It’s the penultimate venue on the Season 10 calendar: Portland. The Oregon city is host to Rounds 13 and 14 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and here are the big headlines you should keep an eye on.
Could Cassidy be crowned?
There’s no denying that Nick Cassidy has had a very strong first year with the Jaguar TCS Racing crew. He joined the team alongside Mitch Evans, after departing customer team Envision Racing, and over the 12 races we’ve had so far this season has managed eight podiums and two wins.
The New Zealander stands top of the standings on 167 points, with his nearest competition being TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein on 142 – 25 points difference.
This week we return to Portland, a destination that saw Cassidy dominate last season. With a maximum of 58 points on offer (two races and each event having a possible 25 points for a race win, three for the Julius Baer Pole Position and another point for fastest lap), there is a mathematical chance the Kiwi could wrap up the title in the United States.
If Wehrlein, his closest championship contender, fails to score any points on the Saturday, there is a high chance that Cassidy could wrap up the World Championship on the Sunday. Although he is going into the race week as a clear favourite, we know that nothing is ever guaranteed in Formula E!
Born in the USA
One group hoping for a strong result on home soil is Andretti. The team, which consists of reigning World Champion Jake Dennis and Norman Nato, will hope the support from local fans will help them continue their string of good results. Last time out in Shanghai, Nato managed his first Formula E podium with Andretti, who are also celebrating their 10th year in the all-electric championship.
“We love coming here,” Team Owner Michael Andretti said ahead of the Portland E-Prix last year. “It's a great part of the country to come and visit. There's a lot of great racing fans up here in this area.”
The Portland International Raceway is a venue that Andretti also knows well. For Michael, a former racer himself, he suggested his first race at this circuit was back in 1984. As well as Formula E, the team also races at the PIR in IndyCar, which Michael confessed helped when it came to setting up the car and for data.
Last time out, Dennis managed to take pole in Portland and inherit the Drivers' World Championship lead, plus finish the race in second resulting in a special American podium for the US team.
Andretti has also won in the US before, when Maximilian Guenther took victory for BMW i Andretti Motorsport in New York in 2021.
Of course, PENSKE are also a huge American name in motorsport and have been involved with Formula E since the 2014/15 season. Now pairing up with DS Automobiles to form super team DS PENSKE, they will want to continue their good run of results on home turf. So far this year they’ve had three podiums and two pole positions, with a best result of second in Season 10 both thanks to Jean-Eric Vergne.
This is a record-breaking circuit
Last year, Formula E found itself breaking several records thanks to the sheer speeds available around the Portland International Raceway. It was no secret that this permanent facility would show us the true potential of these GEN3 machines, but it only took the first free practice session for Rene Rast (NEOM McLaren) to break Sacha Fenestraz's all-time Formula E average speed record.
It didn't stop there, as Edoardo Mortara, then with Maserati MSG Racing, recorded the first 100 mph average lap in Formula E history. The Jaguar TCS Racing of Mitch Evans hit a 276.6km/h (171.9mph) top speed on his final flying lap of the session, as did his teammate Sam Bird who also became the first driver to break a speed of 275km/h for the first time in Formula E history.
There were also 403 overtakes recorded over the one race here last year, one of the highest amounts ever recorded from an E-Prix.
Can anyone ‘do the double’?
There are two more double-header race weekends coming up before Season 10 is finito. Both Portland and London are made up of two back-to-back race days, but with the level of competition being so high, we have yet to see a driver win both races over a Saturday and Sunday.
Despite how popular double-header race weekends are in Formula E, only five drivers during Formula E's 10-year history have won both races in one location back-to-back. They include Nico Prost (London 2016), Sam Bird (New York, 2017), Antonio Felix da Costa (Berlin, 2020), Mitch Evans (Rome, 2022), and Pascal Wehrlein (Diriyah, 2023).
READ MORE: Formula E's double-header race winners
With the Porsche and Jaguar powertrains once again looking very competitive in efficiency and ideal for the type of racing style we can expect, it’s going to be a tough task. However, with Cassidy on a roll at the moment and managing to make his way from 10th to the victory in Portland last year, it’s possible.
Antonio Felix da Costa has also been on a great run of results, with two wins in the last three races. He currently sits seventh in the Drivers’ standings, and is awaiting confirmation on his Misano disqualification, but is going full DAC attack in these final few rounds.