Nick Cassidy heads to the 2023 Formula E season finale proud of his “massive breakthrough year”, with the Envision Racing driver having a chance of leaving the London E-Prix as World Champion.
Cassidy has performed exceptionally in season nine, with him having been one of the most consistent drivers all year. He enters the London double-header 24 points behind championship leader Jake Dennis, with him being the British driver’s closest competitor.
The Envision driver would’ve been significantly closer to Dennis in the title fight if he hadn’t finished outside the points in the second race in Rome, something which happened through no fault of his own.
Cassidy tumbled to the back of the field on the second lap after fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans launched over him, ending the Jaguar TCS Racing driver’s realistic title chances.
Cassidy is still just about in contention for the Drivers’ Championship, with 58 points being up for grabs in East London. He recognises though, that he is a reasonable number of points behind Dennis, something which does take the “pressure off”.
“Because it’s now the 24 points sure takes pressure off,” Cassidy admitted to Motorsport Week.
“I’m sure it lets me attack more, but it doesn’t mean that I wanted to be in this position.”
It’s not just the Drivers’ Championship which Cassidy has to consider this weekend, with Envision currently leading the Constructors’ Standings by 14 points.
The Silverstone-based team sit narrowly ahead of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, leaving Cassidy with two titles to fight for. However, he’s opted to “focus” purely on the Drivers’ Championship, given that the more points he scores for himself, the more he’ll score for the team.
“I think I’ve just got to focus on the Drivers’ because, in the end, the more points I score is only going to help the team anyway,” said the Kiwi.
Regardless of whether Cassidy leaves London as World Champion or not, the 28-year-old has done brilliantly this season.
He’s very much developed into a leading driver in the all-electric series this campaign, with him having built in stature. The Auckland-born driver joined Formula E in 2021, a season which saw him claim two podiums and two pole positions.
In his second season for Envision and in Formula E last year, he claimed his first win and two poles once again, whereas this season he’s stormed to seven rostrums, which include three victories.
Cassidy views season nine as a “massive breakthrough year” for him, with the driver hoping that he can be “really proud” of himself come the end of the season finale on Sunday.
“Yeah, just a massive breakthrough year for me. Really good,” Cassidy said in reflection of his season.
“I hope to continue that this weekend, though, to add to the statistics, not to finish them here, and yeah, I hope on Sunday I can be really proud of myself.”
