Formula E Rome E-Prix: Jake Dennis Wins as Evans Crashes into Cassidy
After holding off early pressure from Nissan's Norman Nato and Jaguar's Sam Bird, the Andretti Autosport driver cruised to a lights-to-flag win after leading every lap of the 24-lap race.
By Divyam Dubey
After the second race in Rome ended in a collision between Jake Dennis's major opponents Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans, Dennis took a 24-point lead in the Formula E world championship heading into the season-ending doubleheader in London. Although third-place qualifier Norman Nato had made a gutsy first-lap pass between front-row pair Dennis and Cassidy, the latter two had already pushed him back to fourth before the conclusion of the lap. Then, on lap 3, when Dennis and Cassidy ran side by side into the tight Turn 7 left-hander, Evans was taken off guard by how rapidly the leaders slowed, braked forcefully, and locked his Jaguar's rear wheels, sending him tumbling laterally into his two championship rivals ahead. He grazed Dennis's Andretti Porsche and ran over Cassidy's Envision, sending the 2024 factory Jaguar teammates onto the escape path together. In the chaos that followed, Jean-Eric Vergne's McLaren and the cars of championship contenders Pascal Wehrlein and Vergne both suffered damage.
Also Read: Mahindra Racing's Roberto Merhi: Happy to Continue Rest of Season 9
Formula E Rome E-Prix: Race Result
Once the safety car had headed to the pits following the Evans and Cassidy crash, Dennis led from Nato, Bird and Dan Ticktum, with Nato making small contact on the back of the Andretti machine three laps later into Turn 17 which damaged his front wing. The damage meant Nato struggled to match the pace of Dennis for the remainder of the race, which proved critical in the closing laps.
Bird moved ahead shortly after Nato suffered the damage and pressured Dennis hard over the following laps, with his strongest effort coming on lap 12 into the 90-degree left of Turn 7. Unable to find a way past, Bird dropped back behind Nato after activating his final Attack Mode on lap 18.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jake Dennis | Andretti | 45'04.323 |
| 2 | Norman Nato | Nissan | 3.105 |
| 3 | Sam Bird | Jaguar | 3.633 |
| 4 | Edoardo Mortara | Maserati | 4.357 |
| 5 | Sébastien Buemi | Envision | 5.004 |
| 6 | Maximilian Gunther | Maserati | 5.403 |
| 7 | Pascal Wehrlein | Porsche | 11.586 |
| 8 | Stoffel Vandoorne | DS Penske | 11.951 |
| 9 | Dan Ticktum | NIO | 12.563 |
| 10 | Nico Müller | Team Abt | 13.313 |
| 11 | Jake Hughes | McLaren | 14.507 |
| 12 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Porsche | 18.034 |
| 13 | René Rast | McLaren | 21.029 |
| 14 | Nick Cassidy | Envision | 28.475 |
| 15 | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS Penske | 1'26.623 |
| 16 | Sacha Fenestraz | Nissan | 1 Lap |
| 17 | Andre Lotterer | Andretti | 1 Lap |
| 18 | Sergio Sette Camara | NIO Formula E Team | 1 Lap |
| 19 | Robin Frijns | Team Abt | 6 Laps |
| 20 | Roberto Merhi | Mahindra | 12 Laps |
| 21 | Lucas di Grassi | Mahindra | 12 Laps |
| 22 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar | 20 Laps |
Formula E Rome E-Prix: Evans Crashes Into Cassidy
After a perfect day the day before, Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans collided with championship contender Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) during the 14th round of the Hankook Rome E-Prix, erasing both drivers from the points and knocking them out of the race. The mishap, which happened on just the second lap, completely derailed Cassidy's race and caused him to fall to the back of the pack.
Evans was sent over the back of Cassidy's vehicle in the spectacular collision. The Envision Racing driver made a break for it and rejoined the race, eventually working his way up to fourteenth place. Sadly for Evans, despite his and the team's best efforts, retirement was inevitable.
Evans is currently in third place in the Drivers' World Championship, with 151 points, behind the leader Dennis (195 points).
