Jake Dennis bounced back from a rotten Saturday at the Berlin E-Prix to take pole position for the second race for the doubleheader weekend. The Andretti driver beat Saturday race winner Nick Cassidy in the qualifying Duels final with a lap of …
Jake Dennis bounced back from a rotten Saturday at the Berlin E-Prix to take pole position for the second race for the doubleheader weekend.
The Andretti driver beat Saturday race winner Nick Cassidy in the qualifying Duels final with a lap of 1m01.819s. Cassidy was 0.231s adrift, having gone quicker in the first sector, only to lose time in the second.
It was a strong morning for Andretti all round with teammate Norman Nato also making it to the Duels after finishing second behind Dennis in the second group in the first part of the session. He then claimed his first Duel win of the season against Stoffel Vandoorne but fell to Dennis in the semifinals.
Cassidy also had to face his teammate in his semifinal Duel, Evans getting through after beating Maximilian Guether in the quarterfinals while Cassidy defeated Saturday polesitter Edoardo Mortara to advance, after topping the first Group earlier on.
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A jubilant Dennis, who last started on pole in Rome last year but has never finished ower than second in a race he’s started from pole, described it as “my most memorable pole” over the radio after crossing the line.
Mirroring the Andretti-Jaguar front row, Nato will lineup third on the grid alongside Evans, with Vandoorne and Guenther fifth and sixth. Pascal Wehrlein will start seventh alongside Mortara, with Vergne and da Costa completing the top 10.
Joel Eriksson will start 11th for Envision Racing, ahead of Lucas di Grasssi, Jehan Daruvala, Jake Hughes, and Sergio Sette Camara. Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and Sacha Fenestraz will line up 16th and 17th, while Dan Ticktum qualified 18th but will start at the back of the grid after getting a penalty for a gearbox and MCU change. It’s a 40-place penalty, so with that not being able to be applied in its entirety on the grid, he will also have to do a 10-second stop/go penalty during the race.
Ahead of him and completing the field then will be Taylor Barnard, Paul Aron, Jordan King, and Kelvin van der Linde.
Reigning Formula E world champion Jake Dennis admits he’s struggling with his Andretti Porsche 99X Electric this season following changes made to the car. While hardware is locked in for a two-year homologation period, teams can develop software …
Reigning Formula E world champion Jake Dennis admits he’s struggling with his Andretti Porsche 99X Electric this season following changes made to the car.
While hardware is locked in for a two-year homologation period, teams can develop software whenever they choose, and Dennis suggests those changes have not quite been to his liking so far this season.
“To be honest, it’s been a bit of a struggle these last couple of months for me,” he said. “There’s been some changes inside of the car which really haven’t suited me and we’ve generally struggled this year so far.”
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Dennis had a win and a brace of second places in the bank at the same point last year, and this year has one win (Diriyah race one) and his Tokyo third place as high points so far, but despite leaving Tokyo with a trophy, he still didn’t feel “at one with the car.”
“Some days we’re good, some days we’re bad, and this weekend was probably the first time where I felt not at one with the car but I delivered every lap,” he said. “Fifth (in qualifying) for me felt like pole, I really didn’t think I would qualify that high up. And then in the race we’re always quick so I knew I had a chance and the grid was pretty mixed up … but the way the race played out, I achieved the maximum today.”
While Dennis acknowledges the Porsche package’s strong efficiency, track position was vital in Tokyo for him to take advantage of that.
“These guys (winner Maximillian Guenther and second place Oliver Rowland) are incredibly quick when they need to be, I do think we have the upper hand in terms of efficiency but when they want to create a gap, they can just pull those six, seven tenths which allow them to take Attack or anything like this, and with it being so difficult to overtake round here, those moments at a track like this are absolutely crucial.
He also acknowledged the role his teammate Norman Nato played in keeping him in the fight, by keeping drivers who’d already gone through the longer Attack Mode power boost line before him from swamping him.
“(I’m) pretty pleased with third, at one point it looked like I was going to be finishing P7 — everyone behind me had already taken Attack and I had taken none, so a big thanks to my teammate Norman for saving me on that one and allowing me to fight for the podium today,” he said.
