Mitch Evans dominated the Formula E races in Rome, Italy – He got some shooting help from Jaguar teammate Sam Bird for Sunday’s second win
Mitch Evans made up eleven positions during the Formula E race weekend in Rome, Italy, winning both races by clear margins. In Sunday’s second race, the Auckland-based New Zealander received help from Jaguar teammate Sam Bird, who inadvertently created a gap on the track for Evans to activate Attack Mode.
For the second race on Sunday, the rule for the extra power was changed: Instead of two four-minute activations, there was only one loop at the Marconi obelisk for the drivers to activate Attack Mode for eight minutes this time. On lap 18, the Mahindra of Alexander Sims stranded, triggering the second safety car period.
When the lights turned green again, there were only twelve minutes to go. Evans barely had time to activate the attack mode. If he did not use the full eight minutes, he was threatened with a penalty. However, as the two yellow phases added around five minutes to the regular race time of 45 minutes, the New Zealander managed to activate the attack mode in time.
Evans finds strategically important gap
Bird inadvertently held up the pack behind Evans, allowing Evans to find a gap to loop off the racing line. He only lost one position to Jean-Eric Vergne thanks to Bird and was therefore able to make a big splash in the closing stages of the race with the extra effort. He first overtook Vergne, then Robin Frijns and Andre Lotterer to make the Rome one-two perfect. “The new Emperor of Rome”, was crowned, as Evans was dubbed by Bird.
“He really helped me a lot today,” Evans said after the race about his teammate’s support. “I owe him because he also held Jean-Eric Vergne up a little bit – not on purpose, of course, but so then I had a nice little gap. It’s great to hear something like that from your team-mate.”
For Bird, however, the race did not go to plan: the Briton retired early after a crash with Nick Cassidy at the end of the race. “It’s a shame,” says Evans. “I don’t know what happened with him at the end of the run, unfortunately. I thought we were both in a position to fight our way to the front together. We’ll have to analyse that, but I’m sure he’ll fight back. “
Evans takes career wins three and four
“I was really lucky because Sam did a good job and helped me a lot,” Evans continued. “I only lost one position to Jean-Eric and then tried to be smart with my energy and not use it up completely with the attack mode. We managed it well. It was a fair race with the competition because they knew about my pace and energy. They didn’t make it difficult for me. It was a dream weekend.”
For Evans, it was Formula E wins three and four after Rome in the 2018/19 season and Mexico in the 2019/20 season. Vergne leads the overall standings, picking up vital points with fourth and second places. Behind him, Frjins, Stoffel Vandoorne, Evans and Edoardo Mortara complete the top five. Andre Lotterer and Pascal Wehrlein follow in sixth and seventh place, while Maximilian Günther is currently 17th.
