MONACO: Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy shot to the top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with a whirlwind drive from ninth on the grid, winning the race in a thrilling 2023 Monaco E-Prix.
Cassidy led Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) home after fending off his compatriot until a safety car secured victory at the end of the race.
The 150-mile chess game ebbed and flowed as the leaders vied for control and set the pace, but Cassidy’s decisive moves early in the race delivered the ultimate result. When his engineer gave the green light for a six-lap sprint, Cassidy didn’t look back.
Evans had fought his way up from sixth on the grid to second at the finish and was within range of the Envision and the safety car three laps from the end of the race. This New Zealand 1-2 brought four straight wins, a new Formula E record for a single nation.
Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team’s Jake Dennis couldn’t quite live with the leading duo, but he had pushed through from 11th on the grid to take the final step onto the podium.
Nissan Formula E Team’s Sacha Fenestraz, who thought he had sealed Julius Baer Pole Position only for a post-practice penalty to present the honor to NEOM McLaren Formula E Team’s Jake Hughes, headed home in fourth and was able to not match the benchmark combination of speed and efficiency of the leading trio. Hughes followed him across the finish line while Dan Ticktum (NIO 333 Racing) stayed in sixth place despite some late-race scrapes and some damage to his car.
The long-standing table leader Pascal Wehrlein was only able to improve to 11th placeth from 12th on the grid, resulting in both the driver and his TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team losing control of their respective championships.
Title contender Jean-Éric Vergne recovered to seventh place from the back of the grid after DS PENSKE was disqualified from qualifying due to tire pressure violations. The 15-position overtaking master class earned Vergne the inaugural ABB Driver of Progress racing award, which recognizes intelligent, efficient driving, resulting in the most places in a race.
The reigning world champion and DS PENSKE teammate StoffelVandoorne was also able to move up into the points with ninth place.
Cassidy’s 121 points puts him ahead of Wehrlein with 100 points in the drivers’ standings, Jake Dennis is now third with 96 points and Evans just behind with 94 points. Vergne leaves Monaco fifth in the race.
Envision Racing now jumps to the top of the teams’ standings with 182 points, 14 points ahead of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team with 168 points, while Jaguar TCS Racing sits third with 157 points.
