Mitch Evans calls Formula E Gen3 races "too extreme, too random" as Gen4 "monster" impresses

Formula E is heading into the biggest performance leap in its history with the arrival of Gen4. Speaking in a media roundtable attended by e-Formula.news, new Opel signing Mitch Evans shared his first impressions of the new car and described it as a "monster". At the same time, the New Zealander voiced clear criticism of the energy-saving racing seen during the GEN3 era, which he believes became "too extreme" and "too random" at times.

"Honestly, it's impressive," Evans said when asked during the media roundtable how the Gen4 car feels. "There are some things I can really compare, like the acceleration. It's a monster. The top speeds are very high as well. It just feels a lot more refined. It feels like a beast when you're driving it."

For Evans, Gen4 represents a significant step forward from the now-completed Gen3 era. Alongside the substantial increase in performance, the driving experience is changing too: the new car is larger, features power steering and, according to Evans, feels considerably more refined than its predecessor.

He admits, however, that he still has little idea what Gen4 racing itself will look like. "I guess we won't know that until the first race. I've got no idea how it's going to race. Obviously, we've come off four years of the craziest racing on planet Earth."

Evans on Gen3 racing: "Too much of a gamble"

Evans is referring to one of the defining characteristics of the Gen3 era: so-called peloton or pack racing. At circuits with high energy demands, drivers sometimes deliberately avoided leading in order to save energy in the slipstream. As a result, the real fight for victory often shifted towards the closing stages of the race.

Evans has become increasingly critical of that style of racing. "I don't know if I'll miss the Gen3 races. There's an aspect of it that I will miss, but in the end it was just too much of a gamble. They were mental, really mental at times, and I think a bit too extreme at times."

By his own assessment, Evans and Nick Cassidy were among the drivers who got on top of these races particularly quickly during the first two Gen3 seasons. As the rest of the field gained more experience, however, that advantage diminished.

"When it first happened, the peloton with the pack racing, it was wild," he explained. "It was a massive challenge for us as drivers to get our heads around because it was just a completely different way of thinking about racing."

Evans does not reject that style of racing altogether. After all, he believes it also produced some genuine classics. At the same time, the unpredictability sometimes went too far for him. "I think some classic races came out of those races, but at times it was a bit too extreme and a bit too random. I think Gen4 will be a step in the right direction from that side."

Whether the Gen4 cars will actually produce less extreme racing will only become clear once the season begins. For Evans, there is already little doubt that the new car itself represents a major performance step. Whether the "monster" he has already driven will also deliver better racing remains one of the big unanswered questions heading into the Gen4 era.