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Nick Cassidy admits that he “surprised” himself with his three-car overtake at the Monaco E-Prix.
Nick Cassidy’s heroics in Monaco showed that you can overtake in Monaco. Image Credit: Envision_RacingIf there was ever a race you want to win after starting 13th on the grid, Monaco wouldn’t be the one to do it in. It’s common knowledge that the Monaco track is notoriously difficult to overtake around and that qualifying well is incredibly important. However, this past weekend, Nick Cassidy proved everyone wrong and showed that you can overtake and win from behind at Monaco.
At a virtual media session, to which Formula Nerds were invited, Nick Cassidy spoke about how it felt to win in Monaco. He also discussed his thoughts for heading into Jakarta and for the rest of the season. The New Zealander also revealed how he stands with different F1 teams at the moment.
On Monaco
When asked about ‘that’ hairpin overtake where he made three places in one go, Cassidy admitted that he surprised himself with the move. He spoke about how good the level of racing is at the moment in Formula E and how he didn’t realise just how risky the move was.
“The Hairpin [overtake]. I Surprised myself a little bit. I didn’t expect to take that much risk but it ended up working out so that was quite nice”.
Cassidy also spoke about the rest of the race and how he managed strategy, attack modes and defence against Mitch Evans.
@fiaformulae Monaco hairpin madness 🤯 #MonacoEPrix #abbformulae #motorsport #racing
“Before my first attack mode, when I was leading, I thought I was in a good position to win. In my first attack mode, I lost more positions than expected and when Mitch passed me for the first time I knew I would have to do something special to win. Once I was leading [again] I felt quite good.”
Nick Cassidy won the Monaco E-Prix from 13th on the grid on vaulted himself to the top of the standings in the proccess.
On Jakarta
The current championship leader also spoke about Formula E’s next race, and doubleheader, in Jakarta. Cassidy admitted that he really likes the track layout in Jakarta and that it is “fun” to drive, however, the track condition and the heat will problematic. The Envision driver admitted that last time out in Jakarta was tough.
“I have never sweat so much in a racing car before”
He also admitted that he thinks day 2 in Jakarta will be “tough” and that the car’s batteries will be tough to manage in the unpredictable weather.
The rest of the season
As Cassidy is currently leading the championship he is now the man to beat and there will be lots of eyes on his upcoming performances. Nick spoke about how he wants to now focus on his qualifying performance for the last seven races.
“I still want to focus on qualifying. I want to qualify better and it will pay dividends later in the season. [The] Berlin qualifying wasn’t bad but in Monaco, I was not good enough for Pole. We need to improve qualifying.”
Despite Jakarta being largely unknown due to the unpredictable conditions, Cassidy did say that he thinks the Envision will suit Rome when they finally race there towards the end of the season.
Conversations with Formula 1
The Kiwi is currently leading the drivers’ championship of Formula E and is beating out many excellent drivers to be in the lead so many are wondering whether he has considered Formula 1 and if he is in any talks with any teams.
On the issue, he said the following.
“[F1], it would be a dream but the truth is there are no talks [with Alpha Tauri] at the moment. They have very good drivers, Liam [Lawson] in Japan is doing a good job at the moment which is super nice to see. For me, it’s not a discussion. If there was a phone call, of course, I’d be very happy but right now it’s not a talk”.
As for now, it seems that Cassidy is solely focused on Formula E and finishing on top. However, his excellent driving will, sure enough, have put him on the F1 radar.
The Jakarta doubleheader will begin in just over three weeks.
Feature Image Credit: @Envision_Racing
