Mitch Evans causes 2 early accidents in Jeddah: "I unfortunately ran into the back of Wehrlein"

After squeezing everything out of his Jaguar in qualifying, Mitch Evans experienced a disastrous first lap in Friday's Formula E race in Jeddah. He first drove into Pascal Wehrlein's car, taking the world champion practically out of the race, and then Nyck de Vries also became his victim.

"I got a good launch off the line but unfortunately ran into the back of Wehrlein when he was battling for position," explained Evans. While Wehrlein had to come into the pits with a flat right rear tyre, Evans initially drove on for a while.

"I then misjudged trying to pass Nyck de Vries and damaged my front wing, which caused me to lose performance," says the New Zealander, looking back on the chaotic early phase. "I had to pit for repairs and that meant I dropped a lap down. Unfortunately it was a race that was over before it really got started."

Nightmare start for Evans 😫

He collides with Pascal Wehrlein giving the Porsche driver a puncture. #JeddahEPrix pic.twitter.com/MHp3zfjR77

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 14, 2025

He finished 19th and was the last classified driver. Wehrlein, who would probably have been in contention for victory without the accident, also came away empty-handed in 15th place. Evans received a time penalty of five seconds and a penalty point on his racing licence.

Wehrlein: "A day to forget"

"I was hit from behind, had a puncture and the car was badly damaged," complains the German. "As a result, we were far off our actual pace. A day to forget - with the exception of another good qualifying session" After two pole positions in the first two races of the season, Wehrlein had reached the final again, but lost out to Max Günther.

Porsche team principal Florian Modlinger was also frustrated about Friday's race: "Pascal had started from the front row but was taken out of the race by a rival on the very first lap. The tyre damage forced him into the pits. That was a disappointing day."

On Saturday, Porsche and Jaguar have the opportunity to make up for the disappointing first day of racing. The race in Jeddah starts again at 18:00 (CET).