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"There's a lot of talk right now that I could potentially be World Champion, but I'm just taking it session by session, doing my homework between now and the race, and just trying to enjoy it all, really," Dennis said.
Then, he smiled and admitted, "It could change on Saturday morning, but I'm pretty relaxed at the moment."
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Considering the success of his season, Dennis is right to approach the weekend the same way he's always done. After all, he said, the current routine of simulator work and mindful preparation has worked out well so far this year. And, he added, he's come out on the winning end of a title fight before — a whopping 13 years ago, in 2010, when he became a world champion in karting. This time around, though, he's a much more disciplined, mature driver.
"I've grown a lot since then — and not just in height," Dennis said. "I've learned a lot from my mistakes, because in racing, there are more bad days than good days. It made me into the person — the character — I am now. I can always still improve, even this weekend."
But 13 years is a long time, and Dennis has been put in time in other open-wheel machines and touring car series, racking up race wins but never quite breaking through to put himself into the title fight. When he signed with Andretti back in the 2020-21 season, a rough start ultimately led to two wins — one in Valencia, and one in London.
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Heading into the Season 7 finales in Berlin, Dennis was one of 18 drivers in the hunt for the championship — but he ultimately finished third overall after a technical issue meant heartbreak via a Turn 1 shunt, right at the start of the last race of the campaign. Just one London win in Season 8 saw Dennis finish outside of the top five in the standings.
Then GEN3 kicked off for Season 9, and Dennis quickly learned he had something special.
"We went into the first weekend of the year [in Mexico City] honestly thinking that we were one of the slowest cars on the grid after Valencia testing," Dennis admitted. "Then we arrived. We were fastest in practice and qualified second in the race. André [Lotterer] finished fourth, and Avalanche Andretti was leading the Teams' World Championship."
Despite only taking one other win at the second event in Rome, Dennis racked up seven podium finishes in a stunning display of consistency that has now placed him at the top of the standings. He has mathematical challengers for the crown, but with a strong lead, Dennis doesn't feel he needs to stress.
"Winning the championship would be a relief, more than anything," he admitted. "You're putting in all this effort, all this hard work, and to get something beyond race wins and podiums would be so special.
"Formula E is a really highly rated championship in terms of drivers. From first to 22nd, the level of competition is so high. You don't have this big advantage, so if you don't quite nail it, you can easily fall from the top three to 15th. It makes it even more sweet if we come out on top."
All that success, and within his first three years of entering Formula E.
"Whether I win or not, I hope to continue with Formula E for many, many years," Dennis said. "I want to take it year by year, to enjoy the process of what Formula E is achieving. That's my ultimate goal."