Defending champion Antonio Felix da Costa won a dramatic Monaco E-Prix on Saturday after taking the lead in the final lap.
The Portuguese started on pole for the 4th Monaco E-Prix, but he had to resist a serious contender in Robin Frijns (Virgin), who led the race two or three times and eventually finished in 2nd position, thanks to a lack of power on Mitch Evans’s Jaguar in the last lap.
The Kiwi finished the race with 0% power in his batteries, but he still managed to climb on to the podium with da Costa and Frijns, where all three drivers were congratulated by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and FIA president Jean Todt, fully equipped with masks and white gloves.
That LAST LAP overtake for the #MonacoEPrix WIN!!!@afelixdacosta @DSTECHEETAH pic.twitter.com/lrjYEcCHps
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) May 8, 2021
It is the 2nd win for DS Techeetah this season, after Jean-Eric Vergne’s masterful display in Race 1 in Rome. ‘JEV’, 2019 Monaco winner and double Formula E FIA champion, managed to finish 4th, the same place as on the grid, after an eventful race which saw him miss the first pass at Casino for catching the Attack Mode.
The best move of the day was undoubtedly an audacious overtaking manœuvre by Evans on da Costa at the end of the Beau Rivage uphill portion, in a very spectacular location, just before the Casino curve.
It is the 4th time, out of four Formula E races in Monaco, that the poleman has won in the end, but this time the scenario was perfectly written and suspense was maintained until the chequered flag. It was only interrupted for a few minutes when the one and only safety car period allowed all drivers to cool down, less than 15 minutes before the end, following the Mini Electric.
The two leaders of the World Championship, Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes), ended a terrible Saturday in 20th and 22nd positions respectively. But they remain at the top of the FE standings, ahead of Frijns, the Virgin driver, Bird and Evans, the Jaguar drivers.
Monaco Life with ACM release, photo by ACM