Jaguar boss concedes Cassidy Formula E title loss ‘painful’

Jaguar team principal James Barclay has conceded that Nick Cassidy losing the Formula E drivers’ title was “painful”. 

Cassidy looked set to win his first world title until the closing laps, when contact with Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa caused a puncture for the New Zealander. After pitting for repairs, Cassidy returned to the pits to retire. 

The Jaguar driver was looking set to win the drivers’ crown until being hit by the team-mate of eventual world champion Pascal Wehrlein, which da Costa was penalised for. 

That penalty meant Jaguar won the manufacturers’ title and also its first teams’ championship since 1991. 

Whilst winning two titles is a “proud” moment for Barclay, he feels for Jaguar drivers Mitch Evans and especially Cassidy.

“Well, firstly, Jaguar’s first world championship since 1991, incredibly proud of that moment,” Barclay told Formula E’s broadcast team. 

“It feels a little bit painful right now because Nick Cassidy was up on energy on Pascal and looks like he got a puncture. 

“We need to look at the information, but you see Antonio giving Nick a hug, it looks like he gave him a puncture and took Nick out of a world championship winning position.

“I feel mixed emotions right now. But Jaguar, what an incredible season for Jaguar TCS Racing, world teams’ champions. That’s phenomenal. We will enjoy it, but I really feel for both our drivers and ultimately, for Nick who was in an incredible position to win his championship.”

Jaguar drivers’ title wait continues

Jaguar not winning the drivers’ title was a huge blow for the Coventry-based outfit, as Cassidy would have had one hand on the crown if it was not for his late-spin whilst leading in Portland. 

The season finale was poorly managed by the British manufacturer, with Evans having told RacingNews365 that the team went against what himself and Cassidy were told ahead of the race. 

Understanding what exactly went wrong and the emotions of Cassidy and Evans not winning the title is tough for Barclay to explain.

“Honestly, it’s really hard to explain,” admitted Barclay. “You’ve got to process it for a little bit.

“It’s very raw right now, but we’ve worked incredibly hard for eight years in the championship, and we’ve got ourselves in an amazing position to win this world championship.

“And I’m so proud of the team, but I wanted one of our drivers to win a world championship this year, and that’s going to take a while for it not to hurt.”