Formula E: Andretti BMW’s Jake Dennis leads lights-to-flag in Valencia
Rookie Andretti BMW driver Jake Dennis, in only his 6th Formula E race, started from pole and led lights-to-flag to win the 2nd half of the Formula E doubleheader in Valencia, Spain Sunday.
With the clock ticking down, Dennis’ engineer radioed to tell the leader to lose a second through the final sector to ensure a flat-out final lap rather than an energy-conservative last lap and it worked to perfection.
Dennis slowed the pace further to allow the race timer to tick down to zero, leaving only a one-lap flat-out sprint to the flag and he opened the gap to 1.483s at the finish.
Venturi Racing driver Nato was handed a five-second time penalty meaning his second place across the line became 5th.
That penalty for Nato handed Andre Lotterer 2nd place for Porsche as Lynn managed to recover to third in the amended results.
Nissan e.dams driver Oliver Rowland capitalized on Nato’s penalty for fourth place.
The only retirement was for Mercedes racer Stoffel Vandoorne, who was squeezed into an inside tire wall in a dice with Nissan e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi in the fight for 11th.
Quotes
BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT
JAKE DENNIS (GBR)
“I am lost for words. The whole race inside the cockpit was incredibly technical. Pulling a gap at the right point to get the Attack Mode was so crucial. Everyone in the team did a great job. I’m really happy for everybody. We had such a tough start to the season, but today we turned it around. We are back in it again.”
TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM
ANDRÉ LOTTERER (DEU)
“You never know what to expect in Formula E. I thought it was going to be all about patience in terms of energy management and tires. We stayed calm and my engineer and team predicted the right moves from the very beginning, and we executed them well.”
MAHINDRA RACING
ALEX LYNN (GBR)
“This is my first Formula E podium and it feels great. Hats off to Jake as he led from the front. It was our plan to stay behind but you are at risk of someone making a mistake, especially when you are in a train. We got a bit unlucky, but we recovered nicely, so thanks to the team. It feels super sweet to be up here spraying the champagne!”
Race Results
Pos | St | No. | Driver | Team | Behind | |
1 | 1 | #27 | Jake | DENNIS | BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT | +0.000s |
2 | 5 | #36 | André | LOTTERER | TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM | +1.483 |
3 | 2 | #94 | Alex | LYNN | MAHINDRA RACING | +2.428 |
4 | 8 | #22 | Oliver | ROWLAND | NISSAN E.DAMS | +2.870 |
5 | 6 | #71 | Norman | NATO | ROKIT VENTURI RACING | +5.811 |
6 | 14 | #33 | René | RAST | AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER | +8.122 |
7 | 7 | #25 | Jean-Éric | VERGNE | DS TECHEETAH | +8.782 |
8 | 4 | #8 | Oliver | TURVEY | NIO 333 FE TEAM | +11.292 |
9 | 15 | #48 | Edoardo | MORTARA | ROKIT VENTURI RACING | +12.014 |
10 | 22 | #11 | Lucas | DI GRASSI | AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER | +12.405 |
11 | 9 | #23 | Sébastien | BUEMI | NISSAN E.DAMS | +13.295 |
12 | 24 | #28 | Maximilian | GUENTHER | BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT | +13.594 |
13 | 23 | #37 | Nick | CASSIDY | ENVISION VIRGIN RACING | +14.329 |
14 | 20 | #10 | Sam | BIRD | JAGUAR RACING | +15.151 |
15 | 19 | #20 | Mitch | EVANS | JAGUAR RACING | +17.213 |
16 | 18 | #17 | Nyck | DE VRIES | MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM | +18.444 |
17 | 3 | #88 | Tom | BLOMQVIST | NIO 333 FE TEAM | +18.885 |
18 | 13 | #99 | Pascal | WEHRLEIN | TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM | +19.274 |
19 | 16 | #4 | Robin | FRIJNS | ENVISION VIRGIN RACING | +19.756 |
20 | 21 | #6 | Nico | MUELLER | DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT | +21.069 |
21 | 10 | #7 | Sérgio | SETTE CÂMARA | DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT | +32.079 |
22 | 12 | #13 | António Félix | DA COSTA | DS TECHEETAH | +59.698 |
23 | 11 | #29 | Alexander | SIMS | MAHINDRA RACING | +1:04.277 |
0 | 17 | #5 | Stoffel | VANDOORNE | MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM | – |
Driver Standings
Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
1 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team | 57 |
2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team | 48 |
3 | Sam Bird | Jaguar Racing | 43 |
4 | Robin Frijns | Envision Virgin Racing | 43 |
5 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar Racing | 39 |
6 | René Rast | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 39 |
7 | Jean-Éric Vergne | DS TECHEETAH | 33 |
8 | Jake Dennis | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | 33 |
9 | Edoardo Mortara | ROKiT Venturi Racing Team | 32 |
10 | Pascal Wehrlein | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | 32 |
11 | Nico Müller | DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT | 30 |
12 | Oliver Rowland | Nissan e.dams | 27 |
13 | Alexander Sims | Mahindra Racing | 24 |
14 | António Félix da Costa | DS TECHEETAH | 24 |
15 | Alex Lynn | Mahindra Racing | 21 |
16 | André Lotterer | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team | 18 |
17 | Nick Cassidy | Envision Virgin Racing | 15 |
18 | Oliver Turvey | NIO 333 FE Team | 13 |
19 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 13 |
20 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT | 12 |
21 | Maximilian Günther | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | 12 |
22 | Sébastien Buemi | Nissan e.dams | 11 |
23 | Norman Nato | ROKiT Venturi Racing | 11 |
24 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO 333 FE Team | 5 |