Jake Dennis scored a crucial win at Rome – benefitting from rivals Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans’ collision – to move into the championship lead. The Andretti driver now holds a 24-point lead in the championship heading into the London finale (which will be a double-header) later this month.
- Evans wins Race 1 ahead of Cassidy, Guenther
- Dennis wins Race 2 ahead of Nato, Bird
Rome E-Prix brings highs and lows for Evans
Evans started off the weekend on a strong note, winning the first of two races in Rome. He initially lost the lead to his Jaguar teammate Sam Bird, but reclaimed the position on Lap 5.
A multi-car shunt triggered by Bird caused a lengthy stop a few laps later and only 14 cars made it to the re-start. This time around, Dennis aced the re-start and moved from P4 to the lead. Just when it looked like Dennis had it in the bag, Evans set back-to-back fastest laps and passed the Andretti driver (who appeared to be struggling with energy) to take the victory.
The win gave a big boost to Evans’ title bid, but it was short-lived. A costly clash with title rival Nick Cassidy took both drivers out of the points in Race 2. While Evans eventually had to retire, Cassidy continued, but could only manage to finish 14th.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything silly, but I got caught by surprise and I wasn’t expecting it to be that slow at the apex. As a result, I ruined my race and I ruined Nick’s race. I haven’t made many mistakes this season, but this small error has huge consequences,” Evans explained.
While the Jaguar driver is still mathematically in the title hunt, his chances have taken a big hit. He’s now 44 points adrift in the standings, with just two races to go.
Dennis, Andretti take victory
Dennis just about escaped the Evans-Cassidy clash. While he remained in the lead throughout the rest of the race, he did have his work cut out with Norman Nato and Sam Bird on his tail. Dennis successfully fended off both drivers to take victory by 3.105 secs – his first since the Mexico season-opener, all the way back in January.
“I am honestly lost for words how we have just won that race. It was so tactical inside the cockpit, trying to keep Bird within a certain distance because obviously he is going to try and help Mitch,” said Dennis, who now leads the championship by 24 points from Cassidy.
Nato was second, scoring Nissan’s first podium this year, while Bird rounded out the podium in third place.
No points for Mahindra
While Mahindra Racing showed some promise in the opening stages of both races, the team was unable to score any points in Rome. Lucas Di Grassi’s car sustained front-end damage after being involved in the multi-car shunt in Race 1. He was involved in another incident with Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa in Race 2, and once again had to retire.
Roberto Merhi avoided all the chaos of Race 1 and crossed the chequered flag in P12. But he was forced to retire the next day due to a technical issue.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, Mahindra Racing CEO Frederic Bertrand said, “Although we feel unrewarded, we do feel pleased that everyone goes back home safe after such a challenging weekend, and we keep our development plan unchanged with Season 10 as our target and push forward to the final round in London in a few weeks.”
Rome E-Prix results
Suraj Viswanathan
