Jake Hughes: “The goal is to get both cars into the points”

Rookie Jake Hughes is hoping to bounce back this weekend at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, after retiring in Hyderabad last time out in bizarre fashion. A strong result at the fifth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will do his season no harm at all, with the Brit having dropped to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship in India.

Hughes crashed out of the race in Hyderabad after his wing mirror somehow got caught on his steering wheel, resulting in him suddenly turning right into the wall. The incident was by no means his fault and was just a case of cruel bad luck, something he didn’t deserve given how well he’s started the season. Heading into the recent round, Hughes was one of five drivers to have finished every race in the points, a streak that ended, of course.

Looking ahead to this weekend, though, and Hughes is “excited” to be visiting Cape Town, a city he’s “always wanted to visit”. Being another new venue will give the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver a great opportunity to score big points, with him being on a level playing field.

The Briton heads into South Africa with “confidence” given his strong pace throughout the season so far, filling him with hope that points can be scored come Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward to racing in Cape Town, it’s one of the races that I’ve been most excited for since the calendar was announced. I’ve always wanted to visit the city, so to have a race there on the coastline and around the stadium will make for a fantastic event. For Formula E, to have another race in Africa is crucial and very exciting.

“The track looks quite fast, flowing and very risk versus reward, which is something I’ve always enjoyed about street circuits. I am going into the weekend with confidence, the result wasn’t there in India, but there were reasons for that. The goal again is to get both cars into the points, we’ve looked very strong over one lap in Qualifying, and I believe that it is something that we can achieve, with the support of all the team.”

“We have been looking quite strong so far” – René Rast

René Rast is also hoping for some big points this weekend in Cape Town, after also retiring in Hyderabad but as a result of having hit Jake Dennis. The German went into Turn Three too hot and hit the helpless Brit, effectively ending both of their races.

Rast’s season has been very mixed so far, with the German having struggled in Mexico City and have been slightly off the leading pace in Hyderabad. He was blistering fast in Diriyah, though, with the likelihood being that he’ll be targeting that sort of pace once again this weekend.

Like his team-mate, Rast is “looking forward” to Cape Town, a city he hails as “one of my favourites”. Rast is hopeful that he can score some good points this weekend, in a bid to move him into the top seven in the Drivers’ Championship.

“I’m looking forward to Cape Town. It’s one of my favourite cities, so I’m very happy to be racing there. From a racing perspective, I am excited about it as we have been looking quite strong so far, especially our Qualifying performance seems to be good. I’m optimistic, despite not getting the results we hoped for in India. Hopefully our pace is something we can continue and we can get some more points. I’m looking forward to the event, hopefully we have a good one.”

Credit: Sam Bloxham courtesy of FIA Formula E