Highs and lows for Dennis as he loses ground in world championship
REIGNING world champion Jake Dennis experienced the highs and lows of Formula E during the doubleheader weekend in Berlin.
The Andretti driver failed to finish the first race on Saturday, but fought back to claim a stunning pole for Sunday’s second EPrix.
However, after several collisions between himself and Pascal Wehrlein, the British racer finished in fifth place to claim 13 points.
Former Bosworth Academy and Loughborough College student Dennis, 28, is now fourth in the drivers’ standings on 102 points, with first race winner Nick Cassidy leading the way on 140 points.
Cassidy, of Jaguar TCS Racing, staged a stunning comeback, going from 21st place midway through the race to secure victory after starting from ninth on the grid.
Dennis labelled the first Berlin E-Prix as “not his day” after he retired from the race following a lock-up in the final few laps.
Promoting himself to fifth at one point in the race, Dennis was forced to pit after a large lock up and needing to replace his front right tyre.
After the first pit stop, Dennis quickly returned to the pits again to
retire the car and put an end to what was a dismal day for Andretti.
But in a remarkable turnaround, Dennis claimed his first Formula E pole position of 2024 for Sunday’s second race.
However, a series of clashes with
Tag Heuer Porsche’s Wehrlein saw both men finish out of the podium places.
Dennis believes that the peloton style of racing seen in Formula E means all drivers were aggressive last weekend when attacking or defending position. “Everyone is aggressive right now, it’s real challenging to pinpoint anyone,” he said.
“The racing up the front is just really chaotic and there’s a lot of contact between everyone so it’s really difficult to blame anyone.
“If I could have got ahead of Pascal, I think I would have had a bit more of a chance to go at Nick [Cassidy] because it was a little bit cleaner between me and Nick but ultimately I couldn’t pass him, so fifth was the best we could come away with.”
António Félix da Costa clinched victory in the second Berlin EPrix, making him the only driver to have won three times at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.
His win also secured Porsche’s inaugural victory on home turf in Formula E.
The world championship now heads to China for a double-header in Shanghai on May 25 and 26.