Jake Dennis still in with a chance of claiming world title after finishing fifth in Saturday’s race in Berlin.

Berlin. The season finale in the ABB FIA Formula E World
Championship is set to be a thriller – with Jake Dennis (GBR)
playing a leading role. The BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver
finished fifth in Saturday’s race at the BMW i Berlin E-Prix
presented by CBMM Niobium (GER), moving up to third in the drivers’
standings. He is just four points away from first place in the
battle for the world title. Maximilian Günther (GER) crossed the
line in eighth place to score more crucial points for the team
championship. BMW i Andretti Motorsport is in sixth position with
157 points, just 14 points behind the leader.

 

Dennis had dominated both practice sessions on Friday afternoon and
Saturday morning, recording the best time in each. He did not manage
to reach Super Pole from group one in qualifying, but claimed eighth
place on the grid and a good start position. Günther began the race in
tenth place.

 

Both BMW i Andretti Motorsport drivers dropped back a bit at the
start, before working their way back into the points with some
efficient driving and smart use of Attack Mode. Dennis was battling
for third place right to the end and was delighted to have finished
fifth, scoring ten points. Victory went to Lucas di Grassi (BRA, Audi).

 

The 15th and final race of the season is on Sunday at the same
location. It will take place on the reversed Berlin-Tempelhof circuit
and starts at 15:30 CEST.

 

Reactions to Race 14 in Berlin.

 

Roger Griffiths (BMW i Andretti Motorsport Team Principal,
team standings: 6th place):

“The Berlin event started really well for us with Jake showing very
strong pace in both practice sessions. Unfortunately he got caught up
a little bit on his flying qualifying lap, which cost him one and a
half tenths and a place in the Super Pole shootout. Still we had solid
start positions with both drivers. We hung in there in the race, made
clever use of energy, tyres and Attack Mode. Both drivers made good
passes when they needed to and defended well when they needed to. The
outcome for Jake is third place in the championship. He has everything
to play for tomorrow. Maximilian scored important points for the team.
Looking at how close it is in the standings, I’m really excited for
tomorrow and confident we can have a strong finish to the season.”

 

Jake Dennis (#27 BMW iFE.21, starting position: 8th
place, race result: 5th place, points: 91, driver
standings: 3rd place):

“My aim before the race was to finish fifth but then we had a really
bad start and lost some positions. After that we came back strong and
the car behaved very well. At the end we didn’t quite have the pace
anymore to fight for the podium to be honest. Being a rookie entering
the final race of the season just four points behind the leader sounds
really good. To be fair it’s just incredible. I’m so proud if what we
have done here at BMW i Andretti Motorsport. I’ll just enjoy the race
tomorrow and have no pressure. If I fail, we still had an amazing
season together. If I do good, I might win the championship. I’m excited.”

 

Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.21, starting position:
10th place, race result: 8th place, points:
66, driver standings: 14th place):

“Unfortunately, I damaged the nose of my car in the first corner
after the start which made me lose some ground. However, we got our
race set up well and had energy and tyre wear under control. In the
end, eighth place was the best we could have achieved I think. Getting
both cars into the points was very important for the team. Everything
is possible tomorrow and I am sure it will be a great day for us.”

 

The FANBOOST vote.

FANBOOST gives Formula E fans the opportunity to vote for their
favourite driver and award them an extra boost of power during the
race. The five drivers with the most FANBOOST votes receive an extra
100 kJ of power, which they can make use of during a brief time frame
in the second half of the race. Fans can vote for their favourite
driver in the four days prior to, and leading up to 15 minutes into,
each race. Each fan can vote once per day. There are two ways to vote:
Online at https://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/
or via the official Formula E App.

 

The BMW Group Safety Cars.

The BMW Group has been represented in the ABB FIA Formula E
World Championship as ‘Official Vehicle Partner’ since the very
beginning and will continue to provide the fleet of safety cars for
season 7 of the fully-electric racing series. Alongside the BMW i8
Roadster Safety Car (fuel consumption (combined): 2.0 l /100 km;
energy use (combined): 14.5 kWh /100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 46
g/km)*, which has been modified specially for racing use, the MINI
Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW will be appearing as a new safety
car from the Rome E-Prix onwards. The development of the car based on
the new MINI Cooper SE represents a hitherto unique collaboration
between MINI Design, BMW Motorsport, the FIA and Formula E. The fleet
also includes the BMW i3s (Power consumption in kWh/100: 14.6-14.0
(NEDC); 16.6-16.3 (WLTP), electric range in km: 278-283 (WLTP))* as
‘Race Director Car’ and the BMW iX3 (Power consumption in kWh/100:
17.8-17.5 (NEDC); 19.0-18.6 (WLTP), electric range in km: 450-458
(WLTP))* in its roles as ‘Medical Car’ and ‘Rescue Car’.