Jaguar ended its wait for points in Formula E in style as drivers Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll both finished Saturday’s Mexico City ePrix in the top 10.
Jaguar entered Formula E at the start of its third season in Hong Kong last October, but failed to score any points in the opening three rounds of the campaign.
Carroll and Evans started 10th and 11th respectively at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and both conserved energy well through the first stint to remain in contention for points.
Evans ran seventh heading into the closing stages of a manic race, but rose to fourth late on following a smash between Mahindra drivers Nick Heidfeld and Felix Rosenqvist, with Jerome d’Ambrosio also falling down the order due to a loss of energy.
Evans brought his Jaguar I-Type home in P4 to score both his own and Jaguar’s first Formula E points, narrowly missing out on a maiden podium in the process.
“Today was a crazy race from lap one. I managed to overtake Esteban Gutierrez on the straight and lined up behind Adam,” Evans explained.
“After the first safety car we got into a nice rhythm and I ran on really good energy levels and a strong pace. Adam and I were on slightly different strategies, which opened up the opportunity for me to overtake him.
“The race got quite juicy towards the end with both Mahindra cars and Nico Prost crashing into each other, I don’t know how my I-Type didn’t sustain any damage. I was very lucky.
“To finish with double points today is huge for the team. We came so close in Buenos Aires and everyone has worked incredibly hard since then, so it’s a massive reward for everyone at Panasonic Jaguar Racing.”
Carroll also benefited from the late drama to cross the line eighth, giving Jaguar a haul of 16 points from Mexico City.
“For our fourth race ever, it’s a really positive day and reward for some long days. It’s a complete team effort and a fantastic day for Panasonic Jaguar Racing,” Carroll said.
“Hopefully, this is the start of more to come but we are also keeping our feet on the ground and we still have a lot to learn in this championship.
“The reality is this championship is very competitive, so to just score points, especially for a new team is a big achievement. So for both of us to score points today is absolutely brilliant.”
The result lifts Jaguar off the foot of the teams’ championship, and is now just two behind MS Amlin Andretti in eighth place.