Mitch Evans on Opel fresh start after 10 years with Jaguar: "Maybe this is exactly what I need"

After ten years together, Mitch Evans and Jaguar have gone their separate ways. The New Zealander has now revealed that his departure had already become likely early in the previous season and that the desire for a fresh start appears to have been mutual. At Opel, Evans now hopes to finally achieve the one thing that has repeatedly eluded him in Formula E: the Drivers' World Championship.

Mitch Evans spent ten Formula E seasons with Jaguar. For Season 13, however, the New Zealander is making a fresh start: in the Gen4 era, he will race as a works driver for the new Opel GSE Formula E Team. At a media round in Austria attended by e-Formula.news, Evans spoke in more detail about the background to the split, the unfamiliar experience of joining a new team after ten years in the same environment and his ambitions with Opel.

It had already become clear relatively early in the previous season that his time at Jaguar was coming to an end. According to Evans, the desire for change was not one-sided either. "We had just reached a point where both sides needed a fresh start. So quite early in the year, I had a pretty clear idea that I wasn't going to stay there."

Evans had several options for his Formula E future

His next move had not yet been decided at that point. Evans says his management held talks with several teams, with some of those discussions beginning as early as the end of last year or the start of this year. A visit to Stellantis Motorsport's base in Satory ultimately helped convince him of the infrastructure and ambition behind the new Opel project. "I saw the facilities, I saw the direction they wanted to go in and how much energy and dedication was being put into the project. It just felt right for me. I pretty much felt at home straight away."

Despite his vast Formula E experience, moving to a new team after a decade in the same environment is unfamiliar territory for Evans. When asked by e-Formula.news how he was adapting after ten years with Jaguar, Evans replied: "It's new territory for me. I've got a lot of experience in Formula E and I know the processes very well, but I've never worked for another team in this world."

While he now knows the championship in great detail, all of that experience has been gained within the same organisation. Evans therefore also has to adapt to new people, structures and ways of working. "It's a bit like a first date," he says. He has already driven the car several times and has become familiar with some members of the team, but he still expects a transition period. The first few races in particular could be needed to refine processes and communication in the new environment.

"The one big thing I always wanted kept slipping away"

Evans achieved almost everything with Jaguar in Formula E. The one thing missing was the Drivers' World Championship. He fought for the title deep into several seasons, but the ultimate prize always remained out of reach. "We've had some incredible success together," Evans says. "But the one big thing I always wanted just kept slipping away."

Winning the world title remains his major goal with his new employer. "Maybe this is exactly what I need. We're going to find out. My goal is to win a world championship. To do that now with Opel would obviously be amazing."

Whether the Opel fresh start really will prove to be the decisive step towards that title is something Evans cannot yet judge himself. "It's hard to say. You don't know until you actually make the step. Now I've made it, so let's find out."