Whilst Nick Cassidy has made an exceptional start to Formula E Season 10, the field behind him has arguably never been closer.
The Kiwi has three rostrums – including a victory – to his name from the opening three rounds, giving him a healthy 19-point lead in the Drivers' Championship. However, he's had to work hard for his podiums, as more drivers than arguably ever before are in the mix.
Last year, the first of the Gen3 era, it was the Porsche and Jaguar-powered teams which dominated the championship. Both manufacturers have a customer team – Andretti and Envision – with those four teams having claimed 14 of the 16 victories between them.
If the first three rounds are anything to go by, Jaguar and Porsche are being caught, by Nissan and Stellantis (DS Penske) in particular. Both manufacturers also have a customer team each – McLaren and Maserati – who have been highly competitive in the opening rounds.
It means that eight teams, which equates to 16 drivers, have a car at their disposal which has the potential to win races.
The closeness of the field was visible at the recent Diriyah double-header, where Jake Dennis won the first race by just over 13 seconds – the second-biggest winning margin in the history of Formula E. However, in race two, he qualified 14th and finished 12th.
With that in mind, RacingNews365 asked Cassidy if Nissan's and Stellantis' improvement means 16 drivers can now fight for victory?
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Focus on 'execution'
"Yeah, I really believe so," Cassidy admitted. "I think, you know, even really Jake, I think in a way demonstrated that in Riyadh. "He was so dominant on Day 1, 13 seconds, unbelievable performance.
"I think I heard him quote the worst car ever the next morning, you know, and I feel bad for singling him out. But I'm just meaning like, he's the current World Champion. And he can win one day and be 14th on the grid the next, which I think just shows how incredibly tight it is right now.
"So certainly going to have a lot of names winning I think this year, I think that's great for the sport, makes our job tougher. But ultimately, that's what we want, right?"
Despite the strength of the Formula E grid this year, it's Cassidy who is comfortably the driver to beat. He's looked exceptional so far this season and has successfully carried his momentum from Season 9, where he narrowly missed out on the Drivers' Championship.
His confidence appears to be through the roof, but he's not thinking just yet that 2024 is his year.
"I wouldn't say that," Cassidy said. "But I just am happy with how I'm approaching days right now. And I think from my side, there's a pretty big focus to identify what worked last year, why? How to repeat that this year and how to not lose focus of that.
"So we're just focusing on that execution and what I can do myself, and I think if if I can keep that in check, then I'll be okay."
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