Despite retaining his championship lead, Mitch Evans leaves the 2026 Formula E Sanya E-Prix with mixed emotions after failing to finish the race.
The Jaguar TCS Racing driver lined up P3 on the grid and remained near the front of the pack in the opening stint. However, on Lap 16, Dan Ticktum misjudged the braking point at the hairpin, colliding with Evans’ rear, causing significant rear-wing and suspension damage. More misfortune arrived a lap later as Evans and Zane Maloney interlocked at Turn 9, causing a multi-car pile-up and a red flag.
During the race interruption, the FIA announced that Evans could not rejoin unless his rear wing was replaced. After quick repairs, the Kiwi returned to the race at the back of the grid before ultimately retiring in the closing stages.
Evans: “Today was unlucky for me”
Evans entered the 2026 Formula E Sanya E-Prix with the championship lead, holding a 19-point advantage over reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland. Now, despite suffering from a DNF, Evans managed to retain the lead as his closest rivals failed to score points. Rowland and Edoardo Mortara both retired, while Pascal Wehrlein finished P14.
Reflecting on the tough day and how he will reset heading into Shanghai, Evans shared: “Yeah, I mean, you just have to. Today was unlucky for me with the incident with Dan, but I got lucky in other ways that obviously some of the guys I’m fighting had unfortunate races as well. So it depends how you look at it. I could have extended the gap, but it could have also been completely diminished my advantage. So yeah, it’s tough to know which way to look at it, but I’ll try and be positive about it.”
He added: “But yeah, we’re having such a good race and yeah, to be taken out with or be, you know, head up the rear and completely bent my rear suspension. Wow, we’re good on energy, good on strategy. It was all just coming towards us and then it goes away. So look, in these races, things can happen like that. But yeah, it’s frustrating.”
Notably, beyond Evans’ result, Jaguar TCS Racing has extended its advantage in the Teams’ Standings to 30 points as teammate António Félix da Costa finished P4.
Evans on Formula E’s unpredictability
Evans continued by explaining how Sanya served as a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in Formula E’s tight racing.
“Yeah. I mean, look at me today. I was completely innocent victim in the thing with Dan. So yeah, it can just change so quick. It can change so quick. I could be, you know, standing here right now, P2 in the championship, you know, if, you know, for example, Ollie won the race, something like that,” he said.
“So yeah, but it’s stressful, but, um, so I’m half, yeah, half kind of, there’s a bit of relief, but half frustrated because I could have really put a lot of damage into the championship in terms of extending it even more. So, and it wasn’t of my own doing, but look, it happens in these races, you know, this pack style of racing is just takes one little, just one corner, it can be all over. And that’s what happened today with me.”
As Formula E enters its final stages of Season 12 with the Shanghai double-header up next, Evans will be looking to bounce back with strong, consistent results in order to extend his 2025/26 championship lead.
