Motorsport: New Formula E Santiago track should suit Mitch Evans

Mitch Evans in action during the Marrakesh round of the Formula E Championship. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi driver Mitch Evans is predicting his Panasonic Jaguar Racing Formula E car should be well-suited to the Santiago city circuit for this weekend's ePrix.

The 23-year-old has arrived in Chile for the first time ahead of the country's series debut and is confident the speed his car showed on contrasting tracks in the opening two stops on the calendar will translate to being strong everywhere.

"I think we have a package to be competitive at most circuits," Evans told The Herald. "We were still competitive at Marrakesh but maybe not as much as Hong Kong. Marrakesh had very long straights while Hong Kong was a tight track.

"Most of the other circuits are quite tight. This weekend, in Santiago, has some long straights but also some tight bits.

"Most of the circuits will be a bit tighter than what we saw at Marrakesh."

Evans was left frustrated after the most recent event in Morocco last month where a full course yellow at the wrong time saw him lose 30 seconds to his rivals and fall from a top five finish to leaving without banking any championship points.

"It was massively frustrating," he admitted. "We had good pace all day. We were in a good position in the race but unfortunately just got caught up with the yellow flags. We had to pit one lap earlier and that really caught us out with the full course yellow. We lost 30 seconds with that and it really destroyed our race.

"It was a shame because in this championship you can't let opportunities like that go."

It appears the Jaguar is capable of finishing in the points each round but Evans knows the competition is so close that they need to have everything go their way to get a good result.

"The championship is in a place where you don't really know exactly where you are at because it is just so close. Everyone goes into each race with an open mind. It isn't like Formula 1 where you have two teams only dominating.

"You have to really get it right on the day – the team and driver – to make it work."

This weekend will be the first time the all-electric series has stopped off in Chile and it is the first time Evans has visited the South American country.

"I don't really know much about the country or the city," he said. "My first impressions are it is really nice. It is sunny and warm. It is pretty civilized for South America."

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