New Zealander Nick Cassidy has finished second in tonight’s drama-filled Hyderabad E-Prix which was won by Jean-Eric Vergne in astonishing fashion.
Beginning the final lap with just 1% energy, Vergne kept to his line to not give the Kiwi, who had 4%, a way through to take the chequered flag and his 11th Formula E victory.
Cassidy’s teammate Sebastien Buemi appeared to round out the podium to make for a great E-Prix for Envision Racing only to be relegated post-race to 15th for an energy use infringement.
This saw Antonio Felix da Costa promoted to third, a fitting reward in his 100th race.
A track left strewn with carbon fibre and tyre marks offered insight to the spectacle that had just taken place, Vergne counting all his blessings that he didn’t run out of energy.
It appeared touch-and-go for awhile whether he would make it to the line but he held on to get the job done, forcing Cassidy to settle for second.
Whilst Cassidy will be celebrating his successes it’s a different story for Evans, the Jaguar TCS racer starting well off pole and running in the lead for the early laps.
A slight strategy error from his team left him to the grasps of the pack as he activated his attack mode, falling to fourth before quickly working back to third.
Disaster then struck for the Kiwi, his teammate Sam Bird locked up heading into the hairpin from two places behind.
Bird collected Evans, the latter an innocent bystander as both Jaguars spinning and sustaining damage with following drivers forced to take evasive action.
Evans misfortune was Cassidy’s gain, the Kiwi suddenly finding himself in a podium spot despite running seventh moments earlier.
From here Cassidy quickly brought the field back to the two leaders before beginning to apply pressure.
He managed to find a way past Buemi after he used his attack mode but was never able to pull off a move for the win due to the defensive masterclass from the French victor.
It almost could never have been, a Lap 2 incident seeing Edoardo Mortara running into Cassidy’s right rear and losing his front wing under his car.
Luckily the Envision Racing’s rear tyre held firm to allow for the chase to begin.
Astonishingly, Mortara continued for two laps with his wing lodged under his car which accounted for a large amount of debris across the circuit.
That too was contributed to by the later incident between Evans and Bird and the late crash of Jake Hughes which triggered the races sole Safety Car.
Cassidy’s podium moves him up to fifth in the standings whilst Evans’ misfortune sees him drop to 12th.
Formula E next returns for the Cape Town E-Prix on February 25/26.
Header Image: Envision Racing
