Written by Jacob Awcock, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
It's no secret Jaguar have begun the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E season on the back foot. Despite Mitch Evans’ win in Brazil, the Coventry-based team has struggled for pace and with Evans’ teammate Nick Cassidy yet to score a point this season, a speedy redressal is required if the team is to achieve any success this season.
“I think we’re a little bit behind where we want to be with this car to be honest.” That was Nick Cassidy’s answer when asked his hopes ahead of the Mexico City E-Prix.
It was a damning verdict by the seven-time race winner, despite his team heading into Mexico off the back of a mighty victory in São Paulo which saw Evans storm up from last to first.
On the other side of the garage, though, it was a different story. Cassidy retired from the race, following a scary accident with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein.
Despite their opening round triumph, it was clear the Season 9 10 champions were in trouble with their car, and heading into Mexico Cassidy expressed his concerns: “It was a great weekend (in São Paulo) but we weren’t as competitive as we would have liked to be”
Free Practice in Mexico shone a light on these issues though for both drivers, as struggles were apparent for at least one driver in either session. In FP1, Cassidy failed to break into the top 10, finishing 15th, nearly a second off the pace. Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Evans secured fifth, half a second ahead of his teammate.
But FP2 flipped the results, as Cassidy struck back, breaking into the top three and finishing second overall. Evans, meanwhile, could only manage eleventh place, two seconds off of his teammate.
Consistency was a struggle yet there was hope that issues from São Paulo had been rectified with flickers of promise shown by both drivers. Yet, the glimmer of hope disappeared very quickly for Cassidy in qualifying, as a technical infringement meant the 30 year-old would start at the back of the grid for the race.
On the other side of the Jaguar garage, Evans claimed fifth, yet the pace to compete at the front was clearly not there, as the race didn’t improve their fortunes either.
Having run in the top ten for a vast majority of the race, Evans was cruelly eliminated in the closing stages of the race, caught out by the slowing Andretti of Nico Muller. The Jaguar was pitched into the air, breaking the car’s front suspension, forcing Evans to pull over on the spot.
A bewildered Evans took some time to ponder on what could have been, as he walked back to the garage and hopes of points being scored for the team in any way were non-existent as Cassidy had struggled to progress up the field; sitting in 13th as he took the chequered flag.
With Evans sitting third in the standings, thanks to his race win, it appears as though the Kiwi has adjusted to Jaguar’s I-Type 7 better than teammate Cassidy, who is yet to get off the mark this year, and appears to be struggling more with the machinery at hand.
Despite his more promising start, Evans admitted the team “struggled” in Mexico, but without the late safety car “top five was possible” for Evans. Cassidy however, could not say the same and said he was “more excited for the second half of the season at the moment.”
“We’ve got some really cool, exciting things in the pipeline but I think we have to wait till after Jeddah to see how that comes on. I would say I’m more hopeful for the second half of the season than I am now.”
With two rounds in Jeddah, Jaguar will hope the break between Mexico and Jeddah will have rectified some of the team’s issues. Yet, it appears from the outlook that these issues are much more deeply rooted, and will take longer to resolve.
With 20 wins and over 50 podiums between both drivers, the team will have two of the most decorated and experienced individuals in their line-up, whose feedback will be critical for the team’s development.
However, it is clear Mexico just didn’t play into the hands of Cassidy, and all hope may not be lost.
When looking back at the race, it is clear Jaguar’s tactic was to save as much energy as possible for a charge up the field in the closing stages.
Cassidy waited until lap 27 to arm attack mode, giving himself six minutes to climb up the field and, with extra energy having conserved in the first few laps, Cassidy could have charged further up the field into the top 10, had it not been for the pair of late safety car interventions.
Poor strategy decisions and luck definitely played a factor in Jaguar’s dismal showing in Mexico but there can be no hiding that pace remains a problem for the Coventry outfit.
With upgrades post Jeddah, the potential lies for Jaguar to regain their place at the top end of the championship, but for the time being, the team remains fighting in the mid-pack.
Cassidy will look to secure points, and Evans will look to cement his place in the top half of the championship as Formula E returns to action for the double header at the new circuit in Jeddah, with action set to kick off on 13th February, for a weekend set to go down as a special one in Formula E’s decorated history.
Comments