• 6 months ago
Mitch Evans-Jaguar TCS Racing
Transcript
00:00Alright, we're here at the Portland E-Prix for one of the final weekends here of the
00:05Formula E season. We're here with Mitch Evans from Jaguar TCS Racing. Mitch, thank you so
00:10much for taking some time to talk with me today. Obviously, it's been an exciting season
00:13for you and full of wins this season with Jaguar. So, just overall, talk about what
00:18the season has been like here in 2024.
00:20Yeah, actually it's been some really good moments. You know, a few wins, a few podiums,
00:25which has been always nice, but it's been a little bit up and down as well. I was hoping
00:29for, off the back of last season, I was hoping for a slightly more consistent year, but it's
00:35kind of the nature of this category. No one can really have a consistent season. So, yeah,
00:40but I would have liked to just, yeah, had a few more runs on the board, especially earlier
00:44in the season, but we've kind of recovered quite well and as a team we've been showing
00:50good performances. We're obviously leading the teams, Nick's leading the drivers, I'm
00:54in third. So, overall, we're in a really strong place, but on my side, yeah, I would have
00:59liked to be in a slightly stronger position, but still, we're still in there for a really
01:03good shot at this title heading into the last four races of the year.
01:09Yeah, with Jaguar, you guys have had really strong pace all season. It's really been an
01:14impressive run. How much confidence does that give you as a driver when you know you have
01:19that performance behind the wheel and you know that your car is going to really be in
01:23contention for a race win each weekend?
01:24Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's the best feeling when you know that you've got an incredible
01:28team behind you, a fast car. Definitely, each weekend you feel like, I've got a real
01:35shot at walking away with some silverware, or at the start of the season as well, you
01:40say, I've got a good shot at winning this title as well, and that's the best thing for
01:43a driver. So, yeah, just really happy with how overall performance has been from the
01:49team and from both Nick and I. Obviously, it's our first year working together and formally,
01:56so so far, so good. But obviously, now we've got to really be clinical for these last four
02:02races to really try and finish this championship off on a high. But yeah, it is nice. Any driver
02:09wants to know when they go into a race weekend or travel to a race that they've got a good
02:12shot at doing well. So we've definitely got that at the moment, but we need to try and
02:18continue that because all these teams are really operating at a very high level. So
02:23you can't really be slacking off because you'll get eaten up pretty quickly.
02:28You and Nick have been just dominating the top of the series. You're in third, Nick's in first.
02:34How important has it been, you two feeding off each other so far this season? You mentioned
02:39it's obviously the first year that you guys have been working in tandem, but it just seemed like
02:43you guys have been just working so flawlessly. And I think really a great example of that was
02:46at Monaco with that team strategy coming into play. I mean, how much has working with Nick
02:53and that partnership and relationship been for the on-track success of the team?
02:58Yeah, it's been vital, to be honest. We've known each other since we were six,
03:02back in Auckland, New Zealand. So I've raced against Nick my whole life.
03:06We've been teammates in the past in other categories, but not at this level.
03:10Even last year, he was obviously not with us in the factory team, but he was with our
03:15customer team in Vision. So even then, we're already starting to work with each other
03:20on trying to make this car faster. But obviously now having him in the team, Nick is obviously...
03:28We all know what he's capable of on the track, but off-track, he's really impressive with his
03:33technical feedback and how much he pushed the team. And I think we really work well,
03:38mainly because we know each other a lot, but I think we're always going to strive for the
03:42same thing. And that synergy has been really strong this year, and it's obviously paying off
03:47with the results that we've been seeing. So yeah, it's great that he's leading. I'm not far behind.
03:57The main goal for us is to obviously win the teams, and one of us win the drivers. So
04:01we're in a good place for that. He's had a really strong season, so
04:05we hope to keep working together well between now and London. And if we're both in good contention,
04:11it'll be a great battle between us come London. It's really interesting with the season, right?
04:16Early on this year, it felt like things were kind of wide open. The championship
04:20chase was still kind of... Really, it was whose game it was. Anybody could have won it. But now
04:25it feels like things have really kind of tightened up. It really has felt like Jaguar and Porsche
04:28has kind of been the battle. Can you just touch base on that battle between Jaguar and Porsche
04:34and what that has been like? You guys going kind of back and forth over the last several races with
04:38kind of winning races here. Yeah, it's been a great battle, to be honest. I guess always at
04:44the start of the season, you don't really know who's going to show up. And we know Porsche off
04:48the back of last year. They've got a really strong car. Also, their customers in Andretti,
04:52you know, they've been... Obviously, Jake won last year, and they've been very competitive
04:57this year. But their powertrain is extremely strong. So we knew it was going to be a tight
05:02fight, and it's kind of probably rolled the way that we expected. So we're expecting a big fight
05:07here in Portland and then, you know, also in London. So yeah, it's going to be tough, but
05:12I feel like we've got, you know, the car in a good shape to be able to take it to them. And
05:18they'll be trying all they can as well to take it away from us. So at the moment,
05:22we're in the box seat, so hopefully we can, you know, keep it there and, you know,
05:27make life hard for them. Talking about that win at Monaco, you've been so close the last two years.
