Formula E in London: Müller and Evans hit hard by a full-course yellow after a strong start

Nico Müller and Mitch Evans were on course for a top result at the Formula E race in London, but a full-course yellow phase at the worst possible moment turned their race on its head. Both had already completed their pit boost stops, whilst numerous rivals benefited from the neutralisation. Evans, in eighth place, managed to salvage four World Championship points, whilst Müller, despite starting from second on the grid, came away empty-handed in eleventh. In an interview with e-Formel.de, both drivers explain why they have nothing to reproach themselves for strategically and how the neutralisations ruined their promising races.

Müller started from second on the grid, with Evans immediately behind him in third. The Jaguar driver was surrounded by four Porsche-powered cars: two works Porsches ahead of him and two customer Porsches behind him. Müller, in particular, defended his position vigorously against the New Zealander.

"Of course we knew that Porsche would be playing games in the race," says Evans in an interview with e-Formula.news. "To what extent? We only realised that once the race got underway. And it was perhaps a bit more than we’d expected. I’d say he simply did everything he could to make sure I couldn’t get past."

Full-Course Yellow following an early Pit Boost turns the race on its head

Müller and Evans completed their pit-boost stops early and then activated their Attack Mode. Shortly afterwards, Lucas di Grassi came to a halt, triggering a Full-Course Yellow. For both of them, the neutralisation came at the worst possible time. Pascal Wehrlein, Dan Ticktum, Antonio Felix da Costa, Jake Dennis, Sebastien Buemi, Edoardo Mortara and Taylor Barnard hadn’t stopped yet and were able to complete their pit boosts during the neutralisation. This allowed them to gain crucial time.

"After that, it was already over," said Evans. "When I saw where Lucas’s car was, I realised it would take a while. This track in London doesn’t seem to like me very much. If you pit early, there’s always the risk, of course, that a safety car or a full-course yellow will ruin our strategy. That’s never happened before, but today, unfortunately, it’s the first time, and we’re on the losing side."

Müller: "We didn’t stand a chance"

Müller, too, saw no decisive mistake on his part or that of his team. "I can’t think of a single situation where we did anything wrong," says the Porsche driver in an interview with e-Formula.news. "Bad luck with the interruptions during the pit-boost phase pushed us back to eighth place. Everyone who hadn’t pitted yet gained so much time. We didn’t stand a chance."

"The race interruption during our Attack Mode didn’t help," Müller continued. "And in the end, a few of my fellow drivers somehow still felt they had to get involved in the action a bit. That ended up costing me ninth place in the end."

Nick Cassidy and Oliver Rowland managed to overtake Müller in the closing stages. As a result, the Swiss driver dropped back to eleventh place and finished without any points.

Evans remains in the fight for the title

Finishing eighth, Evans was at least able to limit the damage and pick up four World Championship points. This means he still has a mathematical chance of winning the Drivers’ World Championship title ahead of Sunday’s season finale. "We’ll give it our best shot," says Evans. "We’ll qualify well, hopefully secure pole position, pick up a few points and then see what happens in the race."

The season finale of the Formula E World Championship gets underway on Sunday at 15:05 local time (16:05 CEST).