Last season, Formula E’s return to Europe coincided with a strong run for Dennis, who took two podium finishes in Berlin and Monaco, before adding to that haul for in the next lot of flyaways with a string of seconds in the Jakarta doubleheader and Portland. He then finished the year with three more podiums in Rome and London and he feels that this year could play out similarly.
“We’re just battling it out a little bit at the moment,” he conceded. “I’m confident when we get back to the European stages we can find a bit more of my rhythm that I had last year.”
But he knows he has a stiffer challenge this season, with the field being much closer overall.
“It just shows how now everyone is just so much closer,” he said. “Last year it was pretty much a two-horse race between Jaguar and Porsche … whereas now you’ve got the McLarens and Nissans, the Maseratis — these guys are performing at such a high level so a bad day now is like P11, P12 whereas a bad day last year was probably P6, P5. So it just shows even though the hardware’s not changed, the software’s obviously always evolving and these guys have made a really good step.
“It ultimately makes my life harder but I think it’s great for Formula E — five different winners (so far) in Season 10 is pretty impressive. It’s not GEN1 any more where you had massive variability. It’s this excitement that FE brings and think it’s going to keep evolving. The European season now should allow a bit more overtaking — Misano, Monaco, Berlin — whereas this was always going to be a of a struggle in terms of excitement.”
Jake Dennis went into the first race of Formula E’s Diriyah E-Prix doubleheader thinking he had a shot at the win, but his 13-second demolition job took him by surprise. While less than a second covered the rest of the top five, Dennis sailed off …
Jake Dennis went into the first race of Formula E’s Diriyah E-Prix doubleheader thinking he had a shot at the win, but his 13-second demolition job took him by surprise.
While less than a second covered the rest of the top five, Dennis sailed off into the distance, keeping enough in hand to add the fastest lap late on, too. He knew he was fast, but the mammoth gap wasn’t expected.
“Nobody expects to win by 13 seconds, and if you do you’re very arrogant,” he told RACER. “But yeah, we had an incredible race today and didn’t expect it at all. The car was performing absolutely amazing. It’s good to hear that there was overtaking from behind — it looked like it was a pretty exciting race on the big screens but yeah, awesome race. Hopefully we can replicate it tomorrow.”
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The Andretti Global driver had a watching brief as DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne sparred for the race win with Jaguar TCS’s Mitch Evans, but a perfectly timed Attack Zone strategy allowed him to get the leap on both, and unlock the true pace of his Porsche-powered car.
“There was obviously a lot going on; the team had their numbers and I had the feeling I had in the car and I think they didn’t realize how much pace I had compared to what I could do,” he said. “Ultimately, being able to show that pace allowed me to make the jump on JEV and Mitch.”
Dennis’ first Attack Zone run brought him right into the victory fight, but instead of using that and his pace to fight for position, and saving his second pass though for later in the race, he got it out of the way two laps later. It was a decision that consolidated his position at the front of the field, and ultimately helped him stretch out a big lead.
“You just want to get it out of the way because the Attack mode here isn’t that powerful,” he said of the quick one-two punch with the Attack Zone. “It was important to get it done and then cover ourselves if there was a safety car or something.”
Dennis’ relatively trouble-free run fit the narrative in the paddock pre-race that Diriyah could be a somewhat dull affair, but behind him there was plenty going on as Evans and Vergne battled over second, with Evans eventually slipping to fifth. Saturday’s second race though will be a lap shorter, with the same starting energy amount, meaning that there will be less energy saving and less opportunities to overtake. Conversely, track evolution could help drivers push harder, in itself opening up more opportunities.
“I’m glad that there’s overtaking — I didn’t expect there to be any and it’s good that there is,” Dennis said. “Each lap we do the track cleans up more and more, which allows us to take more risks on overtakes. The race will be more difficult to overtake tomorrow because it is shorter and more energy, and hopefully we’re at the front and we can do our own thing.”
Jake Dennis claimed victory in the first race of the Diriyah E-Prix doubleheader, timing his Attack Mode power boost use to perfection in crushing the rest of the ABB Formula E World Championship field by 13.289s. The opening stage of the 37-lap …
Jake Dennis claimed victory in the first race of the Diriyah E-Prix doubleheader, timing his Attack Mode power boost use to perfection in crushing the rest of the ABB Formula E World Championship field by 13.289s.
