There are lots of farewells at the London EPrix this weekend.
But emotion, particularly affection and nostalgia, can’t afford to get in the way of a title fight. Still, without doubt one of the most significant goodbyes is Mitch Evans leaving Jaguar.
He will soon be confirmed as an Opel GSE driver for Gen4, but for now let’s celebrate why Evans has consistently been one of the great Formula E drivers of the last decade, and all with one team!
2019 Rome EPrix
Started: P2; Finished: P1
There’s nothing like the first time!
A Roman Gen2 dogfight with an on-form Andre Lotterer in the DS Techeetah came down to Evans making an opportunistic move, which was borderline but just on the right side of acceptable.
I remember speaking to Evans after the race and he was wide eyed after mastering the thrilling and undulating track in the EUR district of the city. He’d missed his ATTACK MODE activation and had to go again, and it all came down to an epic move at the chicane. It was an absolute classic of a race and a long overdue and richly deserved first win for the Kiwi.
2020 Marrakesh EPrix
Started: P22; Finished: P6
Sometimes a sixth place goes so much under the radar that it gets forgotten but not this one. In early 2020 Formula E was booming and the competition was incredibly fierce.
Evans had started the season off strongly with a crushing win in Mexico City, and while that was definitely one of his best weekends in Formula E, a few races later he went cosmic with a back to the front effort that was brilliant in its execution as he scythed through the field to sixth position.
For added context his then teammate James Calado finished the race 16th, over 10-seconds off Evans.
2024 Monaco EPrix
Started: P4; Finished: P1
Evans was a bit on the backfoot at Monaco in 2024 after a bit of a scrappy start to the season. And, with an ineffective Attack Mode capability that made overtaking much more difficult than it is now he had to clear Pascal Wehrlein, Stoffel Vandoorne and his teammate Nick Cassidy for any sniff of a win.
But he and Jaguar pulled off a tactical masterclass in which he and Cassidy aided each other’s strategies to pull off a conclusive 1-2. It was clinical and brutal for his direct opposition and the closest thing to a home victory was joyously and justifiably celebrated.
2024 (Season 12) Sao Paulo EPrix
Started: P22; Finished: P1
The burn from the stern win, the top gear from the rear victory!
A terminal technical meltdown in the qualifying group session meant Evans was consigned to the very back of the grid in December 2024.
The first season of the proper attack mode and a few lucky breaks should not take away much from this sensational win, one which put behind Evans the loss on the last few turns a few months earlier when former teammate Sam Bird snatched the win away.
Without that, Evans could have completed a Sao Paulo hat-trick. But what lives long in the memory is his opening lap in which he went from 22nd to 15th in a stunning display of well-considered and beautifully judged overtakes.
It was a perfect start to the season. Yet, the next time Evans saw points was six months later in Berlin such was his appalling luck amid issues and strategic wrong moves. Still, his Sao Paulo heroics have to be considered one of his greatest ever Big Cat drives.
2026 Madrid EPrix
Started: P16; Finished: P2
Not dissimilar to Sao Paulo, Jarama this season was a belter from Evans and Jaguar.
Starting again from a lowly grid position (16th), Evans deftly shimmied his way through the field and got up to leader and teammate Antonio Felix da Costa in the final couple of laps.
The relatively late ‘hold station’ call came with Mitch Evans on da Costa’s tail but with a better energy scenario and big pressure from Dan Ticktum’s CUPRA Kiro, albeit with an energy deficit, got the neutrals salivating.
Prior to that Evans had put an astonishing move on Sebastien Buemi and Nico Mueller in one sweeping manoeuvre when he positioned his car unbelievably by smashing it over the previous corners kerbs to get a perfect exit. Classic Evans creativity.
But ultimately Evans probably did the correct thing to not threaten the 1-12 too much. At the time he was seething, but afterwards saw the logic.
