Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E
Jake Dennis is the 2022/23 Formula E World Champion, after finishing second behind Mitch Evans in the opening race of the London double-header.
Evans won the race – which was red-flagged twice – ahead of Dennis and Sébastian Buemi, whilst Nick Cassidy retired after colliding with his team-mate in shocking fashion.
As the potentially title-deciding race approached its start, it was Cassidy on pole ahead of Dennis, with the two championship rivals starting on the front row. Cassidy inherited pole position from Evans, who started in sixth following a five-place grid penalty.
For Dennis, his job was simple; score five more points than Cassidy and become World Champion. All Cassidy had to do was go all out to reduce his deficit to the British driver. The anticipation for the 15th and penultimate round of the season was electric, with a light show having taken place ahead of the lights going out.
When the five red lights went out, it was Cassidy who made a brilliant start. The New Zealander instantly pulled across the front of Dennis to block the Andretti driver, who was overtaken around the outside of Turn 1 by Cassidy’s team-mate Buemi.
Dennis instantly complained over the radio that he was “hit a lot” in the opening corners, with him having very much been the big loser at the start. It meant Envision boasted a 1-2, something which was huge for Cassidy in the Drivers’ Championship and even bigger for the team in the Constructors’.
Elsewhere, René Rast had a great start and got himself into fourth, whilst Evans made a spot and moved into fifth. Pascal Wehrlein also started well and went from eighth to six in the opening couple of laps. Evans was a man on a mission early on, as he overtook Rast for fourth on Lap 5.
At the front, and Envision were managing the race brilliantly, as Buemi held up the pack so Cassidy could activate his first Attack Mode. Further down the order, and Stoffel Vandoorne wiped out Edoardo Mortara at the opening corner, something the Belgian oddly wasn’t penalised for.
Lap 7/36 and Jaguar powertrains held a 1-2-3, as Evans dived down the inside of Dennis. A lap later, and Dennis lost further places, as he missed both activation loops as he tried to take his first Attack Mode. It meant he dropped to sixth for effectively no reason.
Dennis’ blunder allowed Cassidy to take his second Attack Mode, whilst Buemi activated his first. This promoted Evans into the lead on Lap 10. Robin Frijns and Jean-Éric Vergne became the first retirees of the race on the same lap as Evans took the lead.
A lap later, and Dennis found himself in fourth after pulling off a very risky move on Cassidy at the final corner, to the delight of Andretti. Envision played the team game once again though, as Buemi in third slowed down to back Dennis into Cassidy, allowing the Kiwi to fight Dennis back.
Cassidy regained fourth from his title rival after an incredible jostle in the opening few corners, to which Dennis was furious that he had no one helping him. The British driver was clearly wrong though, as on Lap 15 Cassidy tried to overtake his team-mate, only for Buemi to cause one of the most dramatic moments of the season.
Buemi failed to allow Cassidy past and decided to battle his team-mate, with the season two Champion having hit the New Zealander. The collision destroyed Cassidy’s front wing, dropping him to the back of the field. Cassidy was forced to pit for repairs whilst a Safety Car was needed to recover his front wing, which was scattered across the circuit.
The Safety Car did at least give Cassidy the chance to catch the back of the field; albeit, in last. Amongst all the drama, Evans still led the race ahead of Buemi and Rast. Dennis sat in fifth whilst Cassidy was in 18th.
As the Safety Car period came to an end on Lap 20, everything was seemingly going in Evans’ favour. Dennis yet again failed to activate his first Attack Mode, to which he insisted it wasn’t working. He again cut across the front of the activation loops, something the team informed him about. A lap later, on Lap 23, he successfully activated it.
It was an absolutely chaotic race, which Cassidy retired from a lap later to end his championship hopes. Fifth became fourth for Dennis as he overtook Wehrlein, whilst Evans, Buemi and Rast occupied the top three.
There were overtakes and action everywhere you looked, the complete opposite of what Dennis wanted. He was insisting over the radio that Wehrlein helps him, if Porsche wanted the British driver to help them on Sunday to claim the Constructors’ Championship.
Wehrlein clearly wasn’t listening, as he was all over the back of Dennis. The Andretti driver ultimately fell behind Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa on Lap 28, after opting to take his second Attack Mode. However, a second Safety Car was immediately summoned, after Sacha Fenestraz went into the barrier at Turn 16 at some speed.
Replays showed that he launched over the back of Dan Ticktum, in what was a heavy incident for the rookie, who was thankfully OK. Fenestraz’s crash gave the race a chance to settle for a second, with Evans still at the front.
So, as the drivers circulated behind the Safety Car, Evans led from Buemi, Rast, Da Costa and Dennis. Wehrlein tumbled to 13th after being forced into the wall by Rast prior to the Safety Car. The situation for Dennis to win the title was simple. If Evans remained in the lead, he had to finish at least in third to become World Champion.
A red flag was ultimately flown on Lap 32 due to severe damage to the tecpro barrier, following Fenestraz’s crash. The 17 remaining drivers all returned to the pits as a result. Interestingly, Rast’s front wing was changed by the team during the red flag stoppage, following his incident with Wehrlein.
Because of this, he was demoted to the back of the grid for the restart. Importantly, it promoted Dennis into fourth. The red flag stoppage meant that the race would conclude with a four-lap sprint, but from a rolling start rather than a standing start.
As the Safety Car peeled back into the pits, Evans led the field away with Buemi, Da Costa and Dennis behind. Crucially for Dennis, Evans and Buemi both had an Attack Mode left to take.
Evans and Buemi both took their final Attack Mode on Lap 33, with Evans having remained in the lead. Buemi, though, fell to fourth, thus promoting Dennis into the position he required to be World Champion.
Buemi oddly fell several seconds behind Dennis, which bunched up the remaining drivers behind him. His slow pace caused yet another red flag, as Norman Nato dived down the inside of the Envision driver at the penultimate corner. It caused a traffic jam at the corner, which blocked the circuit.
The opening race in London was quickly becoming the race which seemed like it’d never end, as the E-Prix finally got back underway once again 90 minutes after it started. It took the race director some time to sort out the order, as the leading three drivers completed an additional lap.
Once the field was sorted out, it was Evans who still sat at the front, ahead of Da Costa, Dennis, Buemi and Nato. The race concluded with a nerve-wracking two-lap sprint, with several drivers missing front wings following the penultimate corner pile-up.
It was again decided that Evans would restart the race with a rolling start, something he again did perfectly. The front four remained as they were, with Evans ahead of Da Costa, Dennis and Buemi. No overtakes were made on the entirety of the penultimate lap, putting Dennis on the brink of the title as they started the final lap.
Evans defended the lead from Da Costa, whilst Dennis still sat in third but narrowly ahead of Buemi. Third became second though, as it was announced that Da Costa had a three-minute penalty for a technical infringement.
Evans stayed in the lead for the entirety of the final lap to claim a brilliant victory; however, all eyes were on Dennis, the new Formula E World Champion. The Briton claimed second due to Da Costa’s huge penalty, with Buemi completing the podium.
Nato claimed fourth ahead of Sam Bird, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Mortara, Lucas Di Grassi, Ticktum and Maximilian Günther, who completed the top 10.
Keyword: London E-Prix: Dennis claims title as Evans wins chaotic red-flagged race