The opening stage of the 37-lap race was a story of front row starters Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans as they battled over the race lead, but it was that fight that allowed Andretti Global’s Dennis to start to build an advantage.
After Dennis’ first run through the Attack Mode lane on lap 6, he only narrowly dropped behind DS Penske man Vergne, but when he took the slower line again two laps later, he maintained track position and never looked back from that point.
Vergne and Evans, meanwhile, continued to squabble over second. The Jaguar TCS driver got by up the inside of Turn 18 on lap 12, and then set about chasing down Dennis for the race lead, using his power boost built from his run through the attack zone to close up. A repeat move at Turn 18 didn’t give him the race lead, though, with him running deep and bringing Vergne back into the fight.
Vergne then beat Evans at his own game at Turn 18, sneaking up the inside of Evans, who dropped off the clean line. The pair made contact on the exit, but Vergne held strong and consolidated second.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans set the pace early, but Dennis’s strategy would prove the canniest. Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images
While Vergne’s energy level was lower than the cars around him, Evans’ attention was instead taken by teammate Nick Cassidy behind him. The pair engaged in team strategy swapping positions multiple times as they looked to secure a double podium for Jaguar. Yet Vergne maintained second, while NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird — part of a gaggle of mid-pack cars who left it late to use their Attack Mode boosts — closed up late in the race in a bid to spoil the party.
Nevertheless, a podium of Dennis, Vergne, and Evans looked to be nailed down — until the final lap where Evans made a last-ditch bid to snatch second. The move, once again at Turn 18, proved costly, however, as he ran deep and slipped to fifth behind Cassidy and Bird.
Up front, such was Dennis’ advantage thanks to his trouble-free run after taking the lead and the battles going on behind him, he had enough energy in his pocket to make two attempts at the fastest lap, which he nailed on lap 34 and again on lap 36.
Behind the top five, Norman Nato was sixth in the other Andretti entry, with Maximillian Guenther seventh for Maserati. Mexico City winner Pascal Wehrlein finished eight after a poor start dropped him from sixth to ninth at the start of the race. Ninth went to Sergio Sette Camara, who had a look up the inside of Evans at Turn 1 on the opening lap, but his ERT’s efficiency deficit proved to be a handicap, robbing him of a realistic chance at remaining in the top five.
Robin Frijns completed the top 10, beating McLaren’s Jake Hughes by a mere 0.053s.
There was only one retirement, with Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz sustaining suspension damage after contact on lap 1. While he pitted for repairs, his day ultimately came to an end after he completed just 12 laps.
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost …
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis had a number of his obstacles in the path to his first ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London. Among the challenges the British driver had to navigate were two red-flag periods, failed Attack Mode power boost activations and a tense interlude with a Porsche factory driver, who failed to give him the space the Porsche-powered Andretti driver thought he’d get.
“It’s a huge relief,” Dennis said after finishing second to secure the title. “I didn’t expect it coming into today with Nick Cassidy on pole and Sebastien Buemi (both of Envision Racing) in third. By lap 8 I was like, ‘Yeah this is gonna be hard.’ Nick had taken both Attack Modes and Sebastien was the best wingman for Nick possible. But then it all fell apart for them and we managed to keep out of trouble.”
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In the late stages Dennis radioed his team that he was surprised at TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein declining to move out of the way for him despite pre-race conversations having given him the impression the works Porsche cars wouldn’t hinder him. Porsche supplies the Andretti team with its powertrains.
“That was a private conversation but ultimately, I felt like we had a bit of an agreement going into the race and it just obviously didn’t quite pan out the way I expected it,” Dennis said. “It was just one of those things.”
The start of Saturday’s race could hardly have gone better for Nick Cassidy or Envision Racing, but things soon unraveled after that. Nick Dungan/Motorsport Images
Another one of those things was the bizarre end to Cassidy’s title challenge, after starting up front with his Envision teammate Buemi in third. Buemi got a great start to emerge in second and help Cassidy pull a gap to the field, pushing Dennis down into third. However, the two Envision teammates ended up coming together, damaging Cassidy’s front wing and wrecking his championship hopes.
