Jake Dennis might have left Berlin without any trophies – the first time he’s done so in a doubleheader event this season – but he says he leaves the German capital “a lot more c onfident” after his Andretti Formula E team completed a remarkable turnaround mid-event.
Dennis and teammate Norman Nato lanquished at the bottom of the qualifying standings on Saturday, and the Brit said he felt like he went into Sunday “with a point to prove” – and he duly rocketed to pole position for the second race of the weekend on Sunday.
“It was a lot of work, especially for the engineers and mechanics, to turn the car upside down and give me a car that was capable of pole – I couldn’t tell you all the changes, even I don’t know. There was a lot,” he told RACER. “We manged to fix most of our issues and had a really good day in terms of performance, it was just that end result wasn’t what we wanted.
“But I’m leaving here a lot more confident rather than maybe getting a podium but again qualifying last, I leave with a bit of pace back in us over one lap and I’m looking forward to rest of the year.”
Dennis ultimately finished Sunday’s race fifth, a bid to charge further being dented by a brace of safety car periods that allowed those around him to save energy and take away to need to conserve in-race, which naturally leads to an abundance of overtaking opportunities – something Dennis has played to perfection all season.
“We’re always normally quite good at these races, especially ones where it’s a bit more flowing,” he said. “When it’s in between walls like Berlin, you’re very much stuck because it’s like two-by-two – you can’t even be crafty with it, you’re just in trains and if you’re not in the right lane and the right time, you’re screwed.