Nick Cassidy, from Jaguar, wins race 2 of Formula E in Saudi Arabia, debuting his victory in 2024 at the third ePrix. Félix da Costa, from Porsche, didn’t score any points
New Zealand driver Nick Cassidy, in the Jaguar I-Type 6, won round 3 of the Formula E World Championship, winning the second ePrix of the 2024 championship held at the Riyadh Street Circuit in Diriyah, a city near the capital of Saudi Arabia that UNESCO classifies as a World Heritage Site. The reigning vice-champion achieves his 6th career victory in the category, after the third places he achieved in the first two races of the year, in Mexico City and Diriyah.
For the Auckland driver, who joined Jaguar this season, a satisfying result, as it positions him in the lead of the World Championship, with 56 points, 18 more than Pascal Wehrlein, 7th in this ePrix held under artificial light, and 33 more than Jean-Éric Vergne, 8th in today’s race. The British team also gains an advantage in the team championship, now totaling 76 points, compared to the 47 of the 2nd place team, DS Penske.
In Diriyah, in a race with an exciting final stretch (Jake Dennis, the reigning champion and yesterday’s ePrix winner, finished 10th but completed the 36 laps only 6.240s behind Cassidy!…), Robin Frijns from Envision in 2nd place, and Oliver Rowland from Nissan in 3rd. The British driver started from pole position, a result that earned him the first points (3) of the season, but he lost the lead to the first driver after the start… Then, on lap 5, it was Cassidy’s turn to take the lead definitively.
António Félix da Costa, after a disappointing qualifying (11th in Group A of the session, among 11 drivers), started from 21st (he was 22nd, but Sébastien Buemi from Envision was left out of the ePrix after destroying the front right of his car in the program that “fixed” the starting grid) and had a decent race, taking advantage of the excellent energy management in the battery of the Porsche 9XX Electric to gain a handful of positions until the checkered flag. The Portuguese driver, Formula E champion in 2020, finished 14th and continues to score no points in 2024.
Round 4 of the Formula E World Championship will take place on March 16th in São Paulo, Brazil.
