Jake Dennis gives honest Formula E title verdict as championship defence begins

13 January 2024 , 08:00

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Jake Dennis became Britain's first Formula E champion last year (Image: PA)

Jake Dennis heads into the new Formula E season with history against him - and a target on his back.

For the first time, he begins a campaign as the defending champion. The 28-year-old is also the first British driver ever to be crowned champion of the all-electric racing series - and he secured that crown in front of a delighted home crowd at the London E-Prix last July.

Ever since, the focus has been on what he hopes will be a successful title defence. Only one man in the series' history has ever managed it - Jean-Eric Vergne went back-to-back in 2018 and '19 - but Dennis sees no reason why he cannot repeat that feat.

"It's difficult, like any championship, but in Formula E especially because everything is generally super close between the drivers and between the teams," he told Mirror Sport. "There are a lot of stock parts so it's hard to make a difference.

"Hard work goes a long way, good personnel inside the team and just effort should put us in good stead. Hopefully, we can have a strong and competitive powertrain - there's no reason why we won't. The hardware generally stays the same so I think it will be relatively similar in the battles between the top teams.

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"But you never know, and the software has moved on a lot, so I'm looking forward to the championship. I know I've got a good car, so I think whenever you've got a good car underneath you, you're always eager to get racing."

Other duties have called in the time between FE seasons. Dennis remains a Red Bull development driver and, in November, got the chance to take part in a live Formula 1 session for the first time when he was given the keys to Max Verstappen's all-conquering RB19 for first practice in Abu Dhabi.

He has also been doing important work behind the scenes on the simulator to help guide the team's development of their next fearsome F1 machine. But one eye has also been kept on his next FE challenge and, now he has committed his future to the Avalanche Andretti team, Dennis is glad the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix is finally here.

He said: "It's definitely different - I've never experienced [being the defending champion] before so there are different feelings from how I went into Mexico last season. But it's welcome. I'm definitely quite relaxed and surprised by how quickly the new season has come up - it feels like it was only a month ago that we were racing in London, not five or whatever it's been.

"I'm eager to get going. I'm excited to have the number one on my car and to go there and as the reigning champion. There's a target on our back but, nevertheless, I'm just excited. I think everyone in the team and in the championship is just eager to get going now."

Daniel Moxon