Evans 7th, Cassidy 16th as da Costa wins in Jeddah

António Félix da Costa and Jaguar TCS Racing nailed their race strategy to stride to the race win in the 2026 Jeddah E-Prix Round 5, with the Portuguese driver leading Sébastien Buemi home and reigning champion Oliver Rowland rounding out the podium.

Da Costa was the first of the lead group to leap for both of his mandatory 350kW, all-wheel drive ATTACK MODE and pulled a gap on those behind through the second round of activations – enough to hold fast for the win with 2.5 seconds to spare at the chequered flag. The victory marks six races in nine for Jaguar TCS Racing and da Costa’s first for the team as well as his first since the 2024 Portland E-Prix.

Several drivers cycled the race lead in an energy-critical race, with Buemi one of those – the Swiss driver eventually winding up second, using an ATTACK MODE overlap to beat Rowland who had also led early on.

Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara was another that had hit the front earlier in the race but was forced to settle for fourth, having secured back-to-back pole positions – another strong points haul but the team felt more was on the table this weekend.

Dan Ticktum pipped teammate Pepe Martí to fifth – the Brit with his elbows firmly out with a lap to go as Martí looked for more. Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) followed in seventh, while yesterday’s winner Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche Formula E Team) could only manage eighth this time around, ahead of Citroen’s Jean-Éric Vergne and DS PENSKE driver Taylor Barnard.

Nick Cassidy started from eighth position. Running in close midfield battles throughout the race, Nick fought hard in the pack as varying strategies unfolded around him. Unfortunately, as the race developed, the chosen strategic approach left him vulnerable in the closing stages, and he finished P16 after 30 laps of relentless competition.

“That was one of the toughest races I’ve experienced in Formula E,” said Cassidy “I actually felt pretty comfortable in the car, and the balance was strong, which we saw reflected in qualifying with P8 on the grid. From there, we felt we were in a good position to fight for solid points.

“Unfortunately, it just didn’t come together in the race today. The result certainly wasn’t down to a lack of pace or the effort the team put into the car set-up, the car felt competitive. We’ll review everything carefully and look to bounce back stronger in Madrid.”

Wehrlein heads the Drivers’ running from Mortara by six points – 68 to 62 – with Rowland on 49. Porsche Formula E Team sits on 113 points to Jaguar TCS Racing’s 86 in the FIA Teams’ World Championship and FIA Manufacturers’ World Championship standings.

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