The Business of Being Mitch Evans
As he completes his final season with Jaguar, Formula E star Mitch Evans reflects on life beyond the grid, from collecting watches to investing in the future.
MITCH EVANS ENTERS THE MEDIA PEN, and the dance begins. Journalists angle with the Jaguar press officer for a brief audience with the star driver. The questions are familiar, repeated in various accents for sports outlets from around the world. But Evans moves through them with the calm efficiency of someone who has spent a decade inside Formula E’s travelling circus.
It is the day before the E-Prix in Sanya, a tropical resort city in China’s southernmost region, closer to Hanoi than to Beijing. The Jaguar TCS Racing driver is currently sitting in first place in this season’s ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship. With a handful of races remaining before the final chequered flag in London this month, the Manufacturer’s Trophy.
“That’s highly unusual for a driver, and certainly a driver of his calibre as well,” James says. “Mitch has been instrumental in the success that Jaguar TCS Racing has had over that time.”
James’ description of Evans and Jaguar’s decision to part ways, which coincides with the arrival of Formula E’s new Gen4 cars next season, is notably free of drama.
“I suppose with the switch of generations, there was an opportunity for him and the team to say, ‘OK, well, what does the future look like? And are there opportunities outside of the current structure?’ And we decided together that was probably the right time to go and explore other opportunities,” he explains.
A mirage of white marquees and temporary pit buildings surrounds the Haitang Bay street circuit for one of the most physically punishing Formula E races of the season. I catch up with Evans again for a walk-and-talk from the media centre to the paddock in the relentless Sanya sun. The route is lined with towering banners of all 20 drivers, but Evans barely acknowledges the enormous portrait of himself. There is hardly a moment over the course of the weekend when he isn’t in front of a camera, but he seems largely oblivious to it.
Though the careers of elite racers are lasting longer—see Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso—Evans is realistic about his time at the top and is already planning for life beyond the grid.
“As athletes, our careers are shorter. Some guys are still very competitive in their forties, but it’s not that common,” he says. “I’m not a money-hungry person, but I do appreciate a decent lifestyle. I’ve worked very hard since I was six to get to where I am, so you want to enjoy it. But I’m also cautious because in motorsport you never know how long you’ll be competing for.”
By chance, my visit to the garage earlier that day coincided with Evans’ mandatory extrication exercise with the Formula E safety team. The whole Jaguar garage watched as a fully suited and helmeted Evans climbed into the car, only to be gently removed moments later and placed on a stretcher by medics. It was routine, but still a reminder of the inherent danger behind the glamour of open-wheel motorsport.
“Oh yeah, we do it once a year,” Mitch says when I bring it up. “I was the lucky one who got the hottest race.”
While Evans is still fighting for victories at his peak, the Kiwi is already building his post-racing career. Evans is a co-founder and partner in investment firm APEX Capital alongside his Jaguar teammate, Portugal’s António Félix da Costa.
“We started it with some other guys five years ago. It’s all about doing venture capital and private equity deals for athletes,” he says. “Financially, you hear these horror stories of athletes getting in trouble, and I guess that’s why I’m doing the investment side, to try and get ahead of the game.”
His other investments, or “deals” as he calls them, tend to reflect his own interests. Sunglasses are an essential part of the Kiwi racer’s daily uniform, so it was only natural for him to become an investor in luxury eyewear brand Jacques Marie Mage. Like any committed investor, Evans is wearing a pair of the brand’s shades during our walk.
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