Mitch Evans' Investment In Jaguar Racing Is Paying Off

In the changing tides of Formula E, it can be rare to see a driver stick it out with a single team for any significant amount of time. Not so with Mitch Evans; the New Zealander signed on with Jaguar Racing back in the sport’s third season, and he’s remained there ever since. Throughout Evans’ seven seasons of competition, Jaguar has transformed from a struggling marque to a formidable Championship contender — and Evans has honed his skills as well.

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(Full disclosure: Formula E invited me to London for the 2023 season finale doubleheader. It also arranged interviews for me, including this one with Mitch Evans.)

“I thought I got on top of the series very quickly, but as a team, the team entered the plans for season three very late, so our powertrain was rushed, the team was thrown together, and I signed on a week or two before the first test,” Evans explained. “In season three, I can openly say that we had the worst powertrain, and we were a rookie team.”

And those rookie numbers showed; Evans finished 14th overall that season, with a shocking best finish of fourth place in one race serving as the bulk of his points.

Both Evans and the team, though, worked quickly; Jaguar progressed throughout the year, and in the second race of FE’s fourth season, Evans took a third-place finish. Later, he took his first pole position.

“That first year, I don’t even see that it really counted,” Evans told me. “It was a test year.”

Photo: Nick Dungan / FIA Formula E

And the test continued to improve. In season four, things began to click. Evans scored Jaguar’s first win in season five, strung together multiple podiums in season seven, and became a strong championship contender in both seasons eight and nine. Evans has come up short — second place in S8, third in S9 — but both the improvement and the consistent growth have served as strong motivation for the New Zealander.

“The continuity between me and the team has been very powerful. There’s a lot of trust there. I have full confidence in them, and I feel that from their side,” Evans said.

He noted that bringing in new drivers — perhaps ones that can bring a new mindset to Jaguar — can be helpful. But Evans is confident in his value as an asset to the team.

“Some drivers can be in tricky positions where they don’t feel valued or something by the team, and that’s where you don’t get the most out of people. But Jaguar and I, we’ve ticked off all the milestones so far. Now we just have to get a championship.”