05:31You came just this close to winning at Monaco. To be able to win it this year, what does that mean?
05:36And just to have that race win on your resume? Yeah, it's obviously very special. Any driver,
05:42you know, Monaco, if you get the chance to race in Monaco, you want to win there. It's a really
05:47special event, special track with a lot of history. And on top of that, yeah, I've come close,
05:52you know, many times informally, but also when I was in F2, I was second, third. I got like four
05:58podiums there in F2, never won. I got obviously numerous podiums there informally, never won.
06:03So to finally get it done was really special. I feel like it's a track that really suits my
06:07driving style. So it could have been multiple wins there, but unfortunately, like on a few
06:13occasions, it just threw my fingers. But this year we got it done and honestly, it was pretty epic.
06:18Well, now you have a chance next year to get multiple wins on the same weekend. So it kind
06:22of works out. Do you feel like that that was kind of a turning point in this season? It really felt
06:26like when you guys went 1-2, it just felt like Jaguar, that was kind of the turning point in
06:31terms of the battle for the championship. Do you feel that way as well in terms of like,
06:36that was kind of the different differential race kind of for the rest of the season you're going
06:40forward? Or is it kind of maybe a different thought? Like, what do you think about that?
06:44I think there's been other other races early in the year where we worked well together,
06:50but I think that one was really like, you know, it showed, you know, what we're capable of doing as
06:54a team. And from my side, it was my first win of the season. So on a personal level, yeah,
07:00I think it was a bit of a turning point to finally get that first win and get good points on the
07:04board. So after that, you know, the next few races were kind of solid for me. I got a win,
07:10obviously, in the last outing in Shanghai, but it's been a little bit up and down. But I feel
07:14like I was able to go on a bit of a run with getting, you know, some good points, scoring
07:19finishes and also with Nick. So yeah, from my side, it was a bit of a turning point for me.
07:24Nick was already on a good roll. So yeah, it came at a really critical point of the season.
07:29And to the same extent, we've had some good results, but we, you know, the job's not done
07:33yet. We're going to try and, you know, continue that good form. Yeah, absolutely. We're here at
07:37Portland this weekend. Obviously, you finished in the top five last year here at Portland,
07:41so you had a really strong performance. I mean, what can people expect about this track and the
07:46racing style? I mean, what do you expect for this weekend? It's a little bit different now
07:49that it's a doubleheader weekend. So I mean, what do you expect here hopefully this weekend? And
07:53then what do you what can you take out of last year's race that you can take here into this
07:57weekend's race? Yeah, I mean, last year was it was quite a crazy race, to be honest, just because
08:02of the style of the nature of the layout. It's not a very, it's not a traditional Formula E track.
08:08We obviously normally race on street tracks, and this is quite a, you know, quite a wide,
08:12fast flowing track for us. So that kind of opens up a lot of, you know, strategy in the race,
08:18a lot of energy saving. So we're expecting the same this year, but obviously we've got two saps
08:23in it last year, just being that singleheader was pretty wild. But we've had a few more tracks
08:30this year that have been similar to Portland, like in Shanghai, like Mizano. So I feel like we're
08:36getting a bit more used to these kind of permanent facilities. But you're having two races, two
08:41different race distances. I think we're expecting two wild ones. So yeah, it can be one of those
08:47weekends where it can really, you know, be beneficial because it can be really anyone's
08:52when it's like that. Or it can really go against you. So I'm just hoping for a really clean,
08:56strong weekend. But yeah, I'm expecting two hard-fought races for sure.
09:01I talked a little bit about, you know, kind of the end of the season and, you know,
09:05championship battles are kind of playing out and kind of completing here. The team
09:09championship for you guys, you guys are, have a nice lead over Porsche right now. It just,
09:14and you even have a chance even to win the team championship this weekend. I mean,
09:18how exciting is that to know like that is on the horizon and for you guys to be able to win a team
09:22championship. Not only that, to see Nick also having a chance to win a driver's championship.
09:27I mean, it's really been a complete season for you guys this year. Yeah, totally. Look, you know,
09:31the team championship has been a real focus for us for quite a few years, but obviously,
09:35especially this year, we've come closer on other occasions. We've got second twice. So we just
09:41missed out by the skin of our teeth last year and that really hurt us. So I feel like this year,
09:46we've really stepped our authority. We're in a good, really good position right now. It's not
09:50done, but we're, we're looking good for it, but we just need to be clean and clinical and I think
09:56we should be able to get it done. Well, Mitch, good luck this weekend at Portland. Excited to
09:59see what you're able to do and hopefully maybe get a race win out of this weekend as well.
10:04Very nice. I'll be my first on U.S. soil. So that'll be nice. Awesome. Awesome. That's
10:08really cool. Well, Mitch, thanks so much for the interview and thanks so much for your time.
10:11All right. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.