“I don’t know what to feel,” said a despondent Cassidy. “I just can’t believe the series of events. The start was a dream. There’s not too much I can add. Probably just take the moment to say well done to Jake [Dennis]. He had a really solid season and really deserved the championship. I think that we had all the ingredients and a potential to also get the job done, but there’s no would, could, should in motorsport — the results and kudos to him, so well done.”
Cassidy noted that he let Buemi pass later on in the race to help Envision.
“We’re also fighting for the teams’ world championship and I like to think I’m a good team player. Maybe I’m too good a team player,” he mused.
They get another chance in today’s second half of the doubleheader, in which Cassidy will start from the pole after beating Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans by just 0.01s. That earned three more points for Envision in its fight with Jaguar for the teams’ championship.
For Dennis, the second London race is an opportunity to get his own back on drivers who he felt took advantage of his need for caution Saturday.
“They can and they’d be stupid not to [exploit it], so they divebomb and take high-risk maneuvers even if they think realistically it’s not on but you’ll probably give space,” said the Andretti driver. “There were some moves which I had to allow to happen because I would have crashed, but I am looking forward to enjoying (Sunday).”
Jake Dennis dodged the slings and arrows of a typically frenetic Hankook London E-Prix to come home second, enough to secure the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship for the Avalanche Andretti driver with one race remaining, while …
Jake Dennis dodged the slings and arrows of a typically frenetic Hankook London E-Prix to come home second, enough to secure the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship for the Avalanche Andretti driver with one race remaining, while Mitch Evans took the checkered flag first for Jaguar TCS Racing.
Dennis survived two missed trips through the Attack Mode power boost loop, heavy pressure from his closest rival and polesitter Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) as well as two red-flag stoppages to become Formula E’s first British champion and the first to take the title on home soil by taking a record 10th podium finish of the season. Dennis’ title is also Andretti’s first in Formula E, the American team having been a part of the series from day one.
Dennis headed into the race 24 points clear of Cassidy, who started from pole after Evans qualified first but was handed a five-place grid penalty for causing an accident last time out in Rome.
Cassidy led the early stages before ceding top spot to eventual winner and countryman Evans on lap 11 and second spot to teammate Sebastien Buemi. Dennis had earlier made it by Cassidy with an opportunistic move at the final corner just a couple of laps before, with Cassidy immediately fighting his way back by the Andretti car — a titanic scrap looked to be brewing.
However, with Cassidy running in formation, close behind the Swiss, the Envision drivers came into contact. The former’s front wing was dislodged, catching beneath his left-front wheel. Repairs were attempted but his race couldn’t be salavaged — one fewer challenger for Dennis to deal with.
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 29, 2023
Loose bodywork from that clash caused a brief spell under the safety car, bunching the pack up. Dennis, meanwhile was not impressed over the radio with Porsche stablemate Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche), the German hanging onto fourth at the expense of the standings leader in the customer, Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti as the teams’ title battle heated up. Team owner Michael Andretti wasn’t pleased either…
Tensions rising here as Team Owner of Avalanche Andretti, Michael Andretti, makes his feelings clear to the TAG Heuer Porsche garage following a close call between Wehrlein and Dennis.@Hankook_Sport#LondonEPrixpic.twitter.com/nENBITW1ot
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 29, 2023
Wehrlein’s challenge then also fell by the wayside in a shunt just before a red flag was flown for the recovery of Sacha Fenestraz’s Nissan. He and Jake Hughes tangled into Turn 1, with the damage to the German’s Porsche terminal.
Evans leads Sebastien Buemi. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
On the restart Evans led away, with Dennis working his way into third. An over-optimistic move from Norman Nato (Nissan) at the penultimate turn on lap 34 then caused a chain reaction behind with several cars unable to avoid the melee, enforcing another spell under the red flag.
It was a three-lap sprint to the flag at the restart, with Dennis having only to hold fast to ensure he’d take top honors. Duly, he did, in front of jubilant home support — made doubly sure by his promotion to second at the flag, just behind Evans, with a penalty for TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, dropping him out of the podium positions. Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) rounded out the podium.
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 29, 2023
“Oh my God. That is incredible!” said Dennis. “That race was so hard, everything thrown at us. World champions, baby!
“I felt like everyone was racing against us but Jesus Christ — we have just become world champion and I am so so happy for myself, the team and everyone, we deserved it so much.
