Mitch Evans made history for Panasonic Jaguar Racing, claiming the team’s first ever ABB FIA Formula E win in Rome. It is Jaguar’s first international motorsport victory since 1991.
During a qualifying session plagued with intermittent rain showers, an impressive performance from Mitch saw the Kiwi driver clinch P2 from Super Pole. Teammate Alex claimed a ninth place qualifying, before being penalised for exceeding the maximum power limit and started at P21.
An early collision at turn 17/18 caused a pile up of several cars and brought out a red flag.
Mitch drove confidently at the restart and managed to overtake Andre Lotterer with Attack Mode at turn 11 for the lead of the race. Despite Lotterer activating Attack More a lap later, the Kiwi driver defended well and held onto his first win in the series.
The Panasonic Jaguar Racing team will now prepare for the Paris E-Prix on 27 April.
Mitch Evans commented about the win:
“This feels beautiful. It was a fantastic race. The first few laps were tricky in the wet. After the red flag I just wanted to stay steady. From early on I felt comfortable and my energy management was ahead of target so we decided to use it when it mattered. I wanted to use Attack Mode when Lotterer didn’t have it to gain that power difference. We had great pace from the beginning, so I really felt confident out there today.
It’s been years since I had a win, so this really feels amazing. I’m so happy for the team, for everyone at Panasonic Jaguar Racing for all their hard work and to Jaguar Land Rover for their support over the past three seasons. This has really come at a great time.”
