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He might be sitting seventh in the Drivers’ Standings ahead of the double-header London finale, but Andretti’s Jake Dennis can’t be ruled out yet. The Brit is on 122 points, compared to the 167 that Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy has up front, but shouldn’t be underestimated.
29-year-old Dennis entered this year as the reigning Formula E champion. He has proudly displayed the number ‘1’ on his Andretti over the course of this season’s campaign, and remained mature and level-headed when quizzed about the challenges of retaining his championship crown.
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Last season, Dennis managed a record-breaking podium run on his way to securing the title in London. He picked up 11 pieces of silverware in a level of consistency that we’ve not seen before or since in the all-electric championship. He kept his cool, locking in solid result after solid result until he was able to lift the Drivers’ title trophy in front of his home crowd at the ExCel centre.
How Dennis' Season 10 unfolded
Fast forward a year, and it has been a different story for Dennis.
SEASON 11 CALENDAR: Formula E returning to Miami and two races in Monaco
The season started in Mexico, where the reigning champ would finish ninth after “paying the price” for a qualifying mistake. However, things would improve in Diriyah when he qualified in third for Round 2. A tricky start off the line saw Dennis lose his position, but he would make it back up and be in third again by the end of the first lap. From there, he was able to navigate the race and would take the lead, holding position through ATTACK MODE before going on to collect the victory. Dennis was in such a groove, he even achieved the second-largest winning margin in Formula E history, at 13.289 seconds.
Fresh from his win the day before, Dennis was unable to repeat his successes as he was knocked out in his group qualifying stage following a stoppage for Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi. He would finish the race in 12th, scoring no points on the Saturday.
Then came the turn of São Paulo. The Brazilian round on the calendar was witness to one of the craziest last laps we’ve seen in Formula E, but unfortunately for Dennis he was one of the losers from the nail-biting action. Sat in third, but battling TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, the Brit would have the podium place snatched from his grasp on the final corner and was forced to settle for fifth. “I think the win was there,” he told Autosport after the race.
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Back to the podium
Dennis did return to the top three, when he finished third in Formula E’s first race in Tokyo, Japan. Starting from fifth, he was able to keep behind the hungry Porsches of Antonio Felix da Costa and Wehrlein and pick up another important 15 points for his championship chances.
Misano arrived next. This circuit was filled with plenty of generous overtaking opportunities, something that played massively into Dennis’ favour as he started 18th on the grid for Round 6. He was able to rocket himself up the grid and would cross the chequered flag in third, but was promoted up a place after the disqualification of Porsche and da Costa. The next day, Dennis started from ninth, but once again fought his way through the pack around the Italian circuit to finish in second.
Monaco was a challenging weekend for the Andretti squad, as both Dennis and teammate Norman Nato suffered damage to their front wings in separate incidents. Dennis’ qualifying was also compromised when a left-front wheel nut failure occurred during a pit stop and prevented him from making the Duels. The American team came away with no points from the principality.
Mixed weekend in Berlin
A retirement in Berlin threw more turbulence into his championship hopes, but both he and the team were able to bounce back the following day by earning their first Julius Baer Pole Position of the season. The extra three points, and confidence boost, certainly helped morale but Dennis finished in fifth by the end of the race.
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Fifth place in Shanghai’s first-ever Formula E race was followed by an 11th place the next day. The Shanghai International Circuit proved to provide a mixed bag of results for our defending champion, but did deliver Andretti a reason to cheer as Nato grabbed his first podium result for the team.
Most recently, the team looked for big and bold results at their home event in Portland. Transforming into a double-header this year, it was a permanent circuit that had suited Dennis the year prior. However, despite all the stars, stripes and support from the home crowd, the Andretti pilot came away with sixth and 10th across the two days. Although the nine points helped considering championship leader Cassidy failed to score a single point across the double-header, it marked seven rounds since Dennis had last stood on the podium.
Home hero in London
However, London is up next; and if we know one thing about Dennis it’s that he loves London. The Brit has managed at least one podium result on every visit to the ExCel during his time in Formula E. In Season 7, Dennis’ debut year, he managed to win in his first attempt, and was back to his victorious way the following season when he secured both first and second place finishes across the two days.
Last year, as he fought for his inaugural Formula E World Championship Drivers’ Title, Dennis also finished second and third across the double-header on his way to the top.
He might be seventh in the standings, but with his previous record in London and an attitude that won’t see him give up until it’s all over, Dennis is not to be underrated in these final two rounds of Season 10.
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Be sure to tune back each day to read more about each of the seven drivers who are fighting for the Drivers’ World Championship in London next week.