São Paulo – Race: Evans takes advantage of two red flags and wins from last start!

• Incredible scenario on this opening round of Season 11 of Formula E ! Mitch Evans (Jaguar) won the first race of this 2024-2025 campaign… having started last! Relegated to the back of the grid after encountering a technical problem in qualifying, the New Zealander took advantage of numerous racing incidents and two red flags to get back in the lead and win the São Paulo E-Prix in Brazil! Antonio Félix da Costa (Porsche) and Taylor Barnard (McLaren) complete the podium
• The race was interrupted by a first red flag on lap 21, in order to evacuate the Andretti immobilized by Jake Dennis in the chicane of the first turn. car being loaded and potentially dangerous, the stewards decided to neutralize the race to allow the mobilization of a crane to free the Briton's car. This red flag trapped the drivers who already had their Attack Mode activated – like Oliver Rowland or Jean-Éric Vergne – and favored those who had kept at least one Attack Mode, like Norman Nato, the Jaguar and McLaren drivers.
• After about twenty minutes of interruption, the São Paulo E-Prix was restarted with a standing start for the final laps of the race… before a second red flag was deployed on lap 30! In the chicane of the first corners, Nick Cassidy – who was then fighting for victory at the front of the race – was sandwiched between Pascal Wehrlein and Maximilian Günther and first sent the DS Penske into the wall at turn 2, before hitting the Porsche… which turned into the wall and ended up on its roof at the exit of turn 3! The German, reigning world champion, emerged unscathed from this impressive accident.

A look at the incident between Wehrlein and Cassidy that brought out the red flag 🚩

Pascal Wehrlein is out of the car#SaoPauloEPrice pic.twitter.com/QTFPUKfhwp

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 7, 2024

• These two red flags served Mitch Evans well, as he still had an Attack Mode in reserve after the first red flag. An Attack Mode that was much more effective than last year, thanks to the use of four-wheel drive. With the race restarted for four laps after the second interruption, the Jaguar driver managed the end of the race perfectly in the lead despite the pressure exerted by Antonio Félix da Costa and low energy: the Kiwi crossed the line with only 0,5% of battery remaining!
• Incredible result also for the two McLarens: for his fourth race in Formula E, Taylor Barnard took his first podium in the discipline ahead of Sam Bird. The drivers of the British team were nevertheless very far from the podium at the halfway point of the race, since they had been penalized with a drive-through and Sam Bird had suffered a puncture. However, thanks to the first red flag, the two men were able to catch up with the pack with an Attack Monde in their pocket, allowing them to move up the hierarchy quickly!
• A hectic and mixed race for the French, who still managed to finish in the points. Norman Nato (Nissan) experienced it all: after a good start, the Cannes driver was penalized with a drive-through for overpowering – just like his teammate Oliver Rowland and the McLarens, also powered by Nissan – but took advantage of the first red flag to come back using his remaining Attack Mode at the restart. The Nissan driver finished 6th, while Jean-Éric Vergne finished 10th, who was caught out by the first red flag since he had activated his Attack Mode just before it was deployed.
• Early in the race, the Safety Car had to be deployed following an accident involving Nico Müller and Jake Hughes. On lap 2, Lucas di Grassi's Lola Yamaha squeezed the Envision of Sébastien Buemi on the inside of Turn 6. The Swiss driver hit the wall before going off the outside and hitting Jake Hughes' Maserati, which broke its steering in the process. At the same time, just behind, Nico Müller was hit by David Beckmann and ended up in the Briton's Maserati.

A big crash between Mueller and Hughes 👀

The two cars came together on the exit of the chicane. Both drivers are OK

The @Porsche Safety Car is out #SaoPauloEPrice pic.twitter.com/YxfGBHnUa1

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) December 7, 2024

Formula E – Sao Paulo
Race – Ranking

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