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If you can’t wait until this weekend’s Mexico City E-Prix for your dose of Formula E action, Unplugged is the solution for you. The third series of the behind-the-scenes docu series followed all the drama across Season 9, leaving no stone unturned. Action, emotion and passion: it has it all. The first two episodes are available to watch now for free on YouTube, and here are the key lessons we learnt from them.
Andretti have always been passionate about Formula E
The American Dream is the first episode of the new series of Unplugged. Following Jake Dennis on his way to the World Championship, the episode also takes a closer look at Andretti as a presence in Formula E.
There’s no denying that the Andretti name is one of the most known across all of motorsport, and they’ve always had their heads and hearts invested in the all-electric championship. Andretti has been in Formula E since that first race almost a decade ago, and in that time achieved an impressive 10 wins, 32 podiums and 12 Julius Baer Pole Positions. In this episode we get to hear from Michael Andretti, the CEO and Chairman of Andretti, and visit around their facilities.
Hearing from Michael, as well as Dennis and the Andretti Formula E boss Roger Griffiths you get the real sense that Formula E is where they want to be. This narrative, alongside the unique season Dennis has, is a fantastic way to kickstart the third season of Unplugged.
It wasn’t an completely smooth season for Dennis
At a glance, you might think Jake Dennis had it easy as he cruised to his first Formula E World Championship in Season 9. Sure, he secured 11 podiums across 16 rounds – a new record – but there came a time midway through the season where things got pretty turbulent for the Brit.
The first episode of Unplugged closely follows the high of the start of the season for Dennis, to the lows of four consecutive disappointing results out of the points. Dennis began Season 9 with a dominant win in Mexico City, as well as finishing second in both Diriyah rounds. Alongside TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, Dennis was booked as an early favourite for the title.
READ: Champion Jake Dennis signs multi-year contract extension with Andretti
However, things quickly flipped on their head when he finished 16th during the championship’s first visit to Hyderabad and then 13th at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix. Things went from bad to worse with a retirement in Sao Paulo and then a brake issue causing him to hit Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa before finishing the first Berlin round in 18th place.
Fortunately for the Andretti driver, his luck turned around and from Round 8 he finished every race for the remainder of the season on the podium, all bar one. The American Dream covers all of this as we see how Dennis became the first World Champion of GEN3.
The pressure is on at Porsche
Porsche is known for being one of the most successful and desirable car manufacturers in the world. In motorsport, they race to win. It’s that simple. In Season 9, the TAG Heuer Porsche team had a new driver pairing of Pascal Wehrlein and brought in Season 6 Formula E champion, Antonio Felix da Costa. It was, and still is, one of the strongest pairings on the grid. A fantastic start to the season saw Wehrlein finish second in Mexico, before doing the double in Diriyah and winning both races over the two days. Da Costa also took an emotional win in Cape Town, as he delivered one of the most outrageous overtakes ever seen in motorsport.
Nevertheless, over the course of the season, the team began to lose their grip on championship hopes. Troubles with qualifying plagued their potential, and the team would eventually finish the season fourth in the Teams’ Standings. Can Porsche's lofty ambitions be realised in the ultra-competitive world of electric racing? Judge for yourself in this epic episode 2.
Emotions run high for da Costa
Making the jump to Porsche for Season 9 was a big career moment for Antonio Felix da Costa. Representing the German giant was going to be a big responsibility, but the Season 6 champ was up to the challenge. However, once the season got underway in Mexico City, it was his teammate Wehrlein who was getting the positive press.
READ: GEN3 has been a 'rollercoaster' so far says Da Cos
A second place finish in Mexico, followed by winning both races in Diriyah meant Pascal took an early championship lead. Meanwhile, Antonio finished both races in Saudi Arabia out of the points. Speaking in the episode of Unplugged, da Costa talks about the pressure he was feeling as the new guy in the team and how he was desperately chasing a big result.
Things improved in Hyderabad with a third place finish, but the standout moment of the year came in South Africa when he fought his way up the grid to win the race. Checking off incredible overtakes, including a stunning move on old teammate Jean-Eric Vergne (DS PENSKE) for the lead of the race, showed us that da Costa was back in business.