Evans sixth, Cassidy goes from hero to zero in Rome E-Prix

Mitch Evans is now second in the Formula E World Championship standings after climbing from 12th to sixth in the final race at Rome this weekend.

Evans was decisive in his overtakes and stayed clear of trouble with several drivers running into strife around the challenging Rome E-Prix circuit.

A DNF for teammate Sam Bird means Evans is now just four points adrift of the Brit, with Jaguar holding a 1-2 in the championship standings.

“Today’s race pace was strong,” Evans said. “I had good energy in comparison to some of the cars ahead, but the late Safety Car, unfortunately, meant that we couldn’t challenge for the podium.

“Overall, we’ve scored good points this weekend and to get this result – leading the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championship is positive.

“It’s great to start the season like this but we can’t get complacent. We know we need to go back to base, do our homework to try and be competitive in Valencia too.”

Stoffel Vandoorne bounced back from Sunday’s misery to clinch his second career race win.

Starting fourth but was quickly elevated to third when Nick Cassidy spun on lap one.

The Kiwi had claimed a sensational pole position in wet conditions hours earlier, then was gifted a safety car race start due to standing water.

However, braking for the 90-degree turn 7, Cassidy spun out of the race lead and fell back to 11th.

Vandoorne then made light work of Norman Nato and Pascal Wehrein before charging off into the distance. His lead at one stage was over five seconds.

The field would close up in the dying stages due to a safety car. Rene Rast experienced suspension issues and speared off into the wall at the final corner.

A last-lap dash ensued, but Vandoorne resisted any challenge by BMW’s Alexander Sims and Wehrein to claim victory.

Nato crossed the line fourth but was disqualified due to over-consumption of energy. It meant Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Gunther rounded out the top five.

Cassidy finished as a DNF following a further on-track incident and penalty.

Recovery back up to seventh, Cassidy was punted into the wall by Oliver Rowland. The rookie was forced to pit but still returned to the race only to be penalised for not using all of his allocated attack mode.

“I want to take the positives from today and I want to leave here in a good head space because I’m very happy with how the team is working and operating,” Cassidy said.

“We have a fast car, wet, dry, even after that period of the race, I came back in 11th, every lap I could make a move.

“We were doing something right but it just wasn’t our day.”

The next round of the 2020/21 season will be held at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, marking the first time Formula E has raced on a permanent racecourse.

Two races will be staged between April 24-25.