Mitch Evans wary of Shanghai and Tokyo weather ‘curveball’ in Formula E title fight

Evans braces for wet-weather uncertainty in Shanghai

Mitch Evans believes Formula E’s upcoming visits to Shanghai and Tokyo could deliver a major weather “curveball” as he tries to protect his championship lead through a crucial phase of the season.

Formula E has recent experience of how disruptive Shanghai’s weather can become. Last season, torrential rainfall forced the third practice session to be red-flagged after just seven minutes, while only the group stage of qualifying was used to set the grid for the second race of the 2025 event.

Why Evans sees Shanghai and Tokyo as pivotal

For Evans, the issue is not simply rain itself, but the performance volatility it can create. The Jaguar driver expects Shanghai and Tokyo to be the two events most likely to introduce instability because of the timing and climate around both race weekends.

“I think London is... we’ll know what we’ll get in terms of conditions,” Evans told RacingNews365. “You know, it’s been at a similar time of year every year. We can get a bit of rain, but it’s the same track. I think Shanghai and Tokyo are going to be the ones that could throw up a curveball, purely because of the time of year and the climate that we’re dealing with.”

Evans added that the challenge is being competitive everywhere, but admitted the wet can produce significant swings from circuit to circuit and between cars.

“So, yeah, you just want to be good in all conditions, but the main thing that concerns me is that, in the wet, there just seems to be a big swing in performance between tracks and between cars and stuff.”

Belief growing despite Sanya reminder

Evans arrives in Shanghai with his 19-point championship lead still intact after the top four in the standings all failed to score in Sanya a fortnight ago. He was the first of that group to be effectively ruled out of points contention, yet the outcome became unusually neutral: nothing gained, but nothing lost.

Having often described himself as “always the bridesmaid and never the bride,” Evans now admits his belief is growing that this could finally become his championship year.

Asked whether he is starting to believe, he said: “I don’t know. Potentially, yes. I’m in a great position. I’ve never been in this good a position, I would say. But, as I’ve said, what happened to me in Sanya is a gentle reminder that things can go bad very quickly; it can also go the other way very quickly.”

He added: “So I think I’m quite satisfied with where we’re at in terms of overall performance. I feel like we’re very, very consistent now.”