“I only joined the championship three years ago and we almost won it in our rookie year, but now to come back and properly have the year that we had, you know break all the podium records and to become world champion, it’s just mind blowing. I really didn’t think it coming into this year and full credit to my boys — I love them so much and they’ve given me an absolute rocketship all year. And this is the least I can do for them.
“I can hear the fans as well and it’s just absolutely incredible to share this with them.”
While the drivers’ crown is secured, there’s still all to play for in the teams’ title race in tomorrow’s season finale in London, with Envision Racing heading the way from the factory Jaguar TCS Racing squad while TAG Heuer Porsche clings to third with a mathematical chance of the top spot.
Britain’s Jake Dennis is on the brink of claiming his first world championship title as the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team driver goes into the final two races of the electric racing series’ season in front of home fans on a track where he has …
Britain’s Jake Dennis is on the brink of claiming his first world championship title as the Avalanche Andretti Formula E team driver goes into the final two races of the electric racing series’ season in front of home fans on a track where he has won twice before.
A repeat of his victory last time out on the streets of Rome would be enough to seal a first ABB Formula E world championship title for Dennis in the opening race of the Hankook London E-Prix doubleheader on Saturday. But as this season has proved time and again, anything can happen in Formula E races.
Races 15 and 16 will settle what has been arguably the most competitive and entertaining season in Formula E history. The introduction of the series’ third generation race car this year has led to a number of Formula E records falling including the fastest lap and the most overtakes, lead changes and different leaders in a race.
There have been seven different winners representing six different teams, with only TAG Heuer Porsche able count both their drivers as winners. Eleven drivers have made it to the podium and 19 drivers have led a lap.
Dennis is one of four drivers who quickly got to grips with their new EV technology and battled for supremacy all season long as the championship returned to established circuits in Berlin, Mexico City, Diriyah, Jakarta, Monaco and Rome, while debuting in no less than four cities — Hyderabad, Cape Town, São Paulo and Portland.
He has 50% more Duels appearances than any other driver in qualifying and last time out in Rome, he became the only driver to have won lights to flag in the GEN3 era. Couple those records with the joint-largest standings lead this season, tied with TAG Heuer Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein’s post-Brazil advantage at 24 points, and a podium tally of nine, two more than next best Nick Cassidy, and Dennis is sitting pretty.
The action has been wilder than ever in Formula E with the Gen3 cars. Alastair Staley/Motorsport Images
Wehrlein set the early pace after finishing second to Dennis in the GEN3 debut in Mexico City followed by a doubleheader sweep in Diriyah. Wehrlein wouldn’t return to the podium until winning Round 10 in Jakarta but consistent points in the intervening races kept him in in touch at the top.
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy took control in midseason, claiming five podiums in six races from Rounds 4 to 9 including back-to-back wins in Berlin and Monaco to emerge as a strong championship contender.
Meanwhile, Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing entered the title picture in Round 6 in Brazil after a frustrating start to the GEN3 era for the Kiwi kept him off the podium. But Evans followed success in São Paulo with a win in the Berlin opening race to force his way into the title conversation. From midseason it was Cassidy, Dennis and Wehrlein edging the lead in the championship, often separated by just a single point, with Evans staying in close contention.
That all changed in the final stop on Formula E’s 10-city world tour before the London finale. On the sweltering streets of Rome and what is regarded as the most challenging circuit in the series, the biggest crash in Formula E history in Saturday’s race was the main talking point. But Evans secured avoided the carnage to take the win, while second for Cassidy put him a point beyond Dennis who could only finish fourth.
In the second race in Rome, Cassidy and Evans were in close formation hunting down Dennis for the race lead in the closing stages, when sharp braking caused Evans to lose control of the back of his car, clipping Dennis ahead of him, before going fully airborne and hitting the top of Cassidy’s car. Evans had to retire while Cassidy limped to P14, both losing critical points.
The dramatic incidents in Rome highlighted the uniquely intense, high-risk nature of wall-to-wall street racing in Formula E with no margin of error.
The impact on the drivers’ world championship was equally significant as Dennis delivered the most dominant performance of the season, claiming a Formula E grand slam – pole position, fastest lap and the race win — while leading the entire race from lights to checkered flag.
