Jaguar TCS Racing made history in Berlin with the team’s first 1-2 finish in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Mitch Evans took his second victory in a row this season and team-mate Sam Bird finished second – achieving his third podium and highest finish of the season.
The 43-lap race provided gripping racing from start to finish. Sam Bird lined up on the front row of the grid after making it through to the qualifying Duels finals. The Brit topped Group B with a time of 1.05.975 before going on to beat the Avalanche Andretti of Jake Dennis and the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum but was pipped by the Jaguar-powered Envision of Sebastien Buemi in the finals.
Mitch Evans lined up P9 on the grid after he just missed out on the Duels by six-thousands of a second and finished fifth in Group A.
With the lead frequently changing in an action-packed E-Prix and in an effort to save energy, Mitch was able to carve his way through the pack, carefully avoiding the carnage along the way. Sam Bird took the lead of the race at the Tempelhof circuit on four different occasions and both drivers worked together to maximise efficiency. In total there were eight different leaders but Mitch took the chequered flag, with Sam Bird just behind him. In an energy critical race where the tow effect is strong, the Jaguar TCS Racing team executed a perfect strategy and the superior pace and efficiency of the Jaguar I-TYPE 6.
Jaguar TCS Racing remain third in the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams’ standings, closing the gap to Tag Heuer Porsche to just 26 points.
What a race! Our first 1-2 in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. With Sam on the front row and Mitch back in P9 we knew the race today would be all about a clever strategy. We needed to keep calm, work together and progress and that’s exactly what we achieved. Everyone put in a fantastic performance and these results don’t come without incredible effort from the whole team. It was an incredibly challenging race with the amount of overtakes and it was about making the right decisions at the right time, avoiding any issues and having a car that could achieve the result that we did today. I am so proud of all of the team, our first ever 1-2, some big points towards our championship campaign and we hope to score more solid points tomorrow. A 1-2 finish is something none of us will ever forget.
JAMES BARCLAY
JAGUAR TCS RACING TEAM PRINCIPAL
It’s an incredible feeling to get back-to-back wins, particularly in Formula E where it’s so challenging. I needed a couple of good races and this is exactly what the team delivered today in Berlin. There is still a long way to go this season but the main thing is we’re back in the hunt. Both Sam and I are up there in the fight and we need to keep building on what we’ve achieved so far.
MITCH EVANS
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER, #9
We’ve made history again today. It’s the best result Jaguar TCS Racing have ever achieved and it’s huge credit to all of the amazing people that work in this team. I feel like we’ve been working towards this for a while now but to get back-to-back double podiums feels incredible. We have a competitive package and it was very well executed by the team and we hope to fight for more points and podiums again tomorrow.
SAM BIRD
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER, #10
Berlin will host the eighth round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship tomorrow, 23 April 2023 at 15:00 CET.
