Evans thwarts Vandoorne's world title with victory in E-Prix Seoul
- GPblog.com
Mitch Evans took victory in the race in Seoul on Saturday. Since Vandoorne did not manage to finish in the top three, the Belgian driver is still unable to celebrate the world title. However, it looks like he will be able to do so on Sunday.
The tension prior to Saturday's race was thrilling. Stoffel Vandoorne had a secure lead as world championship leader with 185 points, while Mitch Evans followed with 36 points. Edoardo Mortara had five points less than Evans.
Evans therefore had to pull out all the stops to still be in contention for the world title. The Jaguar Racing driver started from third place, while Oliver Rowland took pole position and Lucas di Grassi started between the two drivers. Stoffel Vandoorne was good for seventh on the grid.
Good start Evans, De Vries misses out
Evans had an excellent start. He managed to get past both Rowland and Di Grassi at the start, which put him neatly in first place. Vandoorne held on to seventh place, but would work hard throughout the race to make sure the championship was decided as soon as possible.
However, the drivers soon had to deal with a red flag. Sébastien Buemi's car crashed into Nyck de Vries, who had just driven into the wall himself, making it a long time before both men were out of their cars. As a result, all the cars were in the pit lane for a long time.
Vandoorne must postpone championship
After the restart, Vandoorne tried to move up to the front of the grid, to possibly take the championship on Saturday. To do so, however, he had to make up a number of places, while also setting the fastest lap of the race. This proved to be a difficult task for him.
The driver managed to make up two positions, putting him behind Jake Dennis. Vandoorne then failed to get past the Brit. With Evans managing to hold off both Rowland and Di Grassi, he still has a shot at the world title on Sunday.
If Vandoorne doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, however, he looks set to take the season's top prize this weekend. Evans secured second place with his victory in Seoul.