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Cassidy and Envision Racing win in Monaco!

6 May 2023

NICK CASSIDY AND ENVISION RACING SURGE INTO THE LEAD OF THE DRIVERS’ AND TEAMS’ STANDINGS WITH A STUNNING VICTORY IN MONTE CARLO

Any doubts that Nick Cassidy and Envision Racing are Formula E title contenders were truly quashed on the famous streets of Monaco on Saturday.

Cassidy picked up where he left off following his victory in Berlin, and he did it again on the most famous circuit in motorsport.

The Envision Racing driver started ninth, and after a lightning start, made it to the front, and never looked back.

Having already made a name for himself this season as a passing specialist, Cassidy executed no fewer than 10 overtakes throughout the 29 laps of the Monaco E-Prix. He even achieved the unthinkable at Monaco – overtaking on the outside.

Cassidy was pushed all the way by Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, and was forced to call upon all his racing smarts to defend from his fellow Kiwi. It looked as if a grandstand finish would decide the race, however with two laps to go, and Cassidy leading, a late safety car meant the Envision Racing driver could relax and cross the line as a winner in Monaco.

The second win in row means Cassidy heads to Jakarta with a 21-point lead over Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein, who failed to score any points.

Cassidy’s team-mate Sébastien Buemi also had something to smile about in Monaco. Starting 15th, the former champion had it all to do, however at the flag managed to take eighth and help underline Envision Racing’s place at the head of the Teams’ Championship.

THE RACE

Following a glittering run of qualifying performances, it was a bit of a reality check for both Envision Racing drivers in Monaco. Neither of the cars made it into the duels, and as a result, Cassidy would start round nine of the 2022–23 Formula E World Championship in ninth and team-mate Buemi in 15th.

When the lights went out to start the Monaco E-Prix, and the pack dived into the opening Sainte-Dévote right-hand corner it was Cassidy making all the moves. The Envision Racing man made a lightning start to move up to sixth under braking for the first corner, as pole position-winner Jake Hughes headed the field.

For Cassidy, sixth became fifth on lap two with a great pass on Jake Dennis at the hairpin. This did not last long as a rapid Oliver Rowland made his way around Cassidy exiting the tunnel. Further back, Buemi avoided any early contact, moving up one place into 15th by the third lap.

On lap five, Cassidy pulled off a multiple overtake more often seen in the realms of a computer game. The Kiwi made up three places braking for the hairpin, passing on the outside to consolidate fifth place. 

One lap later, fifth became fourth, as the Envision Racing driver latched onto the rear of Dan Ticktum’s NIO. Cassidy was unstoppable, making light work of Ticktum at La Rascasse hairpin to start lap seven, immediately passing Norman Nato to move up into second place to hunt down leader Sacha Fenestraz.

Cassidy briefly led on lap eight as Fenestraz took Attack Mode, before moving back down into fourth place, and then fifth, as he in turn triggered his first Attack Mode phase one lap later. By lap 10 Cassidy was up to fourth as Jaguar’s Evans cycled to the lead.

Starting lap 11, Cassidy once again made a move on Ticktum at Sainte-Dévote , to take third, which quickly became the lead as he used the remainder of his Attack Mode advantage to storm to the front.

Cassidy revisited the Attack Mode zone once again on lap 13, emerging in second once again, behind Evans. As Cassidy resumed in the lead following Evans’ move into Attack Mode, the Envision Racing driver soon came under intense pressure from his compatriot.

Despite Evans’ additional power, Cassidy seemingly did well to defend as the race reached the halfway point. Evans, playing a waiting game, made his move at Sainte-Dévote on lap 16 to lead for Jaguar.

Cassidy dived into the lead once more at the beginning of lap 17, once again at Sainte-Dévote, as the battle for the top three consisting of the Envision Racing driver, Evans and Dennis really started to come to the boil.

With a train of Formula E cars chomping at the bit to snatch the lead, Cassidy came under massive pressure as the race entered the final 10 laps. This pressure was halted on lap 22 as a safety car was triggered to recover the stricken Maserati of Maximilian Günther. 

With the safety car period over, it was game on once again on lap 25, and Cassidy made a good restart, hotly pursued by Evans. Crucially, Cassidy managed to hold off the Jaguar driver as the race entered the final five laps. The big question was, could Cassidy withstand this intense pressure right up until the chequered flag?

The answer was yes. Whilst leading from Evans, a safety car was called on the penultimate lap as Bird and Nico Mueller collided. This meant that Cassidy could cross the line uncontested to make it two victories in a row and establish himself as the Drivers’ championship leader.

“This is going to take a bit of time to sink in,” said an emotional Cassidy.

“We had such a tough day and struggled in both free practice sessions, and in qualifying I was happy with ninth. Credit to all of the Envision Racing team, everyone dived in to help sort out the issues and I am so happy with the reward.

“It’s great to be leading the championship, but there’s a long way to go, so we should just enjoy the fact that we have won at Monaco.”

There was further good news for Envision Racing as Buemi managed to battle back from his 15th place qualifying position to come home in eighth with some vital points in the Teams’ Championship standings, and help the team take the lead in the standings over Porsche.

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 9):
1. Nick Cassidy, 121pts
2. Pascal Wehrlein, 100pts
3. Jake Dennis, 96pts
4. Mitch Evans, 94pts
5. Jean-Éric Vergne, 87pts
8. Sébastien Buemi, 61pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 9):
1. Envision Racing, 182pts
2. Porsche Formula E Team, 168pts
3. Jaguar Racing, 157pts
4. Avalanche Andretti, 119pts
5. DS Penske, 105pts