Porsche team principal Florian Modlinger has outlined that it is “clear” the outfit must stay grounded in the Formula E title fight, knowing what happened to Mitch Evans in Shanghai could easily happen to them.
The German manufacturer enjoyed a strong double-header in Shanghai last weekend, with Pascal Wehrlein securing a pole position, a win and a fourth-place finish to move from fourth in the standings and 27 points adrift of Evans to leading the championship by nine points.
With Nico Müller also scoring points in both races at the Shanghai International Circuit, Porsche sits just six points behind Jaguar in the teams’ standings, while it leads the manufacturers’ championship by 50 points.
It was one of Porsche’s strongest weekends for some time, while for Jaguar it was one of its most difficult, particularly for Evans.
The New Zealander entered Shanghai with a 19-point lead in the standings, but scored just four points in the opening race due to a reported issue before failing to start the second race in wet conditions.
Evans suffered a “suspected DC/DC issue – a championship-specification component used by all teams”, making it something entirely out of Jaguar’s control.
Porsche capitalised on its biggest rival enduring a difficult weekend in China, but Modlinger knows the Weissach-based outfit must keep pushing, remain grounded and avoid becoming overconfident.
Discussing Evans’ Shanghai failure being evidence that any team can found itself suddenly stricken, Modlinger told RacingNews365 during an interview: “Yes, it’s clear.
“At this point in the championship, you’re not looking for single results anymore. You always want to maximise the points, but you also have one eye on your main competition, your direct rivals.
“What happened to Mitch, I feel sorry for him, because that’s not the way you want to gain an advantage over him. But that’s also racing, and nobody is safe from those kinds of things.
“So we have to focus on ourselves. Self-confidence is good, but no one should arrive overconfident. We need to keep our heads down, work hard, and push the limits of our potential in every area.”