Mitch Evans, Jaguar Formula E teammate Sam Bird ready to battle it out on series' pop-up track in Brooklyn.
- Mitch Evans, of Jaguar TCS Racing, is hoping to settle some unfinished U.S. business in the electric-powered racing series.
- Just 15 points separate the top four in the standings with only three events, including this weekend’s doubleheader, remaining in the season.
- Striving for “a more sustainable motorsports world,” as British racer and decorated New York entrant Sam Bird puts it, was founder Alejandro Agag’s goal years before he established two-year-old Extreme E.
- The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the New York E-Prix doubleheader, July 16-17.
If the lyrics to the iconic “New York, New York” song hold true, British Jaguar TCS Racing driver Sam Bird can make it anywhere.
He has “made it” in New York City, winning three times since the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship first brought its quiet-but-quick all-electric open-wheel series to Brooklyn in 2017. Bird won both segments of that first visit of the electric-powered open-wheel series to New York. And he’s the most recent winner as the series returns this weekend for Rounds 11 and 12 of the 16-race schedule.
Sam Bird celebrates last year’s win in Brooklyn.
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“I’m really excited to head back to New York. It’s a circuit I’ve performed really well at in the past. It’s always a demanding weekend in New York,” Bird said, “but I’m looking forward to the challenge and hopefully another strong result for the team.” He could use a boost, as he’s 12th in the standings.
One of his strongest rivals is teammate Mitch Evans, who will enter this stop on the international circuit in fourth place, just a single point behind No. 3-ranked Stoffel Van Doorne, of Germany. ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara, a five-year Formula E veteran, leads the standings, and Jean-Eric Vergne (a 2018 and 2019 Brooklyn winner) is second. Vergne, of the DS Tacheetah team, claimed both of his crowns (2017-18 and 2018-19) at New York, becoming the series’ first two-time and back-to-back champion.
Resolute despite the stiff competition, Evans, of New Zealand, has some unfinished business here in the U.S. He was in the title hunt until the final day of last season. But his championship hopes took a hit, literally, at New York. So the one-time protégé of former Formula 1 racer Mark Webber has an impassioned reason to return and stay on point.
“Last year, a very late brush with the wall compromised what was looking to be a really strong result,” Evans said of Jaguar TCS’s anticipated 1-2 finish. “This year I’m coming back even more focused and determined to push for a podium result again. The championship fight is on, so we need to maximize every opportunity.”
He owns the fastest lap ever on the New York City course, at 1:10.050 minutes.
Mitch Evans comes to New York right in the thick of the championship. He’s fourth in the drivers’ standings.
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The season wraps up with races July 30-31 in Bird’s hometown of London and Aug. 13-14 at Seoul, South Korea.
“New York is one of my favorite tracks on the race calendar,” Evans said. “We’ve achieved some great results here and seen some incredible racing action.”
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team principal, said of the race boasting a backdrop that’s the envy of every American racing series, “The New York City E-Prix is a real Formula E street circuit in one of the most iconic cities in the world. In the past, it has seen thrilling racing and an excellent spectacle for the fans.
“As a team, we enjoy racing stateside, and we have seen success in the past with a brilliant comeback win from Sam last year and a podium finish for Mitch in 2019. The streets of Brooklyn provide a unique challenge for all teams, but we’re looking forward to returning to the track. And we are hard at work to try and deliver another strong points haul.”
Off the pace but still trying to make a move up in the standings are reigning champion Nyck de Vries, the Dutch racer from Mercedes-EQ, and Lucas DiGrassi, a 2018 winner at New York and 2016-17 champion. Nissan e.dams driver and 2015-16 champ Sebastien Buemi, of France, winner along with Vergne in 2019 in the lone U.S. Formula E event and racer with the most NYC pole positions (three), is looking for a repeat victory.
American-guided teams and drivers to watch for are: Avalanche Andretti mates Jake Dennis and former IndyCar driver and Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew, and Jay Penske’s duo for Dragon/Penske Autosport, Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara and Italian Antonio Giovinazzi.
Mitch Evans delights in his pole position in Monaco earlier this season.
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When Formula E began, it was rather avant-garde (just as founder Alejandro Agag has fashioned Extreme E). Today the concept seems less futuristic, although Bird says it still has that eye on the Gen 3 car that aims to prove that performance and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive.
“Formula E has been driving change and pushing the boundaries of innovation since its inception in 2014,” Bird said. “And I have been here since then, driving in every Formula E race since it started.” (He is the only racer among the series 22 who has won a race in every season since Formula E’s debut in 2014.)
He said, “The series has some of the best racing drivers and teams in the world showing how exciting electrified racing sustainable mobility can be. We are able to mesh traditional open-wheel circuit racing with exciting new city-center locations. Formula E is still futuristic, as this World Championship is still at the forefront of electric motorsport. Formula E concentrates innovation towards disciplines directly translatable to sustainable mobility. With open development of electric powertrains and limitations on energy, teams are constantly in search of gains in efficiency, light-weighting, and performance, all of which are driving factors for automotive electrification.”
Moreover, Bird said he “definitely” knew early on that Formula E would be far more than a fad, that it would become an international hit, strong and long-lasting.
“Of course, a new championship takes time to build a strong fanbase,” Bird said, “but the concept behind Formula E, the innovation and the sustainability messaging behind every race and every location we travel to, makes Formula E a unique motorsport series that was always going to succeed. Formula E has one of the most competitive fields in motorsport, and we’re able to deliver really exciting racing in city-center locations while also driving innovation and awareness around sustainable motorsport.
“This season is another example of this, with two new locations in Jakarta and Seoul. And we’re now in the early development phase for the next generation of Formula E. Jaguar TCS Racing has committed long-term to Formula E and I believe this series will continue to build on its incredible fanbase and important momentum as we strive for a more sustainable motorsport world.”
Keyword: What to Watch: Quiet-But-Quick Formula E Racing Series Is Back in the U.S. July 16-17