In Saudi Arabia, the Jaguar driver found himself in contention for victory, engaged in a battle with Jean-Eric Vergne and eventual race winner Jake Dennis in the early stages. The trio broke away from the rest of the pack, setting the stage for a closely contested race.
Mitch Evans, leading at the time, opted to activate his first Attack Mode on lap four, following Vergne’s activation in the preceding lap. However, as he rejoined the racing line, a contact between Evans and Vergne occurred, resulting in a loss of momentum for Evans and allowing Vergne to move ahead.
Speaking about the incident, Evans expressed his frustration, stating, “There’s a couple of things which annoyed me in the race. Obviously, the rejoin with the Attack Mode, Vergne pushed me into the wall. The next corner was essentially mine, but with that contact, it gave him the momentum. How that wasn’t a penalty I don’t understand.”
Evans elaborated on the situation, suggesting that if he backed out, Vergne’s intention to put him into the wall would have been realized. He argued, “If he doesn’t make contact with me it’s my corner. There’s contact so it needs to be looked at, and I think the approach from him was to put me in the wall.”
When Vergne was asked about the incident, he explained, “It was on the limit, I was on the limit. It was hard, and it was very close. I didn’t mean to touch him, but this is Formula E, we rub the shoulders quite a lot sometimes.”
Despite the setback, Evans managed to regain positions, briefly taking the lead from Dennis but running slightly wide at Turn 18. He believed that if successful, this move would have secured him the victory. Additionally, Evans faced radio problems during the 37-lap contest.
After running wide at Turn 18 again, Evans found himself behind Vergne once more. In the final laps, he was challenged for the runner-up spot but faced challenges due to Vergne’s energy conservation strategy.
A double move from Vergne on the last lap forced Evans to make evasive maneuvers, ultimately finishing in fifth position behind team-mate Cassidy and McLaren’s Sam Bird.
Evans reflected on the last-lap incident, stating, “The double move [from Vergne] on the last lap, it was a high-risk move. I’d been doing it all race, so I was kind of knowing what I needed to do to get it done, and the double move made me have to steer again.”
