Mitch Evans felt he had strong pace throughout the opening race of the Berlin E-Prix on Saturday, but it was difficult to judge just when to attack his rivals, particularly with only one use of attack mode allowed.
The Jaguar Racing driver started seventh and worked his way up to third by the chequered flag, although he was more than five seconds behind the leading duo of Lucas di Grassi and Edoardo Mortara.
Evans finished just ahead of ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Norman Nato and BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Jake Dennis at the chequered flag, but his third-place finish – his fifth of the season – ensures he goes into the final race of the season on Sunday sitting fourth in the standings and only five points off Nyck de Vries at the top.
Despite the strategy concerns, he felt they did as much as they could at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit to keep himself involved in the battle for the title going into the season finale.
“It was a good race – we had strong pace throughout but it was a challenge to find the best time to attack,” said Evans. “The strategy worked well and I’m glad it paid off as we needed to score big today.
“We’re in a good place for tomorrow but we take nothing for granted. We need to focus for the reverse layout, look at the challenges of group one and do the best we can to maximise the points.”
Team-mate Sam Bird was forced to retire and now sits eighth in the standings, fourteen points back but still in with a chance of the title himself on Sunday.