Formula E rookie still on track for the world title
LEICESTER DRIVER DENNIS LIES JOINT THIRD AHEAD OF FINAL TWO RACES IN BERLIN
LEICESTER driver Jake Dennis could cap an incredible debut season in Formula E by being crowned world champion this weekend.
The 26-year-old BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver lies joint third in the standings, 14 points behind the leader, as the world championship reaches an exciting climax with a double-header in Berlin.
Dennis says he has come a long way during his rookie season, with two victories, including the first race of the double-header London E-Prix weekend last month.
He hopes the momentum from winning in London will be carried into this weekend, where two races will determine the 2020-21 Formula E champion.
“It feels like it was just yesterday that I contested my first Formula E race in Diriyah,” Dennis told The Checkered Flag.com.
“We’ve come a long way since then, won two races in my rookie season and are right in the middle of the battle for the world championship.
“I’m really excited for Berlin and will give it my all to make use of the momentum and drive for the title.
“But we can already be very proud of what we have achieved as a team this season.
“It is a nice feeling going into the final races of the year knowing that you are joint third in the championship – so even if it all goes wrong this weekend, I will be pretty pleased with the season to be honest.”
Even if the world title proves to be out of his reach, Dennis looks nailed on for the Rookie of the Year prize.
Mercedes-EQ’s Dutchman Nyck de Vries currently holds a six-point lead at the top of the drivers’ championship, with the top six drivers separated by just 17 points. Although yet to win a race this season, Envision Virgin Racing lead the teams’ championship by seven points ahead of Mercedes-EQ.
The world’s premier all-electric racing series returns to the track it has raced on more than any other – the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.
The 2.4km custom-built track has hosted Formula E racing every year since the series’ inception in 2014, except in 2016 when the now defunct airport was used to house refugees, with the track moving to downtown Berlin.
In a first for Formula E, there will be two different configurations used over the weekend with Saturday’s race using the traditional anti-clockwise direction and Sunday switching to clockwise, with different strategies and race-defining moments expected on each day.
CAPITAL SUCCESS: Jake Dennis, also below, on his way to victory in the first London E-Prix on July 24
Tempelhof was also used to film scenes for The Hunger Games, and that analogy seems appropriate as the drivers prepare for a hotly contested championship finale.
Thousands of fans will return for the climax to the season with the E-Prix open to the general public for the first time since the start of the global pandemic.
■ The Berlin E-Prix will be broadcast live on Eurosport 2, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website at 1pm on Saturday and at 2pm on BBC Two on Sunday.