Formula E

De Vries wins Monaco ePrix race 1 from Evans as Ticktum demoted

Fraser Masefield
5 months ago
5 min read

Nyck de Vries came out on top of a dramatic Monaco ePrix that featured collisions, crashes and drama aplenty to beat Mitch Evans and Dan Ticktum to the flag.


In a frantic finish, Ticktum appeared to change his line and force Antonio Felix Da Costa into the wall in the battle for the podium places.

A resultant time penalty meant that Pepe Marti became the first Spaniard to get on the podium at Monaco in Formula E.

“It’s been a great day, the car was amazing and the team did a great execution at the right time.

“We had the right energy to push during the pit window and won our first race here,” said De Vries after the race.

Victory for De Vries was his first since Berlin in 2022, and a landmark first Monaco win for Mahindra Racing and first of the Gen3 Era.

It was also the Dutchman’s third victory around the famous streets of Monte Carlo, the other two coming in Formula 2.

“A little bit emotional because it’s been a pretty rough start and we’ve been on the receiving end for a little bit,” he added. “It just shows you have to hang in there and better times will come.

“In 2024 I joined the team and we were last or penultimate last. Last year we had a great year already coming to P4 in the team championship.

“We’re obviously more ambitious than that so I’m very happy to be with the team and the vibe within the team is great so we have to keep it going.”

For New Zealander Evans, who was left fuming after team orders at the Madrid ePrix, second place sees him now lead the drivers’ championship by 15 points from Wehrlein.


“It was a pretty straightforward race,” said Evans afterwards. “There were a few hairy moments. Obviously, strategy was key today.

“I could have raced better at the start of the race, could have been more aggressive, kind of was a bit cautious. But it kind of came towards me after the pit stop so to get P2 is great points.

“Full credit to Nyck and Mahindra been rapid all day so it was always going to be a big task to try and beat them so I will take a P2 and move on to tomorrow.”

THE TALE OF THE RACE

When the lights went out, it was Ticktum who led from pole position from De Vries, Gunther, Evans and Wehrlein.

On a circuit that is notoriously difficult to overtake, race tactics would play a huge part.

And in the sport of Formula E, where energy saving, Pit Boost and Attack Mode allow multiple changes of position, it provided entertainment aplenty.

Then came the first dramatic incident on lap 5, Nick Cassidy squeezing Jake Dennis into the wall at the Nouvelle Chicane.

It led to a Safety Car situation.

And when racing resumed in earnest, it was Ticktum who resumed in control of the race from De Vries, Maxi Gunther and Evans.

Aside from Antonio Felix Da Costa overtaking teammate Evans, that remained the running order until half distance.

For Porsche, the Monaco curse continued shortly after when the cardinal sin of teammates occurred – Nico Muller and Pascal Wehrlein colliding into Rascasse.

As always, the destiny of the race would come down to the all-important use of the 6 minutes of Attack Mode and energy management.

In Monaco, a mandatory Pit Boost window also came into play, providing a 10% energy increase.

De Vries was the first of the front runners to go, gaining track position and conserving more energy before Ticktum deployed a couple of laps later.

“Theoretically this was the perfect plan, and it worked out well,” reflected De Vries. “But obviously you have to do the job during the pit window, you have to have the energy and that worked out well.”


With his advantage running out, Ticktum put the move on Da Costa on the start finish straight to put himself third.

He wasn’t done. And with the fight for second intensifying, Ticktum then appeared to move into Da Costa at the Nouvelle Chicane, sending the Portuguese out of the race.

It meant that when the full course yellow lifted with a lap remaining, De Vries could coast home from Evans and Ticktum in third.

Ticktum was demoted with a hefty time penalty for his part in the Da Costa crash which meant that Josep ‘Pepe’ Marti promoted to third.

“To do it in Monaco, I mean there’s no better place to do it,” said Martin. “The car’s been on fire, you can tell. A pole position for Dan and then I’ve been able to move up from 15th all the way to third, so it’s fantastic.

“I’m really still a bit shocked because, you know, I didn’t expect it. I came across the line fourth, I was really happy with it and to be here now is a bit of a dream.”

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Fraser Masefield

Fraser is a sports and motorsports editor with over 25 years experience. The former head editor of WilliamsF1, BMW Motorsport, Jaguar Racing and Virgin Media, he has also worked for Autosport, ESPNF1 and Eurosport amongst others.

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