I’m heading to the city of love for round eight of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship and before I look forward to the Parisian race, I want to continue the love-in for Panasonic Jaguar Racing.
Huge congratulations to Mitch Evans and his team who finally got the win everyone has been waiting for – and I mean everyone.
Of all the teams on the grid, Jaguar are the ones that make a real effort to make everyone involved in the race series feel welcome. They really push the ethos of Formula E always offering me and the crew - literally - a warm open-armed welcome to their garage.
I was delighted for them and the tears from the team staff told its own story. Truth be told; prior to this win they hadn’t really lived up to expectations.
With the release of Nelson Piquet Jr from his contract and the arrival of Alex Lynn showed how important the team atmosphere is and for Mitch to respond with a win must have been a huge sigh of relief all round.
Formula E Rome talking points as Mitch Evans becomes seventh winner in seven races
With all that is going on at Jaguar Land Rover, a winner’s trophy sent back to Coventry can – at least for now – put a smile on some faces at HQ.
To beat pole-sitter Andre Lotterer – the most aggressive driver on the grid with the fiercest reputation – was incredible. Andre is, for me, the perfect driver – so entertaining to watch and once he smells blood you wouldn’t want to get in his way. Hence why his battle with Mitch was nose to tail all the way to the wire.
While Andre is yet to win a Formula E race he sits in fourth and both he and his DS Techeetah team are well and truly in the mix for the Championship.
Formula E sets the standard for excitement - it's the world's most competitive racing
This weekend we move onto Paris which is host to one of the shortest Formula E tracks in the calendar. Ever since my first visit to Paris in 1990 (on a sixth form French Exchange programme); I fell in love this city.
But who hasn’t? The wine, the Louvre, the cheese, the wine. I remember visiting Jim Morrison’s final resting place at Pierre Lachaise, so many memories made.
But which driver will be leaving with the happiest memories this time?
We now have seven different winners from seven different teams across the first seven races. Will the magnificent seven become the lucky eight by the time we get to Monaco?
There are many theories floating around as to why Formula E has become so open this season. Is it the new Gen2 car, Attack Mode or the 45-minute race format? Or is it the way that Formula E sets out its starting grid through a unique qualifying which goes in reverse Championship order?
This week I spoke to former champion Lucas Di Grassi from the Audi team and he explained the difficulties for the Championship leaders.
The nature of Formula E is street racing, but the traffic on these tracks create a lot of muck and dirt on the surface which clears as drivers set their lap times. Seeing as all the cars are pretty much equal regarding power, every tenth of a second is vital.
As Lucas was saying “it’s not impossible to put in a great lap in the first group, it’s just much more difficult.”
It has been brilliant for fans used to dominance in motorsport, with the first of the four groups setting their times finding it difficult to get into the top-six Super Pole and therefore to the top of the starting grid. Every team minus NIO has featured in Super Pole so far this season.
And whilst it may not please the drivers, having seven different pole sitters and seven different winners makes this year’s Championship THE most competitive in global motorsport.
As it stands, with six races to go, any one of 11 drivers could leave Paris leading the Drivers’ Championship. Just ten points separate the top seven drivers.
Surely if you love the competitive nature of motorsport you can’t help but pay attention to this unpredictable season.
- Watch Formula E’s Paris E-Prix live from 3pm on BBC Red Button, BBC Sport Website, BBC IPlayer or Eurosport 1 from 2.30pm on Saturday.
