Cassidy not relaxing before São Paulo E-Prix: 'Unpredictable championship'

For now, the season in Formula E is going pretty much as predicted: Nick Cassidy was seen as the biggest challenger to reigning champion Jake Dennis (Andretti Global) after his switch from Envision Racing to Jaguar, and in the opening three races, the New Zealander has more than lived up to those expectations for now. Ahead of Saturday's E-Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Cassidy has a 19-point lead over Pascal Wehrlein.

Prior to the season, Cassidy was very outspoken in conversation with GPblog: the title and nothing less than the title was the goal for last season's runner-up. His switch from the customer to factory team had to be the missing piece of the puzzle. "I’ve had a dream start to Season 10, three podiums in three races," Cassidy said, looking back and confidently ahead to an always interesting race in Brazil.

Cassidy wants to maintain good form

Last season, the top three drivers finished within one second of each other. All had Jaguar powertrains in their cars, which shows how well the British manufacturer performs on this street circuit: "As we know, this championship can be very unpredictable, but I’m looking to maintain my strong form. Last season I finished P2 in aão Paulo behind Mitch [Evans]. I know how the Jaguar powertrain performs around this circuit, which gives me a lot of confidence heading into the weekend."

Also, this Saturday, Jaguar is, on paper, the team to beat. For Mitch Evans, the key is to get a good result - preferably a win - so as not to see his new teammate Cassidy fall further behind in the championship. "São Paulo was my first win of 2023 and a turning point in the season for when we really started building momentum as a team," said the New Zealander.

"The track flows really nicely and is a great street circuit. The Brazilian fans always create a fantastic atmosphere, too. São Paulo will be a great opportunity for me to gain more crucial points for the team and close the gap in the Drivers’ Championship," said Evans, who has 21 points compared to Cassidy's 57.

Where do Wehrlein and Porsche stand?

It will be an interesting race for several teams. Wehrlein, for example, won the opening race of the season in Mexico. After that, the German did not get beyond eighth and seventh place during the weekend in Saudi Arabia (where two races were run). So the question is: which weekend was representative of the strength of Wehrlein and his Porsche?

Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries are also hoping for a better result than in the opening races. As a former Formula E world champion, the Dutchman hopes to polish his somewhat tarnished record after an unsuccessful adventure in F1. De Vries finished towards the back three times. However, he is hopeful that things will improve in Sao Paulo.

De Vries makes debut in Brazil

"The break has been useful for us, to get the opportunity to analyse the work that we’ve done across the first two events," he said of the month's break since the races in Saudi Arabia. "Internally, I do see that we are making those steps, we are creating more understanding, better structures, and processes. At the same time, we are making progress in the areas that we need to – obviously you can be better everywhere, but there have to be targets. I feel that we are collectively on the right path."

It will be De Vries's first time racing in Brazil, and he is very much looking forward to it. "It’s great—I’ve never raced in Brazil before, but I always enjoy visiting South America because people are so passionate about motorsport. Brazil also has a special and unique heritage in our sport, because of Ayrton and everything else we know. It’s definitely a cool venue, and I’m looking forward to competing there," De Vries concluded.