Evans in the hunt but painful weekend for Bird in Monaco

Jaguar TCS Racing remains right in the mix in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after the Monaco E-Prix Round 6. The British outfit's drivers experienced a mixed weekend, though, with Mitch Evans steering to a podium and Sam Bird forced into retirement through some elbows-out contact in mid-pack at Portier.

Evans followed up that stunning Rome E-Prix win-double with Julius Baer Pole Position in Monaco, and the Kiwi was keen to exorcise the demons of Season 7, having lost out on the last lap in the Principality at the hands of Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH). 

There's no doubt Evans was the man in-form, and the 27-year-old remained the man with the target on his back throughout the early portion of the race until Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein made it by. The German retired shortly afterwards, though, with a technical issue leaving his car powerless and crawling to a stop.

Evans was in and around the lead battle from there but ultimately, the Jaguar was running a percent or so shy of the likes of eventual winner Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) in terms of usable energy - meaning he had to save and settle for second position.

"I really wanted this after getting pole," says Evans. "We had a very efficient car in Rome and I was hoping for the same in Monaco. Unfortunately, we couldn't convert pole into the win but second spot still means a good haul of points for us."

"When it rains, it pours"

Bird's race was a different story. A pre-race three-place penalty saw him start 13th in a busy midfield - having missed out on the Duels by just 0.013 seconds. A collision at Portier broke his Jaguar's suspension early in the race and forced him to retire a lap later. He's remaining optimistic, despite the damage to his title charge.

"It wasn't my day," condeded the Brit. "Unfortunately, contact broke my tie rod. I just need time to reposition myself and I'll come back stronger in Berlin.

"My teammate is fighting for the championship lead, and I'm not. There has to be a reason for it. I didn't qualify well enough, didn't start the race smart enough and didn't do a good job in general.

"I'll dig deep, work on some things and I've got the courage and determination to do a better job next time out."