Jake Dennis became the first winner of the third era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, after a sensational performance at the Mexico City E-Prix. As well as claiming victory by almost eight seconds, the British driver claimed the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap, meaning he walked away from the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with twenty-six points.
Dennis was imperious in Mexico City and was looking like the odds-on favourite for pole position, after setting the fastest lap of the weekend during his Semi-Final duel against fellow Brit Jake Hughes. The Avalanche Andretti Formula E driver ended up losing the Final duel to Lucas Di Grassi as a result of severe damage to his front-wing, which he obtained after smashing into a bollard during his Quarter-Final duel. Given the damage he had, it was astonishing for Dennis to even make the Final, which he lost convincingly.
After being fired-up for the race, Dennis quickly settled into the first race of the season behind Di Grassi, who led the opening stages of the E-Prix. The British driver ultimately bided his time before lunging down the inside of the Brazilian at Turn Three following a second Safety Car, after Di Grassi made a huge error at the second corner. After making the move on the Brazilian driver, Dennis never looked back and built a substantial lead in rapid fashion, before a third Safety Car ruined all his hard work.
Dennis saw his lead disintegrate after Edoardo Mortara span into the tyre barrier at Turn One, leaving the British driver to restart the race following he Safety Car. The Andretti star did just that, and got the race back underway flawlessly. He astonishingly had a lead of over a second by the time he completed the first lap since restarting the race, before once again escaping out-of-sight. He eventually claimed an easy victory in what was a Porsche one-two – Andretti are a Porsche customer team for 2023 – with Pascal Wehrlein having fought through the top-five late on.
Speaking prior to the podium celebrations, Dennis praised the “sensational” Mexican fans and labelled the race as incredibly “physical”. The British driver was also quick to thank his team for all their efforts in just getting to Mexico City, with the turnaround from Gen2 to Gen3 having been exceptionally fast.
“The fans here have been sensational,” said Dennis. “In that final lap I could really hear them cheering. To start on the front row and then win by that much, with a Porsche one-two, so big shout out to my team.
“It was such a physical race. These cars are so hard to drive physically and with the lower grip as well, it makes everything more challenging. But it’s even more rewarding, especially when you win by five seconds. Time for some tequila with the team, an incredible race.
“My team and I have such a good relationship together. We just work so well. It didn’t look like it was happening in qualifying, we turned it round, made some small adjustments for the race and absolutely nailed it. Big kudos to my guys, this is a small repayment to them and hope to have more success because Saudi isn’t that far away.”