After having a week to forget his miserable Berlin E-Prix double-header, rookie Jake Hughes “can’t wait” to hit the Circuit de Monaco, as the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship moves onto the iconic Monaco E-Prix.
It is without a doubt the most famous race on the Formula E calendar, with the event this season coming on the back of Hughes’ most difficult E-Prix of his Formula E career so far. Berlin was miserable for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver, after he failed to score a single-point at the double-header. Hughes struggled throughout the E-Prix and never looked like a points scorer, something he’s hoping to change this weekend.
Despite having struggled in the German capital, Hughes heads into the weekend feeling optimistic, with Monaco being a venue which “on paper” should allow McLaren to show-off their strengths.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to Monaco. The first time I raced there was in Formula 2. It was amazing then, so I can’t wait to experience the streets of Monaco in my NEOM McLaren Formula E car. It’ll hopefully be a stronger weekend for us compared to our previous outing in Berlin.
“Berlin wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for, but on paper, Monaco should suit us more. The whole team are doing an amazing job, working really hard, and we just have to keep our heads down. Hopefully we can score some really strong points in Monaco, which will be our goal.”
“It’s a very special track” – René Rast
For René Rast, he too had a weekend to forget in Berlin, something which came as a disappointment to him given that it was his home event. Like his team-mate, Rast was involved in an accident in the opening race in Germany, before struggling for pace in Race Two.
It was certainly a weekend that taught the entire team a lot, given that for the majority of the season so far they’ve been more than capable of challenging the leading places. Monaco represents a great chance for Rast to bounce back from his home disappointment, though, with the German openly admitting that this weekend is “one of my highlights of the year”.
He’ll be hoping that the weekend goes as well as he’s hoping it will, in a bid to step on the rostrum at The Principality.
“I’m excited to race in Monaco. It’s a very special track and one of my highlights of the year, with lots of history. I’ve raced there previously so I’m looking forward to taking to the circuit in the Gen3 car. During the last race in Berlin, we weren’t where we wanted to be, so I hope we will be more competitive in Monaco and we can get some points. We will make sure to give it everything and push hard as always.”
Credit: McLaren Media Centre