Despite a promising start to the Formula E Madrid E-Prix with Citroën Racing’s maiden pole, the team leaves with a frustrating result after unfortunate contact and energy-management challenges.
The 2025/26 Madrid E-Prix was the first single-header race that featured the newly reestablished PIT BOOST, alongside a six-minute ATTACK MODE. However, combining this with the demanding Circuito del Jarama proved difficult for the French team and its drivers.
From pole to P17 for Cassidy
Nick Cassidy’s weekend started off well as he progressed from a FP1 P10 to a FP2 P5 to his first pole position of Season 12 with a strong time of 1:37.141. Despite a smooth race start, Cassidy lost the lead on Lap 10, dropping down to P3 before taking his PIT BOOST on Lap 14.
With the 6-minute ATTACK MODE activated soon after he left the pits, Cassidy made his way up to P4. Though he ultimately dropped down to P17 as the drivers behind him used a late ATTACK MODE to their advantage.
Reflecting on the results and strategy after the Madrid E-Prix, Cassidy shared:
“It was an up and down day for me, but that’s Formula E. We did a great job in qualifying and the team gave me a really strong car, which was encouraging. The pace was there in the race as well, but we struggled a bit with overall efficiency, which made things more difficult as the race unfolded.”
“I think we were unlucky with how the strategy played out, especially with how tight the pack was and how sensitive the energy management was today. We did pretty much everything we could with what we had, but small factors can make a big difference in this kind of race.”
“It’s frustrating not to come away with a better result because the potential was definitely there, but we’ll take the learnings from this and focus on putting everything together next time,” he concluded.
Vergne: “It’s a race to forget”
Jean-Éric Vergne also showed strong pace throughout the weekend, particularly in FP2, where he finished P2. However, after a qualifying incident, Vergne had to settle for a P18 race start.
The Frenchman was quick to recover as he climbed to P9 by Lap 5 with decisive overtakes. However, contact with DS Penske’s Taylor Barnard dropped him down to the order. Vergne ultimately finished P14, though the final stint of the race was difficult to manage for him.
“Not a strong race for us unfortunately, which is frustrating because the team gave us a really competitive car both in qualifying and in the race. In qualifying, I was impeded on my final laps, which compromised my chances and meant I had to start from P18.” He shared.
“The start of the race was actually quite positive, I was able to make up a lot of positions and fight my way up to P8, which showed the potential we had today. Unfortunately, that momentum was lost after contact with another driver, which caused significant damage to the car and effectively ended our chances of a strong result.”
He continued. “From that point on, it was about trying to manage the situation and bring the car home. But, P14 is clearly not where we should be given the pace we had. It’s a race to forget, but we’ll take the positives, keep our heads high and come back fighting in the next one.”
Blais reflects on the Madrid E-Prix
Wrapping up the 2025/26 inaugural Formula E Madrid E-Prix, Citroën Racing‘s Team Principal Cyril Blais said:
“There are mixed feelings after today. Taking pole position here in Madrid in front of such a great crowd is a strong result and shows the progress we’re making as a team. Unfortunately, a combination of damage, penalties and challenging energy management made it difficult to convert that pace into points.”
“We started well and tried to manage energy from the front, but we lost ground during the pit stop phase and dropped back into the pack, which put us on the back foot. From there, it was a difficult race and contact for both drivers only made things even harder.”
“It’s disappointing not to score any points during the race given our potential and pace in qualifying, but we’ll review everything in detail to understand what went wrong and come back stronger. The pace is there, and we’ll take the three points for pole position with Nick but now we need to execute better,” he concluded.
Citroën Racing hopes to build on its momentum from FP2 and qualifying in the following rounds.
