33 points separated Mitch Evans and Formula E world champion Stoffel Vandoorne in the title fight – The Jaguar driver says he gave it his all
Mitch Evans has finished second overall in the 2022 Formula E season in a Jaguar behind world champion Stoffel Vandoorne. The New Zealander really stepped up his game in Seoul, South Korea, taking victory in the first of two races. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old ultimately had no chance of knocking the Belgian off his throne.
Vandoorne has gilded Mercedes’ farewell to Formula E with a strong season and snatched the title. Evans had made it even more exciting with his victory in the penultimate race, as he still had a mathematical chance of passing the Belgian. For that to happen, Vandoorne would have had to come away empty-handed in the season finale, which did not happen.
Evans only managed 13th place in qualifying, as his Jaguar was not nearly as well set up on a dry track as it was on wet asphalt on Saturday. Evans still managed seventh, while Vandoorne rounded off a strong season with second place, defending his overall lead. Evans is nevertheless pleased with the team’s performance and his fight for the title.
Car in 2022 season “very fast “
“I gave everything,” he clarifies. “In these conditions, it had been dry before it rained, we didn’t have our usual pace, we were missing something a little bit. We tried to mix it up [on Sunday], but we didn’t get going in qualifying because it just didn’t feel really natural to drive the car. “
Jaguar then tried everything to make further progress for the race and at least Evans still made it into the points. “But that’s all we could do,” said the New Zealander, who kept the Formula E title fight exciting until the very last second. The rear tyres in particular had caused the Jaguar driver problems in the final race of the season.
“It’s disappointing, of course,” said the runner-up in the 2022 season. “Still, we’ve made a breakthrough: sometimes the tracks suit the car and sometimes they don’t. But this car can be very, very, very fast. There are just a few tracks where we can’t get to the top. However, there is nothing for the team to sulk about. We’ve had a breakthrough this year, but the inconsistency has taken us back a bit. “
Jaguar is one of the best teams
Evans praises Jaguar for the winning car that catapulted him into title contention. With the new Gen3 car, the New Zealander wants to attack again and be back at the front. “We are one of the strongest teams and drivers this year and we have worked very hard, thank you to the team at the factory for making this possible for me,” said Evans. “It still hurts a little bit, but everyone did their best.”
However, the fighting spirit in Evans has only just been awakened after missing out on the World Championship win: “I’m proud of our performance, but I’m not satisfied. I am a fighter and have always been hungry for competition. Second place is great, but just not enough for me. We’ll gather with the team now and come back next year. For that we will work on all our little weaknesses. “