Five takeaways from the Monaco E-Prix weekend
- Lucrezia Marano
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Few places on earth capture the imagination of motorsport fans quite like the streets of Monte Carlo. But while the glitzy principality is historically notorious in internal combustion racing for processional, overtake-free Sundays, Formula E has consistently rewritten the script.
The double-header in Monaco delivered a masterclass in modern electric racing, complete with tactical chess matches, emotional redemption arcs, and heavy implications for the championship leaders
The grid of 20 Gen3 Evo cars provided non-stop action across the narrow harbour-front streets. Following an unforgettable weekend along the French Riviera, here are five major takeaways from the Monaco E-Prix.
Nyck de Vries silences the critics
Since returning to Formula E with Mahindra Racing after his brief stint in Formula 1, Nyck de Vries has faced an uphill battle.
Hindered by package limitations and inconsistent form, the Season 7 World Champion looked like a shadow of his former self during the early stages of the campaign.
Things changed for the Dutch driver on Saturday’s Round 9. de Vries produced a flawlessly disciplined drive to end a multi-year victory drought dating back to his Berlin triumph in 2022.
Striking at the exact right moment on Lap 20 to wrest the lead away from Antonio Felix da Costa, the Dutchman controlled the final third of the race, securing Mahindra’s first victory of the GEN3 Evo era.
The Mahindra driver tripled his points tally after his Monaco E-Prix haul, lifting himself up to 10th in the standings, and helping the Indian manufacturer close the gap to second-placed Porsche to 38 points at the halfway point of the season.
Oliver Rowland is officially back in the title fight
Reigning World Champion Oliver Rowland endured a brutal, heartbreaking Saturday. A frustrating mid-race puncture robbed him of a potential top 10 finish. threatening to derail his momentum. But in true champion fashion, Rowland bounced back in Round 10, doing so in devastatingly stylish fashion too.
Starting eighth on the grid for Round 10, the Nissan driver played the long game. While rivals went to utilise their attack modes earlier, Rowland remained patient, slicing through the pack and executing a meticulously timed six-minute Attack Mode strategy.
Within three laps of activation, he had charged to the front, overtaking fellow attack mode runner Edoardo Mortara along the way. With his first win of the season, along with the bonus point for the fastest lap, Rowland rose up to second in the drivers’ standings with 109 points, making it clear that he has no intention of surrendering his crown without a fight.
The Nissan man has scored six podiums, more than any driver in Season 12, and steadies his bid for a second consecutive world championship as the season heads into its second half.
Mitch Evans takes the lead of the championship
If there’s one driver who knows how to maximise his showing at a street circuit, it’s Jaguar’s Mitch Evans. Fresh off a superb victory in Berlin just days prior, Evans brought his scorching form directly to the streets of Monaco.
After a brilliant runner-up finish behind De Vries on Saturday, Evans nailed another points-maximising drive to fourth on Sunday, yielding a massive 30-point haul for the New Zealander across the weekend. It was a critical weekend, given how his primary title rival Pascal Wehrlein struggled to make an impact in both rounds.
Seizing the opportunity, Evans vaulted to the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 116 points. Boasting five podiums already this season, Evans is driving with the calm confidence of a man who senses this could finally be his championship year.
The rookies ready for prime time
With its concrete walls offering zero room for error, Monaco is often difficult to tame for any Formula E rookie, requiring supreme precision. Yet the young guard took down the daunting challenge of taming Monaco with aplomb during both races of the weekend.
The standout star among the newcomers was undoubtedly Andretti’s Felipe Drugovich. The Brazilian drove like a seasoned veteran all weekend, narrowly missing the podium with a stellar fourth on Saturday before executing a magnificent, calculated race on Sunday to claim second place.
Similarly, Cupra Kiro’s Pepe Martí turned heads by snatching his maiden podium with a brilliant third-place finish on Saturday. While a crash on Sunday ended his weekend on a bittersweet note, the raw pace displayed by both Martí and Drugovich proves that the future of Formula E is in exceptionally capable hands.
In addition to the two rookies, Envision’s Joel Eriksson also left the race weekend with strong points, scoring sixth and ninth in the double header.
Cupra Kiro’s one-lap dominance vs. Race-day despair
Qualifying in Formula E is an art form every driver and team aim to master, and Cupra Kiro appeared to have cracked the code in Monaco.
Dan Ticktum delivered a sensational performance to lock down pole position on both days of the double-header, demonstrating the raw single-lap mechanical grip of the Cupra Kiro package.
However, pole position means very little around the streets of Monaco, in contrast to Formula One’s success around the circuit. No driver has won the Monaco E-Prix from pole position.
Managing the strategic energy-saving demands of a Monaco E-Prix is the biggest challenge. On both days, the team’s race strategy unravelled spectacularly. Ticktum fell rapidly through the field during the races, burning through energy too quickly and being at the receiving end of the stewards in both races of the weekend.
If Cupra Kiro wants to evolve into genuine race-winning heavyweights, its biggest task would be to stay out of trouble on race day and ensure they convert strong qualifying pace into big results.
Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
