Dutch driver Nyck De Vries had to wait four years and a day to achieve his fifth victory in a Formula E race.
Since that last victory in Berlin 2022 with the Mercedes Benz EQ Team, a lot has happened, both for him and for Formula E, which in the meantime has begun the Gen3 era and then the current Gen3 EVO. Meanwhile, he took a brief stint in Formula 1 before returning with Mahindra to the electric single-seater category.
And speaking of Mahindra, the Anglo-Indian team has demonstrated a great ability to score points this season, but with fellow driver Edoardo Mortara, who, not coincidentally, is third in the championship, with this victory, Mahindra consolidates its position in the teams’ championship.
Race 1 of the Monaco E-Prix was a typical Formula E race, full of strategy, energy management, and searching for the right time to the Pit-Boost... only to see the Safety Car and then the Full Course Yellow appear, ruining many of the plans.
In De Vries’ case, he executed the planned strategy flawlessly, managing to stop at the right time on lap 16 and without any mistakes, allowing him to reach the finish line with a comfortable lead over second-place finisher Mitch Evans, after activating Attack Mode to overtake Antonio Felix Da Costa on lap 20.
With second place in Race 1 and the New Zealander’s fifth podium finish in Formula E and at Monte Carlo, Evans jumps to the championship lead, overtaking Wehrlein, who had a poor race, with a 15-point advantage.
Polesitter Dan Ticktum looked to have third place in the bag, but a late-race incident with Antonio Felix da Costa resulted in a penalty, handing the final step of the podium to his teammate Pepe Martí, a career-best result for the rookie who becomes the first Spaniard to win a Formula E trophy.
Nyck de Vries, No, 21, Mahindra Racing said:
The first one for Mahindra together. It’s been a great day, we’ve had great pace, the car was amazing and the team executed the right calls at the right time. We had the right energy to push during the pit window and we’ve won our first race together. A little bit emotional because it’s been a pretty rough start, we’ve been on the receiving end for a little while just shows you have to hang in there and better times will come.
In 2024, I joined the team and we were penultimate last. Last year we had a great year at P4 in the Teams’ Championship. We are obviously more ambitious than that so we are very happy to be with the team and I think the vibe in the team is great.
Theoretically this was the perfect plan and it worked out well, but you have to do the job.
Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing:
It was a pretty straightforward race with a few scary moments. Strategy was key today. I didn’t race so well at the start of the race, probably could have been a bit more aggressive, just being a bit cautious. But it kind of came towards me after the pit stop and the pit window worked quite great. To get to P2 is just great, you know great points.
Whole credit to Nyck [De Vries] and Mahindra, they’ve been rapid all day so it was always going to be a big task to try and try and beat them. I’ll happily take P2 and the 18 points and move on to tomorrow.
I got hit a few times and then once it felt like the next few corners I could feel the rear a bit nervous and I was like oh no, I’ve felt that before. But the pressure seemed all right and yeah I don’t know, I got away with it so it was very very fortunate that there was no puncture and we could charge on after that.
I’ve been here before so I’m not going to get carried away, but these results are huge at this stage of the Championship so keep trying to accumulate it and just go race by race.
Pepe Martí, No. 3, CUPRA Kiro, said:
I didn’t know what went on, I was really happy with fourth. I mean it was my first top five and it hurts to see that Dan [Ticktum] was the one to fall out of the podium, but nonetheless, it’s a great result.
To do it in Monaco, I mean there’s no better place to do it. The car’s been on fire, you can tell. A pole position for Dan and then I’ve been able to move up from 15th all the way to third, so it’s fantastic. I’m really still a bit shocked because, you know, I didn’t expect it. I came across the line fourth, I was really happy with it and to be here now is a bit of a dream.
The next Formula E event is tomorrow, Sunday, May 17th, with Race 2 of the Monaco E-Prix, the tenth race of the season.
You can read and/or download the official final standings, including the Drivers’, Teams’, and Constructors’ Championship positions, at the following links. (PDF)
- 1 – Final Classification Race 1
- 2 – Drivers Campionship
- 3 – Teams Championship
- 4 – Manufacturers Championship
#MarceloPadin #theEMNteam
Photo: BMF – Mitsuaki Futori
Source: Formula E
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