Evans wins incident-rich Monaco E-Prix with huge crashes

The opening phase of the Monaco E-Prix was a bit of a battle. Whereas last time in Misano the drivers did everything they could to stay ahead of the others (in order to save energy, ed.), in Monaco everyone fought hard for their place on the street circuit. Nothing and nobody was spared, with some important victims. For instance, Sebastien Buemi was driven into the wall by Sergio Sette Camara in the hairpin, rendering the Swiss race hopeless. Robin Frijns (Envision) and Nyck de Vries (Mahindra) also suffered early damage.

Heavy hit for Mortara (Mahindra)

A lap after the action with Buemi, it was Edoardo Mortara, who experienced a very heavy crash at the pool with his Mahindra. The Swiss driver, who had landed on the dirt, fortunately got out of his car without a scar. The crash did leave debris on the track and the Protecto Barrier also had to be replaced. However, race control did not feel it necessary to wave a red flag, during a lengthy safety car procedure the clean-up work was carried out.

Another look at the incident that brought out the @PorscheRaces Safety Car.#MonacoEPrix pic.twitter.com/Q3PrF8jYa8

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 27, 2024

With Stoffel Vandoorne leading, the E-Prix restarted. The Belgian lost his lead position after he took the attack mode, allowing the two Jaguars to take over the first two spots. Thanks to strong team play - with Nick Cassidy holding up the rest of the field - new leader Mitch Evans was able to create a nice gap. At that point, reigning champion Jake Dennis had already put a good result out of his mind, having lost his nose in an incident with Frijns in the tunnel.

Plenty of incidents in Monaco

Frijns had an eventful afternoon anyway, with all sorts of collisions and hassles with competitors. Still, the Dutchman kept driving steadfastly, despite an obviously broken front suspension as well as a broken front wing. Yet after Frijns kept dropping backwards through the field, the Envision Racing driver too had no choice but to come inside and lose precious time in the pits. In any case, a top result - at two-thirds of the race - was also out of reach for him.

While the pushing and pulling continued, it was relatively quiet at the head of the field. Jaguar was admittedly taking a step back, but the British team - which committed to Formula E until the mid-2030s this week - no longer seemed to be in serious trouble. For that, the two DS Penske cars of Vandoorne and Verge were too impotent. But after Nico Müller crashed into the wall in Turn 1 and the safety car had to enter the track for the second time, the field once again shifted. However, Jaguar's supremacy was immediately apparent after the restart: both Jaguars were untrackable by the competition, celebrating the first one-two of the season.

Robin Frijns and Nyck de Vries did not take any points in the end. The latter will nevertheless look back on the race with a somewhat satisfied feeling. The Dutchman came very close to the points with his slow Mahindra, which seems a first sign of improvement.

The results of the Monaco E-Prix