The result propelled Dennis to the top of the leader board with a 24-point advantage over Cassidy in second. Evans is 44 points back in third while Wehrlein still has a mathematical chance of the top spot at 49 points behind Dennis, with 25 points available for each race win, and 18 points for second (plus three points for pole position and one for the fastest lap).
The teams’ championship is also wide open and likely to go to the final race. Envision Racing leads the table by 14 points over TAG Heuer Porsche, while Jaguar TCS Racing is third with 228 points.
Formula E returns to East London’s historic docklands and the ExCeL events arena in the London Borough of Newham. The 2.09km/1.3-mile, 20-turn track starts off indoors on a silky-smooth surface offering plenty of grip, and after a quick succession of corners the track heads outside. Immediately on exit the Formula E cars will touch a strip of slippery metal, before heading down into the outdoor portion with the highly abrasive asphalt surrounding the exhibition center.
The outside features a flowing set of chicanes prime for passing opportunities. From there it’s a quick run down to a twisty set of curves before heading back up and inside the main hall to finish a lap. With changes in surface, elevation and dealing with the shift in lighting, the field face a unique challenge with this indoor and outdoor circuit.
Saturday’s race will air on CBS, while Sunday’s season finale will be available on CBS Sports Network. Free Practice Sessions and Quali will be live on CBSSports.com as well as the CBS Sports App.
Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) took full advantage of his rivals’ misfortune to hammer his authority home on the ABB FIA Formula E drivers’ championship with a stunning first “Grand Slam” of the all-electric series’ GEN3 era: pole Position, …
Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) took full advantage of his rivals’ misfortune to hammer his authority home on the ABB FIA Formula E drivers’ championship with a stunning first “Grand Slam” of the all-electric series’ GEN3 era: pole Position, fastest lap and the race win, leading every lap of Round 14 on the streets of Rome in the process.
Dennis led away from pole and just about kept himself out of the absolute disaster that struck his closest title rivals Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) behind on just the second lap of the race.
As the former took a look at Dennis for the lead into the braking zone at the infamous Turn 7, Evans lost the rear of his Jaguar in the compression, clipped the leader’s Andretti and spectacularly launched over the top of Cassidy’s Envision Racing Jaguar I-TYPE 6. It was another huge moment in the battle for the drivers’ title and one Dennis took full advantage of. Evans’ damage proved terminal while Cassidy could only recover to 14th by the end of the race.
OH NO!!!!! 🤯
Mitch Evans goes into the back of Nick Cassidy and ends up ON TOP of the Envision Racing driver!
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) July 16, 2023
“It hurts — it sucks right now,” Evans said. “It all happened very quickly, I wasn’t expecting them to back up so much as I was approaching the back of Jake Dennis. I tried to avoid it, but then I rode Nick Cassidy’s wheel, and it just got out of control. I feel really bad. It caught me by surprise, I was not expecting them to be that slow at the apex.
“I was in an attacking mindset, I wanted to make progress and position myself into Turn 8 to get Nick, but obviously it didn’t go to plan. Feel sorry for Nick, and the Envision Racing guys. This has obviously really hurt my championship now.”
From that point, Dennis pulled away to the tune of three seconds at the checkered flag, helped by Nissan’s Norman Nato managing to hold off Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) for the duration despite suffering early damage to his front wing.
“I am honestly lost for words how we have just won that race. It was so tactical inside the cockpit, trying to keep Bird within a certain distance because obviously he is going to try and help Mitch (Evans),” said Dennis. “I really needed Norman as my wingman that race, and we worked together really well. I gave him space to help him defend when Bird went on ATTACK MODE and then when I needed the same he did just that.”
Dennis is one of only three drivers to have sealed a Grand Slam and is the first driver to have achieved the feat twice in Formula E history. More importantly, that result means Dennis takes a 24-point advantage over Cassidy into the season finale doubleheader in London on July 29-30 — home soil and a circuit he’s strong at as a two-time winner. Evans is 44 points back in third, while TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein retains a slim mathematical hope, 49 points shy of top spot with 58 points available.
Envision Racing heads the way in the teams’ table by 13 points over TAG Heuer Porsche.
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis took Julius Baer Pole Positon and the lead of the ABB Formula E drivers’ world championship ahead of the Southwire Portland E-Prix Round 12, beating Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) in the final Duel. Dennis went into the …
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis took Julius Baer Pole Positon and the lead of the ABB Formula E drivers’ world championship ahead of the Southwire Portland E-Prix Round 12, beating Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) in the final Duel.
