A brilliant performance from pole-sitter Sam Bird has seen him keep his championship fight alive, seizing a dominant victory in Round 11 at the New York City E-Prix.
The British driver looked to be untroubled throughout the race following a strong getaway off the line. Meanwhile, his teammate Mitch Evans, who had looked on course to bring home a Jaguar 1-2, had a last-minute mistake on track which dropped him down to 13th as his car limped over the finish line.
As consequence, Nick Cassidy was able to bring home his second ABB Formula E podium for Envision Virgin and reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa completed the podium in third.
Bird’s grip on the lead never looked in doubt, especially after Evans let him past following their Attack Mode activations. Meanwhile, Evans and fellow Kiwi Cassidy duelled over second place. The Jaguar was fortunate to hold on to his position at the start after a lock-up at Turn 1 saw him narrowly avoid contact.
Racing was swiftly brought to a halt as Jean-Eric Vergne’s day continued to go downhill, as the DS Techeetah driver was unable to get off the starting grid and brought out the Safety Car.
As the on-track action got underway once again, Bird continued to extend his lead out front. Meanwhile, a train began to form behind Evans of Cassidy, da Costa and the TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Andre Lotterer.
Yet the Kiwi’s position on the podium would not hold. The tyre drop-off during the latter half of the race saw Evans brush the wall on the exit of Turn 3 with less than 2 minutes left on the clock. The resulting damage saw Cassidy, da Costa and Porsche duo sail past the sliding Jaguar.
Bird eventually brought it home for Jaguar, 4 seconds ahead of second place Cassidy, who had managed to hold off da Costa during the final lap. Two second place finishes and a fourth place finished have meant that no driver has scored more than Cassidy over the last two rounds. Alongside his third place finish, da Costa has also picked up the additional point available for the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap.
It was double haul of points for Porsche in fourth and fifth, with Wehrlein finishing ahead of Lotterer. Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn gave Mahindra their second double points finish of the year in sixth and ninth, respectively.
Norman Nato crossed the line in seventh for ROKiT Venturi, ahead of the second Envision Virgin of Robin Frijns. Yesterday’s race winner Maximillian Guenther completed the top 10 for BMW i Andretti.
After starting fifth on the grid, Sergio Sette Camara had to settle for 11th as he overconsumed on energy throughout the race. Stoffel Vandoorne was the highest-placed Mercedes EQ in 12th and Evans’ wounded Jaguar finished in 13th.
Former championship leader Edoardo Mortara could only manage 17th place. As result, Bird has jumped up to the top of the Drivers’ Championship on 82 points, ahead of da Costa and Frijns.
Envision Virgin’s 22 points haul has seen them assume the lead in the Teams’ Championship on 146 points. DS Techeetah drop to second, while Jaguar climb up to third and sit only five points adrift of the top of the standings.
Bird’s second lights-to-flag victory in New York, following his achievement in Season 3, could not have come at a better time for him. Remarking on the radio about it coming home (in reference to England’s appearance in the Euro 2020 final), Formula E will also be returning home for him as the championship heads to Round 12 at the London E-Prix on July 24 and 25.
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