Jaguar TCS Racing left Monaco at the head of both the Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championships after a dramatic and highly competitive double-header in the Principality, with Mitch Evans emerging as the man everyone now must chase.
Across two strategically complex and incident-filled races, Jaguar demonstrated not only the pace of the I-TYPE 7 but also the strength of its race execution, with Evans taking a second-place finish and fourth-place finish to extend his championship lead, while Félix da Costa recovered from huge disappointment on Saturday to produce one of the drives of the season on Sunday.
Round 9 on Saturday saw Evans take his fifth podium finish in seven races after a measured and intelligent drive through the field. Strong qualifying pace put both Jaguar drivers into the Duels, although both were ultimately eliminated by eventual race winner Nyck de Vries, leaving Evans fourth and Félix da Costa eighth on the grid.
From there, Jaguar split strategies between its two cars. Félix da Costa made rapid early progress and climbed into podium contention before taking the lead of the race following his PIT BOOST stop, while Evans ran an alternative approach that kept him firmly in contention throughout the closing stages.
The race appeared set to deliver a double podium for Jaguar until three laps from the finish, when Félix da Costa was hit by Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum at the Nouvelle Chicane while battling for third place. The contact forced the Portuguese driver into retirement, with Ticktum later receiving a penalty for the incident.
That left Evans to carry Jaguar’s challenge alone at the front, the New Zealander pressuring de Vries in the closing laps before ultimately securing second place and the championship lead.
After the race, Evans said:
“It’s been a really strong day today and to take the championship lead is a great feeling, although there’s still a long way to go. We worked hard to make sure we were in the fight by qualifying well and staying consistent throughout the race. It’s a real shame what happened to Antonio right at the end when it was looking like an even stronger day for the team. Hopefully, he can bounce back tomorrow, and we’ll look to build on what we achieved today.”
Félix da Costa was understandably frustrated after losing what looked certain to be a podium finish.
“That’s an incredibly frustrating way to finish what had been a positive race – and an almost certain podium. You’ll have seen the penalty for Dan [Ticktum], but that’s doesn’t get me back any points – my race was ruined. But, I have a fast car – and I know I am fast around these streets. Tomorrow I’ll be back fighting hard.”
Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal Ian James praised the team’s strategic execution but admitted the loss of Félix da Costa’s result was difficult to take.
“First of all, Monaco’s delivered another thrilling race – albeit one of contrasting outcomes for us. Strategically the team were decisive. We were bold with Antonio, taking Attack early and Pit Boost late – adopting the opposite strategy with Mitch. With five laps to go, that decisiveness had worked – Mitch was running P2 and Antonio P4, both clearly in very strong positions. A double podium was on.
Antonio was up on energy and quicker than Dan Ticktum. As a team, we’d noted Dan moving under braking for a while before the incident that took Antonio out. The penalty was therefore justified but it does little to soothe Antonio’s – and the Team’s – frustration.
For Mitch – P2 today is a great result. It propels Mitch into the lead of the drivers’ championship and Jaguar TCS Racing the lead of the Teams’ title. Tomorrow, we go again.”
Sunday’s Round 10 produced another dramatic race, but this time Félix da Costa’s fortunes were transformed.
Having qualified superbly to start from the front row after reaching the Final Duel, the Portuguese driver looked set for a strong afternoon before being spun around by Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara on the opening lap, dropping him all the way to 16th place.
Rather than panic, Jaguar committed to an aggressive late-race ATTACK MODE strategy that allowed Félix da Costa to carve spectacularly through the field. A series of decisive overtakes briefly elevated him into the race lead before he eventually crossed the line fourth, later being promoted to third after Mortara received a penalty for the lap one collision.
Meanwhile, Evans again scored heavily after another composed drive. An early six-minute ATTACK MODE deployment helped him lead the race during the opening phases but left him needing to manage energy during the middle stint. Despite coming under heavy pressure late on — and narrowly avoiding contact with Taylor Barnard at Portier — Evans secured fourth place to extend his championship advantage to 19 points over Nissan’s Oliver Rowland.
The result means Jaguar TCS Racing now leads Porsche by 24 points in the Teams’ standings, while Jaguar also sits second in the Manufacturers’ Championship, just 12 points behind Porsche.
Félix da Costa reflected afterwards on a race that encapsulated the highs and lows of Monaco.
“Wow – what a rollercoaster of a race! It’s been a weekend full of ups and downs, but to finish it with a podium in Monaco is a great feeling. Being spun around on the opening lap was tough to take, but I kept my head down and focused on the end result. The strategy was great, and I was able to make some important overtakes to climb back up the field to take the lead. I couldn’t quite hang on for the win, but a podium is a great result. It could have been more, but to finish third and fourth overall is a fantastic result for Jaguar TCS Racing.”
Evans admitted afterwards he felt there may have been even more available from Sunday’s race despite another major points haul.
“Overall, it’s been a strong weekend. Today I scored good points again but felt I could have had more. We made the call to go early with a six-minute attack, which meant I then had to manage energy in the mid-phase of the race and lost track position. I’ll look at that with the team, but I’m happy to be leaving Monaco with the World Championship lead.”
Ian James said leaving Monaco at the head of both championships underlined the strength now running through the entire operation.
“To come away from two races at Monaco with both drivers having stood on the podium, Mitch leading the drivers’ standings and Jaguar TCS Racing leading the teams’ standings, is awesome.
The race today was always going to be incredibly difficult strategically, and that job was made even harder when António was spun round on the first lap. Both he and his team stayed calm, and to then see António come through to make P3 was incredible and a testament to his strength of character after yesterday.
For Mitch, I understand why he’s a little frustrated not to score more points today – but a fourth place to back up his second place yesterday means he’s in a super strong position in the Championship with seven rounds to go.”
With seven rounds remaining, Jaguar heads to Sanya, China, next month in arguably its strongest position yet of the Gen3 era. Monaco showed not only the outright speed of the Jaguar I-TYPE 7, but also the resilience, tactical sharpness, and consistency, now placing the British team firmly at the centre of the Formula E title fight.