Dennis went into the Finals looking for his first pole of the season — on his team’s home soil to boot. Going up against the Nissan of Fenestraz was going to be tough, with the rapid French-Argentine a three-time Formula E record breaker as he once again broke the series’ fastest speed over a lap for the third time this season earlier on. In addition, Dennis had lost all three final appearances this season, with this being his third consecutive Final in a row, however he finally managed to bag the all-important P1 spot in Portland.
Explaining that he was behind in the first sector, Dennis said he went full send in the final part of the lap and managed to make it an Andretti pole in front of the home crowd. His boss, Michael Andretti, was on hand to see the heroics unfold.
The three points for pole also means Dennis now takes the championship lead from the TAG Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein. It’s the first time he’s been back on the top spot sine leading the standings for the first two races of Season 9.
Semis First up was the battle of the Nissans, and it was Fenestraz who finished quicker than his teammate Norman Nato. These two are no strangers to a duel against one another, and the last time this happened was in Monaco when Fenestraz won, leaving Nato settling for third on the grid.
For the other place on the front row, Dennis took on Rene Rast. Dennis has been unbeaten in the Semis this year, and now makes it four-nil in the third consecutive race that he has reached at least the Semis. In his final lap, Dennis also set the fastest lap of the weekend so far with a 1m08.919s to beat Rast, who starts fourth in tonight’s race.
Quarters Despite learning that he would be starting the race from the pit lane, as his DS Penske team was found to have installed RFID scanning equipment at pit entry this morning that was able to collect live data from all cars, Jean-Eric Vergne still took part in his quarters duel with Nato. Even though his result wouldn’t impact the penalty the team got for breaking the regulations, Vergne lost to the Nissan either way.
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) June 24, 2023
Next up was Fenestraz, who continued the Nissan dominance from the weekend, and beat the Maserati MSG Racing of Maximilian Guenther. It meant the end of a good run of form for the Maserati driver, who up until today had won six consecutive Duels, but was still in the Duels for the fourth race in a row. Guenther starts fifth.
It was the battle of the Jakes again as Hughes took on Dennis for a spot in the Semi Finals. It was the second consecutive race and fourth time overall these two had battled one another in the Duels. Despite Hughes having the highest win percentage in the history of the Duels at 69%, it was Dennis who impressed in front of the team’s home crowd. Hughes will line up seventh.
Finally, the TAG Heuer Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa took on Rast. With the Porsche team struggling with qualifying this season and Rast setting the fastest lap in Formula E history yesterday, it was an easy victory for the McLaren driver with da Costa set to start Round 12 from eighth position.
Group A The first of the two groups was always going to provide some excitement. Three of the five championship contenders were in this group, with TAG Heuer Porsche’s Wehrlein, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy and Vergne all looking for a spot in the Duels.
The Nissan of Nato, who went quickest in FP2, had a close call during one of his qualifying laps as he narrowly missed the wall at Turn 1. Plenty of others also found the limits and exceeded them, including Guenther who ran wide on his final lap.
It was a French-dominated top four, with Fenestraz going quickest with a time of 1m09.860s. The Nissan powertrain has topped all sessions of the weekend so far, and looks very strong around this Portland circuit. DS Penske’s Vergne finished in second, although there were reports after the session that there could be an issue for the team which could see him demoted.
FP2’s leading man Nato finished in third and Guenther rounded up the top four despite his trip through the grass at the end of the session. Cassidy finished in sixth, with Wehrlein down in 10th which would provisionally put him on the second-to-last row of the grid.
Group B
It was a shock start to Group B qualifying, as Mitch Evans got out of his car and failed to start. The championship contender had undergone a new gearbox and battery ahead of the inaugural Portland E-Prix.
After topping FP1, Rast seemed right at home around the PIR, and set the fastest time in his group. Behind him, Jake Dennis became the only championship title rival to make it through to the Duels. Rast’s teammate, Jake Hughes, slotted into third, and Porsche’s da Costa secured the last space in the Duels.
UP NEXT: Southwire Portland E-Prix, 8pm ET. Live coverage on CNS Sports Network begins at 7:30pm ET
