Dennis dazzles as Formula E lights up London

Monday 01 August 2022

Jake Dennis, a Motorsport UK Academy graduate, lit up the London E-Prix over the weekend, taking a race victory and a second place in Rounds 13 and 14.

In front of the home crowd at London’s ExCeL, the Avalanche Andretti took pole position in both rounds, mastering London’s unique indoor/outdoor track.

Round 13

Starting on pole, Dennis strode to a dominant lights-to-flag win to make it two wins in two years on home turf.

Dennis was able to cover off the early advances of standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne, with the Mercedes-EQ driver content to play it cool to come home second for a 17th Formula E podium, with his closest championship rivals marooned down the pack.

“I’m over the moon with how we won that race the way we did, it was very special, said the 27-year-old. “The car was incredible and just a little bit of strategy from my side and the team at the start when Nyck (de Vries) was running third made the difference. I felt Nyck was going to try and help Stoffel a bit so we pushed when we needed to and got the job done.

“That experience after the chequered flag with the British fans in there was something else.

“It was one of the best races of my life. With all the lights and the fans, I never expected anything like this – this will be a memory for a lifetime.”

Round 14

Dennis took his second pole in as many days but was overcome by Lucas di Grassi, who took his maiden win for ROKiT Venturi Racing, over a hard-fought, strategic 38-lap battle.

Di Grassi emerged through his last of three mandatory ATTACK MODE activations with enough in-hand to ensure he’d make it by Dennis when the Brit jumped for his last 30kW boost. The Brazilian then stretched his advantage over the final few laps and into TAG Heuer Added Time to take the chequered flag first.

Dennis was made to settle for second to achieve a huge haul of points for himself and Avalanche Andretti across both rounds.

Nyck de Vries came home third, while his Mercedes-EQ teammate,- standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne – clambered to fourth from 13th on the grid

Change. Accelerated. Live.

To mark Formula E’s commitment to using the power of electric racing to help drive forward sustainable solutions, the series held a dedicated summit – titled Change. Accelerated. Live. Here, some of the sports’ most well-recognised figures discussed and debated how the unique influence of motorsport can help pioneer sustainable innovation and contribute toward sustainable human progress.

David Richards CBE, Chair of Motorsport UK, participated in a panel session, titled Accelerating the Transfer of Technology: Learnings from the Motorsport Laboratory of Innovation. The Motorsport UK Chair was joined by team principals Ian James (Team Principal, Mercedes EQ Formula E Team) and Thomas Chevaucher (DS TECHEETAH Team Principal). The session also featured Robert Reid, the FiA’s Deputy President for Sport, and Mario Almondo, General Manager of Performance at Brembo.

The Motorsport UK Chair and the panel explored the way motorsport technology translates into the wider engineering industry. The culture of motorsport accelerates development, promoting a culture that harnesses development and activities in a way that conventional engineering, with its cautious and methodical approach, may not.

Motorsport is at the forefront and the panel widely praised the developments the community continues to make.

Looking ahead to 2023

London’s ExCeL will host the 2023 Formula E season finale on 29 and 30 July. The planned schedule for next season currently features 18 races between January and July 2023 on street circuits in 13 world cities, beating the previous record of 16 races in 10 different cities this season. The venue will once again utilise the indoor/outdoor circuit.