Jaguar come into the 2024/25 Formula E season as one of the favourites for the title, but Nick Cassidy may not see it that way after pre-season testing.
The team based out of Kidlington have established themselves as a frontrunner in the all-electric series in recent years, finishing in the top two of the Teams’ Championship in three of the last four seasons.
Jaguar came out victorious over Porsche in Season 10 by 36 points, but it was the German outfit who won out in the drivers’ standings. Pascal Wehrlein beat Mitch Evans to the crown by just six points, with Cassidy finishing third.
Heading into Season 11, Jaguar will be looking to defend their championship and guide one of their drivers to glory and get one over Porsche.
But following the first test runs at the Jarama Circuit in Madrid, Formula E insider Katy Fairman has revealed that Cassidy is not as confidence in his machine as many may have thought.
Nick Cassidy does not ‘seem too happy’ with where Jaguar is after pre-season testing
The 2024/25 season will see the debut of the Gen3 Evo car, with it being the fastest car in the series’ history and in a championship governed by the FIA. Testing in Madrid was the first time the drivers and teams got to assess the new machine’s capabilities.
Evans set the pace in Madrid with the fastest time of the four-day test on Friday morning, while Cassidy placed 11th – although that should not be taken as a definitive order for the season.
But according to Fairman, the 30-year-old ‘doesn’t seem too happy’ with where the car is at, bringing some concern to Jaguar and an opportunity fr their rivals to catch up.
Speaking on the official Formula E YouTube channel after testing, Fairman said: “I have to say, I’ve spoken to Nick Cassidy quite a bit this week and he does not seem completely confident.
“He said that there’s been a few spanners thrown in the works over the off-season. Obviously coming off the back of that disappointing result in London where both him and teammate Mitch Evans went in with the hope that they would be leaving with the number one on their car but that didn’t happen.
“Managed to still secure two championships for Jaguar which is obviously a big deal, but yeah he seems like he’s, he doesn’t seem too happy with where the car is situated at the moment.
“Maybe Jaguar have quite a bit of work to do which could be quite spicy for Season 11.”
Nick Cassidy grabbed eight podiums in Season 10 but finished third in the standings
Jaguar have one of the strongest driver pairings in FE, evidenced by the fact that Cassidy has finished in the top three in the standings in the last two seasons, with Evans achieving the same feat in the last three years.
Cassidy finished runner-up in Season Nine with Envision Racing behind Jake Dennis before moving to Jaguar to partner Evans. In Season 10, the team showed their competitiveness with 14 podiums across the season.
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Cassidy grabbed eight of those podiums with two wins in Diriyah and Berlin, but his teammate Evans and eventual champion Wehrlein were just that bit more consistent.
With the Kiwi driver’s double non-points finish in Portland and three retirements across the season, including at the final race of the season in London, he finished the year third, 16 points off of his fellow compatriot Evans.