Jaguar TCS Racing extend the lead in the Teams’ World Championship to 30-points after chaotic 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix. Mitch Evans lined up P3 and António Félix da Costa P12 for the 37‑lap contest on the tight Sanya street circuit. Early laps saw Evans battling firmly in the lead pack while da Costa climbed into the midfield.
Midway through, rear-end contact and a later multi‑car incident at the hairpin that brought out the red flag, meant Evans sustained damage to his rear tyres and wishbone. The team worked tirelessly to repair his car under immense time pressure, but despite their efforts Evans was forced to restart from the pit lane a lap down. Da Costa resumed in P10, with the team adjusting strategy to maximise his energy advantage.
On the restart, da Costa delivered a standout performance. Using his ATTACK MODE deployments to full effect, he worked his way through the field to lead the race by lap 24, pulling a gap of over two seconds. Despite a controversial five‑second penalty for contact, he continued to fight at the front, rotating positions with other leading drivers in successive phases. Evans, meanwhile, battled on but ultimately retired.
Da Costa crossed the line in P2 after 37 laps, but was classified P4 once the penalty was applied – a decision the team is disappointed by. Evans was forced to retire, marking a frustrating end to his day.
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #9, said: “Today was a day of missed opportunity. We qualified well and I had a strong start to the race before I was hit from behind. The red flag gave the team an opportunity to fix the damage and they did an amazing job getting it ready for the restart, but starting from the pit lane put me a lap down. Although I’m still leading the Drivers’ Championship, I can’t help but think of the missed opportunity. We put ourselves in a position to fight for the win, had six minutes of ATTACK MODE left and we were good on energy so this does hurt. We’ll come back fighting in Shanghai.”
António Félix da Costa, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #13, said: “We did a great job today to get to P2 from P12 – it was managed well by the team. I think we did a good job at managing our energy, but we also timed our ATTACK MODES well. This meant we managed to leave with some decent points for the team. Unfortunately, we have the penalty which I disagree with personally, but we did a lot of great things this weekend. I’m not totally happy with my qualifying as we’ve been qualifying good all year so this is something we’ll look at for Shanghai. Ultimately, we are still up at the front fighting for good points so that will be our focus for the rest of the season.”
Ian James, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal, said: “We knew from the start that Sanya was going to be a chaotic race and it proved to be just the case. Unfortunately for Mitch, he caught the tail-end of multiple incidents in front of him and could do little to avoid the situation that unfolded. We took the decision under the red flag to make the necessary repairs – something that the team did a phenomenal job pulling off – but unfortunately with how the race panned out, there wasn’t much we could do to get him back home in the points.
António put in a sterling effort throughout, as he kept his nose out of trouble and the team managed the rollercoaster of on-track incidents to the best of their ability. Of course, it’s unfortunate that the 5-second penalty still stands but we still have a lot to be proud of from today. All in all, António brought home some strong points for the team, and with many of the championship protagonists failing to score points here in Sanya, it’s all to play for as we head to Shanghai.”
Jaguar TCS Racing will continue its 2025/26 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship campaign at the Shanghai E‑Prix on 4-5 July, for Rounds 12 and 13.
