Monaco was the first round where we’ve seen a championship battle rather than a standalone race, says Jack Nicholls.

How was your first time commentating at Monaco?

I’ve grown up with Monaco being this amazing, special place for racing. There’s a lot of history involved and it was wonderful to be a part of it. Monaco is a place that in some ways transcends drivers, because there has been so much racing there, since 1929 in fact. The one exception to that rule might be Ayrton Senna.

In the context of the Formula E calendar, it was a good track – but would I say it was the best, compared to where we’ve been so far in the first season? Compared to the track in downtown Miami, or next to the beach at Punta del Este, or in a really cool part of Buenos Aires, Monaco didn’t stand out quite as much as I’d thought it would.

Commentating there still felt very special though. There was actually a lot more prepping to do for the Monaco race than the previous rounds, which were at new circuits that no one had driven before. Even when it came to Long Beach, not many of the Formula E drivers had raced there prior to the event.

When it came to Monaco, however, 13 of the 20 Formula E drivers had finished on the podium in one series or another. That required a lot of research before the race, going through the grid to find out who’d done well and what sort of results they’d had. It turned out that, somehow, the top three finishers in the Formula E race had never before been on the podium in Monaco. So now 16 of the current Formula E grid have been on those famous steps, which shows the quality of the field we have in the sport.

What did you make of the racing?

The racing was typical Monaco. It’s pretty tight and there aren’t many overtaking opportunities. We did get some overtakes. The pursuit of di Grassi by Piquet was great. That’s where the real excitement is – the chase, the anticipation. There was always the belief that di Grassi could have found a way through.

Monaco was the first time we’ve seen a lights-to-flag victory and the first time we’ve seen someone win two races. It was also the first time I felt we were watching a championship battle rather than a standalone race.

Piquet accused di Grassi of blocking him on his fastest lap in quali. What did you make of it?

Well, I’m not a racing driver. I don’t think di Grassi’s position was ideal but he was a long way in front, so I’m not sure he would have been able to see Piquet in his mirrors. Piquet was understandably annoyed if it cost him time in the final sector on what would have been his fastest lap. I can see why Piquet felt wronged but I think a penalty would have been harsh. The two have a frosty relationship anyway and they’re now championship rivals at the top of the standings. I’d say it was a sort of racing incident (even though it wasn’t in the race, but you know what I mean).

Senna was launched into the air during the first lap pile up. Should that give any cause for concern over the design of the car or circuit?

It was a typical motor racing street course accident. I’ve seen them at every street circuit there is. Abt was trying to go too wide and was a little too ambitious. He clipped Prost and ended up in the wall. Then the rest of the pack came through and Senna had nowhere to go. Pile ups happen in motorsport, even on full size circuits. We’ve seen incidents like that in places such as Spa. I think neither the corner nor the car were too blame. There were surprisingly few retirements as a result.

With four races to go, what did Monaco tell us about the drivers’ championship?

The three battling out in front in Monaco are our championship contenders – Buemi, di Grassi and Piquet. There are still dark horses, such as Bird and Prost, but they’ve got some work to do to catch those three front-runners.

Talking of championships, can anyone catch e.dams-Renault?

I think e.dams-Renault have pretty much got it sewn up. There’s still a long way to go but no one has shown the strength in depth across both drivers when it comes to black and white results. ABT have got Daniel Abt who’s had good positions but he’s not converted them into the sort of points that Prost and Buemi have. At NextEV TCR, Pic has struggled a bit. At Virgin, Sam Bird has done a good job so far, but Jaime – well I thought he was going to get pole in Monaco but it didn’t work out for him. If Daniel Abt can covert his pace into results they have a chance of catching them, but at the moment e.dams are looking very strong.

How did Mike Conway fare as Dario Franchitti’s replacement as co-commentator?

I thought he did a good job on his first ever commentary. He’s actually driven the car, of course, which is an advantage he has over Dario. He had some big shoes to fill, though: I genuinely think Dario could be one of the best co-commentators that motorsport has ever had.

It was fun spending time with Mike in Monaco. One evening before the race, we’d be invited onto a yacht and you had to take your shoes off. He got off first and stole my shoelaces – and then he forgot about it, so I spent the next day without any shoelaces!

Dario will miss Berlin because of the Indy 500, so Mike will be back this weekend. This time, he’s not getting my shoelaces.

Berlin will be a completely different sort of track. What can we expect?

It isn’t really a street circuit: it’s an airfield with a course laid out on the apron. The layout itself looks to be a bit more like a race track than a street course, even though there will still be enclosed walls. I think it could be one of the better tracks of the season.

We’ve got a decent German contingent with Heidfeld and Abt and the ABT team, which is good for the home crowd, plus Germany is one of the leading automotive manufacturing countries in the world. They haven’t got a home grand prix this year but the fans can come to see the Formula E race instead!