Evans overtakes Wehrlein on dramatic final lap to claim victory in Shanghai

Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) secured his second win of the season at the inaugural Shanghai E-Prix by snatching the lead on a gripping last lap.

Evans took the lead in the peloton-style race with six laps to go and stretched out the field. Despite Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) briefly taking the position off Evans again, the Kiwi fought back with an excellent move around the outside at turn one on the last lap and there was no stopping him from there.

“I’m super happy,” Evans said in parc ferme. “It was not an easy race to manage; starting towards the front can be good, it can be bad, but I think we managed it well.

“I thought I got into the lead at the right time, but actually, Pascal caught me napping a bit into turn eight and he put his nose up and had another go at me. I’m surprised he didn’t get anything for that going off-track when passing me, but we’ll look into that afterwards.

“Anyway, great result for the team, got it done on the last lap. I had an energy advantage, so I just wanted to bide my time and let the race come to me and it did. So I’m super stoked to have a 1-3 for Jaguar and great points for our championship – it was a good one!

“It’s all fine margins in this category. One-lap pace for everyone is super tight, so qualifying margins are even tighter and then in the race everyone is trying to get to the front at the exact same time and it’s not easy to get done. But full credit to the team for guiding me through that and hopefully we can pull off something similar tomorrow.”

The wide, fast-flowing track at the Shanghai International Circuit meant the field stayed close together for most of the race and the order kept changing lap after lap. Wehrlein was the only driver to consistently stay within the top three and while he led for large parts of proceedings, he sacrificed energy doing so.

Having been there or thereabouts throughout, Evans made a proper move for the head of the field in the final third of the race and claimed the lead with six laps to go. Evans upped the pace and the field stretched out with a group of four remaining at the front.

Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E) launched an attack an Wehrlein for second but couldn’t make it stick, only allowing Evans in the lead to conserve more energy and Nick Cassidy (Jaguar TCS Racing) in fourth to inch ever-closer.

Cassidy saw his chance to take third off Dennis on lap 25 and, after going side-by-side through multiple corners, did take hold of the position. Ahead, Wehrlein attacked for the lead and, despite going off-track at turn eight, managed to reclaim the head of the race.

Evans waited until the final lap for an attempt to overtake and made a beautiful move around the outside at turn one stick. Wehrlein couldn’t fight back and was instead occupied with defending ferociously from a charging Cassidy.

After a tough battle, Wehrlein did manage to hold on to runner-up spot and close his championship deficit to 13 points. “It was a tough race,” the Porsche driver admitted. “In the end, I think we went into the lead a bit too early and for a bit too long. I think that’s where Evans and the other could built a bit of an energy advantage.

“I think in the past we have been a bit too conservative, today maybe a bit too aggressive at when we should take the lead. Then on the last lap, due to defending, my target dropped, I had to coast quite early and Mitch overtook me into turn one.

“It was a tough fight on the last lap with the Jaguars because Mitch clearly tried to slow me down so that Nick could pass me. But yeah, a few contacts, that’s how it is.

“I think it was hard but fair. One time when I was passing Mitch, he forced me onto the grass – that from my point of view was a bit too far. But anyway, I think we did what we could do, we kept it clean and it’s a well-deserved podium for the team.”

It was a frustrating end to a tricky race for Cassidy. Having missed the sweet spot to deploy his first attack mode early on in the race, the championship leader was stuck in the middle of the field for the first half of proceedings.

However, the energy conserved there could have been crucial later on when he finally made his way up the order and to the sharp end. Despite a huge energy advantage in the final stages, though, Cassidy was instructed to hold rather than attack until the very last lap and couldn’t make the superior energy percentage count.

“I had the energy to win for sure,” he stated post race. “It wasn’t my decision, so it’s okay. It was a nice race today, awesome to get a 1-3.”

Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) completed the race in fourth ahead of Antonio Felix Da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) and Dennis who dropped down the order in the late stages.

Pole sitter Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) was seventh from Nyck De Vries (Mahindra Racing) and Maximilian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing) while Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) rounded out the top 10.

As Evans said in his post-race interview, Formula E comes down to margins and the Kiwi got everything spot-on today.

While Wehrlein tried to control his race at the front, Evans allowed the race to come to him, giving him the crucial energy advantage to snatch victory in the end.

Besides this strategy masterclass, Evans displayed some excellent on-track action in his fights with Wehrlein, crowned by a magnificent overtake around the outside for the win.

1/29: VERGNE DEFENDS LEAD FROM POLE – It looked like a slow start from Vergne, but he manages to defend the lead from Wehrlei into turn one. Meanwhile, Rowland drops behind Evans into fourth.

16/29: PELOTON STILL – More than halfway through the race and things are still very close. Again, the order keeps changing, but position-wise, Wehrlein is doing a great job of consistently being at the sharp end.

23/29: EVANS ATTACKS – Evans attacks Wehrlein for the lead, makes it stick, and is looking keen to defend the position from here.

25/29: FIGHTS! – Cassidy launches an attack on Dennis for third and, after going side-by-side for a bit, makes it stick. Ahead, Wehrlein goes for first versus Evans and, despite going over the grass, gains the position.

29/29: EVANS WINS IN SHANGHAI – Evans brings P1 over the line for his second win of the season. Wehrlein defends for his life against Cassidy and holds on to second. Cassidy had a one per cent energy advantage but could not use it.