Jake Dennis: “It’s a sad end, but nevertheless we had an incredible season”

Jake Dennis felt it was a ‘shame’ for the title fight for the 2020-21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to end the way it did during the Berlin E-Prix, with three of the leading contenders crashing out early on.

The BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver was only four points behind Nyck de Vries in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the final race of the season at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, and Dennis had qualified ahead of his rival.

A start line crash between Edoardo Mortara and Mitch Evans – second and fourth in the standings respectively – ended their chances, while Dennis’ own race was over on the first lap following the restart after a problem with a rear axle pushed him into the wall at turn one.

Despite the disappointment of not being able to fight for the title, Dennis was pleased with his rookie campaign, which ended with the Briton only nine points behind de Vries in the standings.

“It’s a shame that the title fight ended like this – not only for me but for Mitch Evans and Edoardo Mortara as well,” said Dennis.  “Three title contenders out of the race early.

“It felt like there was a technical failure at the rear, but I don’t know yet what exactly happened. The rear tyres complete locked before I even had a chance to do anything.

“It’s a sad end, but nevertheless we had an incredible season and a want to thank everybody for working so hard and giving me the chance to fight for the world championship.”

“Many thanks to BMW for some great times in Formula E” – Maximilian Günther

Team-mate Maximilian Günther was unable to trouble the points scorers in Sunday’s race in Berlin, and the German ended the race down in fifteenth.  It meant he ended the year down in sixteenth place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Günther said the team gambled on a ‘bold strategy’ in Germany to try and gain ground from a lowly spot on the grid, but grip levels were not as good as he had hoped, and he was left training down the pack in BMW’s final race as a manufacturer entrant.

“Starting from eighteenth, our aim was of course to make up as much ground as possible,” said Günther. “We went for a bold strategy but unfortunately that did not pay off.

“I made some progress at the start and had a few good fights but we noticed early on that the level of grip wasn’t quite there, and that we were a bit off the pace. I gave it my all at the end but a points finish was just out range, sadly. I would have liked to have managed that to finish the season.

“Many thanks to BMW for some great times in Formula E. It was an honour for me to be part of it for two years. We enjoyed many great moments together as BMW i Andretti Motorsport and I will never forget them.”

Maximilian Günther finished outside the points in Berlin – Credit: BMW i Andretti Motorsport/FIA Formula E.