Evans explains frustration after losing out to Jaguar teammate da Costa in Madrid

Finishing second after starting 16th on the grid in the Madrid E-Prix should have been cause for celebration for Mitch Evans, but the Jaguar TCS Racing driver couldn’t hide his disappointment after the race.

After finishing behind teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, the pair exchanged words in parc ferme, with Evans (pictured at left, above) telling the race winner, “I would’ve been gone past you, down the road. F***ing fuming.”

Having started deep in the field, Evans played the long game, conserving energy in the pack before pitting later in the cycle and using the energy saved, along with the Pit Boost top-up to move up the order. As a result, with the pair finding themselves running first and second in the final lap, Evans – with his energy advantage – appeared to feel like a reversal of the positions would be the right call. However, da Costa remained out in front, holding off Evans, who himself had to resist pressure from Dan Ticktum on that final tour.

• RACE REPORT: Discordant 1-2 for Jaguar at Madrid E-Prix as da Costa beats fuming teammate Evans

Speaking to Formula E reporter Georgia Henneberry after getting out of the car, Evans couldn’t hide his disappointment at missing out on the win, but didn’t want his feelings to affect his relationship with his teammate.

“I should have won the race, but I don't want to take anything away from Antonio,” he said. “He drove a mega race, a 1-2 for the team and the team got the result they wanted."

Evans admitted that it was a surprise to be in the hunt for the victory, but felt that once he was in a position to challenge after the Pit Boost stops, he ought to have been allowed to fully capitalize on it.

“Obviously I was playing the long game and had a good energy advantage,” he said. “And they got me in the fight during the pit window, and especially towards the end. I was surprised to be in the mix, but with my energy advantage, it was gonna be a good finish, but still was just not the result I was hoping for.”

Later during the post-race press conference, Evans conceded to understanding why events played out as they did, even if his frustration remained – stemming from similar instances in the past, along with the fact he’d worked to accrue an energy advantage that he was ultimately not allowed to make the most of.

“I've calmed down, but my opinion’s the same,” he said. “But I also understand why the decision was taken for me to stay behind. In the car, it's extremely frustrating at the same time.

“It's no secret, it's not the first time that I've had to do something like this, and when it comes to team orders, it's been tricky with us in the past. So it was more an accumulation of, ‘OK, this is kind of felt like I've been there before.’”

“So, nothing against Antonio at all. But I worked very hard in the race to get a huge energy advantage, and I felt like I could have won the race.”

Behind da Costa, three drivers – Ticktum, Pascal Wehrlein and Evans – were squabbling over second and attempting to get into a position to wrestle the lead from him. Although da Costa knew there was a tense battle going on behind him, he was surprised to see his teammate as a part of that.

“No one pre-empted me on the radio that he was one of the guys I was gonna have to fight,” said da Costa, who started third, remained in the hunt until the pit stops, then made the most of an early stop relative to his rivals to move to the front. “When I looked in my mirrors and I saw him, I had to look twice – is that really him? So it must have been an incredible race from him. I want to go back and watch that and learn from it.

“But it just shows there are two ways of doing well in these races: extreme amounts of saving in the beginning and then going flat out on coming through the field, or if you do it just the right way at the front, it's also possible. And today, we got it right with both cars.”

Having had time for the result to settle, Evans was able to be positive about his eventual finishing position.

“I want to just say huge congrats, Antonio, you drove really, really well. And hats off to my strategy guys, because they read this race really well,” he said. “I wasn't expecting to be in the fight. So yes, sitting here now, I'm really happy to be P2 after starting 16th, and I was actually last for a lot of the race, but I'm a racer, and I want to win, and I could smell a win today towards the end, and got away from me.

“I don't want to take anything away. It was just, at the time, very, very frustrating to hear those words come through the radio.

The result was Jaguar’s first 1-2 finish since Monaco in 2024, although Evans’ second could be at risk due to a post-race investigation for a pit stop infringement. For da Costa, who hails from neighboring Portugal, the win in Spain was the closest he’s ever come to a home victory, while for Evans, who shares a close friendship with da Costa off track, it was a result that he felt was sweeter than previous top-two lockouts.

“[It’s a] huge result for the team,” he said. “A 1-2, this is what we dream of. I've had 1-2s with other teammates, but this one's obviously very special with Antonio – we're very good friends.

“And it's like a home race [for da Costa], so actually, it's probably better I did finish second, because like half of Portugal's there.”