Mitch Evans claimed victory in race one at the Rome E-Prix, as a multi-car crash in the early stages of the 13th round of the 2022/23 Formula E season resulted in a 42-minute stoppage.
Evans won in the Italian capital for the third consecutive time, with the Kiwi having mastered a gruelling race ahead of fellow championship rival Nick Cassidy. Maximilian Günther claimed third for Maserati in the team’s home race.
As polesitter Evans led the field round to the starting grid, the track temperature at the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR hit a staggering 60°C, whilst the air temperature sat at an uncomfortable 34°C. Not all of the drivers were present in the race, as a heavy crash in qualifying ruled Jake Hughes out of the afternoon’s action.
The starting grid saw Evans on pole alongside team-mate Sam Bird, with Sacha Fenestraz and Sébastian Buemi on the second row. In terms of the championship fight, Jake Dennis started in seventh, with Cassidy and Pascal Wehrlein in ninth and tenth.
As the lights went out, it was the Jaguar TCS Racing duo who made the best start; however, it was Bird who led into the opening corner. Championship leader Dennis and second-placed Cassidy both made excellent starts, with the pair having moved into fifth and sixth on the opening lap.
The same couldn’t be said for Wehrlein, who was forced to pit for a new front wing following an unfortunate collision with one of the Maserati’s on the first lap. Wehrlein found himself at the back and over a minute behind the leaders, when he eventually exited the pits. In a stroke of luck for the Porsche driver, a Safety Car was required on the third lap.
A Safety Car was necessary following a high-speed collision with the wall for André Lotterer, who was thankfully OK. Due to the circuit being so long, the Safety Car was able to return to the pits at the conclusion of lap four, where Bird got the race back underway.
Following the restart, Bird and Evans changed positions relatively cleanly, promoting the championship contender into the lead. What Jaguar didn’t plan was for Bird to be overtaken for second a lap later, as Fenestraz breezed past the Briton. Third became fourth for Bird on Lap 7, as René Rast made his way past the seemingly struggling driver.
Evans dropped behind Fenestraz on the same lap after activating his first Attack Mode, but crucially failed to reclaim the position on the following lap when the rookie activated his first. Rast and Bird also made their first trip to the Attack Mode activation zone and remained in third and fourth.
However, a red flag was suddenly flown on the ninth lap following a terrifying six-car crash, which was caused by Bird losing control of his car on the exit of Turn 6. Bird lost the rear of his Jaguar after hitting a bump, before slamming into the wall. His car then rolled into the middle of the circuit though, where it was then ploughed into by Buemi, Edoardo Mortara, Robin Frijns, Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa.
Jean-Éric Vergne was one of several drivers to have hit the wall whilst taking avoiding action, in what was one of the biggest crashes in the history of the all-electric series. Thankfully, all the drivers involved were uninjured. Unsurprisingly, the multi-car incident scattered a substantial amount of debris across the circuit, resulting in a lengthy stoppage.
The race finally got back underway 42 minutes later following an exceptional clean-up job by the marshals, with Fenestraz having led the field behind the Safety Car. 16 laps remained when the race resumed for the 14 drivers still present in the race, including both DS Penske drivers who hit the wall whilst trying to avoid the scary crash.
A standing start was completed to restart the race, with Fenestraz having maintained the lead into the opening corner. Evans occupied second ahead of Dennis, who overtook Rast following a great launch. Rast sat in fourth with Günther in fifth, whilst Cassidy occupied sixth.
Sixth became fifth on Lap 11 for Cassidy, after he dived down the inside of Günther at Turn 5. At the back, and Wehrlein found himself in 14th, in what was becoming an eventful afternoon for the remaining drivers. Rast and Dan Ticktum both entered the pits on Lap 13 following apparent damage, with the latter having certainly broken his front wing. Ticktum rejoined the circuit in 13th, whilst Rast unfortunately retired from the race.
At the front and Fenestraz led from Evans, Dennis and Cassidy; however, the Nissan driver was backing up the field in an attempt to preserve energy. As a result, Dennis seemingly decided that it was time to push, as the Andretti driver overtook both Evans and Fenestraz on Lap 15. Interestingly, Evans and Cassidy both boasted a percent more energy than Dennis.
Fenestraz was clearly struggling with his energy, as Evans made his way past the rookie on Lap 16, before starting his pursuit of Dennis. Due to Evans having been stuck behind Fenestraz prior to his overtake, Dennis built a big enough gap to activate his first Attack Mode, and remain in the lead.
Cassidy soon overtook Fenestraz also, meaning the top three places were occupied by title contenders. The leading trio quickly broke away from the pack behind them, largely due to a preserving Fenestraz who started to tumble down the order. In that pack was Wehrlein, who sat in 10th.
Lap 18/25 and Evans moved into the lead of the race, after Dennis activated his final Attack Mode – as did Cassidy behind. Dennis reclaimed the lead on Lap 20 though, as Evans opted to take his final Attack Mode. However, the Kiwi missed one of the sensors, meaning he had to try and activate it again on the following lap, something he did successfully.
Evans went on to breeze into the lead on Lap 22, after overtaking Dennis on the run to Turn 7. Dennis was clearly in trouble, as he quickly fell to third behind Cassidy. The two Jaguar-powered drivers boasted more energy and had the advantage of more power, unlike Dennis.
Dennis was then overtaken again, this time by Günther. The German made his way past the British driver and into the podium places, in front of the team’s home crowd. Life was made even harder for the championship leader as it was announced that the race would feature two additional laps, due to the time completed behind the Safety Car.
At the front, and there were no concerns for Evans, who cruised to the chequered flag to claim a third consecutive win in the Eternal City. The Jaguar driver crossed the line ahead of Cassidy, who is now the championship leader ahead of Sunday’s race. There was delight for Maserati as Günther claimed third in the team’s home race, a significant result for the Italian manufacturer.
Dennis held on for fourth ahead of Vergne and Müller, whilst Wehrlein recovered to seventh. Norman Nato finished eighth ahead of Sérgio Sette Câmara in ninth, as Fenestraz tumbled to 10th to snatch the final point.
Evans’ win means he has the chance to claim back-to-back wins in Rome for the second season in a row, with the Jaguar driver having been awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ for his efforts. As well as having claimed 25 points for victory and three points for pole, Evans also claimed an additional point for fastest lap.
The chaotic race has resulted in Cassidy returning to the top of the Drivers’ Championship, where he sits five points ahead of Dennis and Evans, who has moved ahead of Wehrlein and into third. In the Constructors’ Standings, and Envision lead Porsche by six points ahead of round 14.
Being a double-header, action will resume Sunday morning for free practice 3, where it will be discovered how many cars from today’s crash will be able to take part.
