"A very rare mistake" - Formula E runner-up Mitch Evans hits new low after Tokyo E-Prix

Mitch Evans had another weekend to forget in Tokyo. After his retirement on Saturday following a collision with Nyck de Vries, the New Zealander had a serious accident in qualifying on Sunday. His Jaguar was so badly damaged in the crash that the team was unable to repair the car before the race. It is the low point for the reigning Formula E runner-up in an absolutely disappointing year 2025, in which he failed to score a single point in eight races.

The weekend started anything but promisingly for Mitch Evans. After 17th place in the first free practice session, he only managed 19th place in the rainy second free practice session on Saturday. As qualifying was cancelled due to the heavy rain, Evans had to start the race from the tenth row of the grid. It was the fifth time in the eighth race that Evans had started from the second half of the field.

Because he activated his first Attack Mode early on, he moved up to 13th place before the pit boost pit stops. Immediately after the red flag, he was the third driver in the field to make the Pit Boost stop and then activated his second Attack Mode. Just one lap later, however, he collided with Nyck de Vries as he was coming out of the pit lane. He damaged the rear of his Jaguar in the process and had to retire from the race a few laps later. At this point, he was directly between Robin Frijns and Jean-Eric Vergne, i.e. in a points position after the pit stop.

Evans: "Looking good for a top eight finish"

"A very disappointing end to my race on Saturday," describes Evans. "Having to retire the car with significant damage after contact that was no fault of my own – something the stewards clearly agree with. At that point I think we were looking good for a top eight finish ‑ maybe better. From our starting position that would have been a great result."

On Sunday, things got even worse for Evans: in the group phase of qualifying, which was held on a dry track, he lost control of his car in the fast turn 16. He hit the track barrier hard, breaking the right rear rim of his car and causing the Jaguar to slide head-on into the TecPro barrier on three wheels. Evans was uninjured, but the damage to the car was so extensive that his team was unable to complete the repairs before the race. As a result, Evans missed an E-Prix for the first time since joining Formula E with Jaguar at the end of 2016.

🛑 RED FLAG 🛑

Mitch Evans loses a tyre and goes into the wall, he is ok. #TokyoEPrix pic.twitter.com/CUXUVBkURY

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 18, 2025

"Clearly a very disappointing day, especially on top of being taken out of the race yesterday," Evans explained after Sunday's race. "I know the team did everything they could to get the car ready for the today’s race after the qualifying accident ‑ and I want to thank them for that ‑ but ultimately we just ran out of time. We’ll regroup now ahead of Shanghai."

Team boss Barclay: "No‑one is at fault here"

"Mitch was pushing hard in qualifying which is exactly what we want our drivers to do," describes team principal James Barclay. "It was a very rare mistake and glad he was ok. Initially, we thought we’d have the car out – but ultimately there was just too much to do in the timeframe we had to get the car ready. No‑one is at fault here and I want to make it clear how proud I am of how both the team and Mitch handled this difficult situation."

Evans has now been waiting eight races for a top 10 result. After his debut season, he has never gone more than three races in a row without scoring championship points. Despite his victory in the season opener in Sao Paulo, he has slipped to 16th place in the drivers' standings. His next chance to score points will be on 31 May in Shanghai. This is where he celebrated his twelfth and penultimate Formula E victory last year.