascal Wehrlein.
Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
The race weekend came to an end, but we still feel reliving every lap of the race. Sambadrome and São Paulo provided such a fantastic atmosphere, and we really hope it will stay in the calendar. We’ll see you soon for Round 7 and 8 in Berlin – and maybe even live on track! It will be lots of fun to go back to the roots – and we’re already pumped for what a stop inn Germany will bring to the championship. Until then: enjoy the race wherever you are ✨
