An eventful New York E-Prix double-header saw Nick Cassidy collect his maiden Formula E win, while Antonio Felix da Costa picked up his first win of the season.
Mahindra Racing also had reason to cheer, with Alexander Sims’ fourth place finish handing the Indian team their highest points haul all season.
- Vandoorne leads championship from Mortara
- Multi-car crash ended the first race early
- Da Costa and Techeetah scored their first win of 2022
Cassidy wins despite race-ending crash
The first of two races on the streets of New York ended in dramatic fashion after rain started pouring down with 10 minutes to go.
Pole sitter Cassidy had done well to lead right up until this point. However, he was involved in a major crash along with Lucas di Grassi, Stoffel Vandoorne and Edoardo Mortara, as they all aquaplaned straight into the wall. Initially, efforts were on to repair the barriers, but organisers ultimately decided to end the race early.
The final result was taken as on the lap before the shortage. So despite crashing out, Envision Racing’s Cassidy scored his first-ever Formula E win. Di Grassi and Robin Frijns ended up completing the podium.
Da Costa scores first win of the season
Unfortunately for Cassidy, he couldn’t replicate the same feat in the next race despite bagging pole position in qualifying. The Evision Racing driver was stripped off pole position and handed a 30-place penalty after his car was found to infringe on rules following overnight repairs. As he could only take a 21-place grid drop, he was also given a drive-through penalty to make up for the nine untaken grid places.
DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix da Costa inherited pole position as a result. He sprinted away from pole and resisted pressure from Sims and Vandoorne to take a commanding lights-to-flag victory. This is his, as well as DS Techeetah’s first win this season.
2022 Formula E championship standings
Vandoorne finished second to once again move into the lead of the championship. He benefitted from former leader Mortara only managing a 10th place result after a brake-by-wire issue in qualifying resulted in him starting from the back of the grid.
Vandoorne now leads by 11 points over Mortara and 16 points over Mitch Evans, who finished the race in third place.
Fourth place for Mahindra
The first race ended on a somber note for Mahindra Racing as the multi-car crash left the team unable to battle for any points.
They did, however, take away some key learning from the race and made some tweaks, which paid off as Alexander Sims qualified in second place. He battled for a podium finish throughout the race, only narrowly missing out and settling for fourth.
Nevertheless, he handed the team their biggest points haul all season. “It was the result we’ve been missing all year,” said Sims. “To be able to hold our own at the front was fun and shows what we are capable of.”
Oliver Rowland finished 14, recovering from an early spin after being tapped by a rival. He admitted, “Alex has shown what we are capable as a team and with the M8Electro, and my results are just not good enough. It’s important for me to acknowledge this so that I can go away, make improvements and come back to London much stronger.”
Formula E has another double-header coming up, this time in London on July 30 and 31.
Dipan Sur
