Reigning Formula E champion Jake Dennis takes first win of the season in Diriyah, Mitch Evans falls to fifth

Andretti’s Jake Dennis exhibited a racing masterclass in Diriyah and stormed to his first win of the 2024 season.

The reigning world champion timed his attack modes to perfection to sneak past Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and was up and away from there, winning with the second largest margin in Formula E history.

“We had a difficult start to the season, turned it around, and came back and I got my biggest win in Formula E,” Dennis said post-race.

“What a race; incredible strategy and the last eight or nine laps I could really give it everything and create a 13-second lead. These days don’t come very often and I get to share it with [my team] tonight and try to do it again tomorrow.

“There was a little bit of debate between me and the team about when we should take [the attack mode], but, ultimately, we got it right and that was the main thing. It’s obviously so difficult to overtake here. Mitch [Evans] tried a do-or-die move and, thankfully, that got dust on his tyres and the next three or four laps he degraded quite quickly. That allowed me to get away and have an easy ride-in.

“But what an enjoyment, racing here in Saudi under the lights and just enjoying every lap – it was so much fun. The track really started to grip up in the end and we could push a couple of laps really hard.”

Vergne had bagged a record-equalling 17th career pole in qualifying earlier on the day and held on to the position at lights out.

Behind, Sergio Sette Camara (ERT) had an excellent start from fourth and challenged Evans into Turn 1. However, the Kiwi prevailed and Sergio Camara dropped into fourth behind Dennis.

Vergne was first to head into attack mode and dropped into third initially but soon moved up a place again when Evans followed suit. Dennis stayed out the longest of the three and almost managed to hold on to the lead when he finally went for the wider lap too, leaving the corner side by side with Vergne.

The Frenchman stuck to his tactic of using his attack modes early and triggered his second the moment the first expired. He fell behind Evans again and with the duo tussling, Dennis was able to create a gap.

This time round, Dennis managed to head into attack mode and rejoin the racing line still in the lead. Behind, Evans surrendered to Vergne’s attacks and triggered his second attack mode.

The top trio pulled away and with all of them having used up their attack modes, it was a straight racing shoot-out.

Evans had the early pace and claimed Vergne with a nice manoeuvre through Turn 17 on Lap 12. Vergne tried to return the favour on the cut-back going into the next lap, but there was no way past the Kiwi.

Indeed, Evans soon attacked for the lead but was in too deep and couldn’t make it stick. Dennis stayed in front while Evans now fell back into the clutches of Vergne.

It didn’t take long for Vergne to strike. Even though Evans was hogging the defensive line, the Frenchman found a way past and pushed hard to try reel Dennis back in.

However, the Andretti driver was up and away already and there was no catching him from there.

Behind Vergne, the TCS Jaguars of Evans and Nick Cassidy engaged in some team-internal strategy calls. The duo kept swapping positions, allowing Cassidy to move ahead of his teammate and gain a gap before going wide for his attack modes.

Things worked out nicely with Cassidy eventually triggering his last attack mode and rejoining the racing line in fourth, behind Evans and ahead of a charging Sam Bird (Neom McLaren).

They were increasingly catching Vergne towards the end of the race and Evans attacked on the last lap. Diving down the inside, he couldn’t stop his Jaguar though and Vergne held on to the position.

“Usually, starting on pole you want to win the race and any other place is a disappointment. But today I’m very happy with the second place,” the Frenchman admitted. “The pace we had in the race was clearly not the one Jake [Dennis] showed with his car and well done to him, he’s been flying during this race.

“So that’s honestly the best I could have done today and looking back to last year where I was out of the points in both races here in Diriyah, I think we made a huge step forward and I’m very happy that the work is paying off. We’re catching up; we’re not quite there yet, but we’re going to be there and, hopefully, some race we’ll be able to beat them.

“But right now I’m very happy with the second place, to get the points in the championship, and to improve some things on the cars and maybe we’ll fight for wins later on.”

Evans indeed didn’t only lose out on second, his failed overtake meant he dropped down the order into fifth. Cassidy inherited the podium spot with Bird in fourth.

“I’m really lucky I had a really fast car today,” Cassidy commented. “My team were amazing. I made a bit of a wrong choice in qualifying, but how they support us in the race and qualifying was really mega, so this one is for them.”

Norman Nato (Andretti) was sixth ahead of Max Gunther (Maserati MSG Racing) while championship leader Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) could never recover from a poor start in eighth.

Sette Camara had looked in a good spot for large parts of the race but in the end couldn’t make it count and crossed the line in ninth. Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) rounded out the top 10.

With the second largest win in Formula E history to boast, there is no question about the driver of the day in this race.

Dennis played his attack modes to perfection to gain the lead early on and made no mistake from there. In the end, he even still had the capacity to set fastest laps for fun.

After a difficult season opener in Mexico, the defending champion is right back on track.

1/37: VERGNE HOLDS LEAD – Vergne gets away from pole and holds onto the position into Turn 1. Sette Camara has an excellent start from fourth and challenges Evans, but the Kiwi holds firm and Sette-Camara drops back behind Dennis. Wehrlein meanwhile had a dreadful start from sixth, falling down into ninth.

7/37: VERGNE BACK IN ATTACK – Interesting tactic from Vergne who already heads back into attack mode. He falls into third behind Evans.

8/37: DENNIS IN THE LEAD – That worked out beautifully for Dennis. He created a gap on track with Evans and Vergne challenging each other behind and as he heads into his second attack mode, he manages to stay in front.

13/37: EVANS TAKES SECOND – Nicely done by Evans who attacks Vergne for second coming out of Turn 17. The Frenchman tries to return the favour on the cut-back going onto the next lap, but Evans stands firm.

14/37: EVANS GOES FOR P1, DENNIS PREVAILS – Evans is going for the lead with an attempted overtake on Dennis. However, he is in too deep and can’t make the move stick. Instead, Evans falls into Vergne’s clutches but can keep the Frenchman behind him.

16/37: VERGNE INTO SECOND – Evans is on the defensive line, but Vergne attacks fiercely and manages to go past.

33/37: CASSIDY MAINTAINS FOURTH – That worked out nicely for Cassidy who grinds out a gap before heading into attack mode. He manages to stay ahead of Bird.

35/37: NO TROUBLE FOR DENNIS – Staying out of trouble, Dennis is comfortable out front. He now also sets the fastest lap.

37/37: DENNIS WINS IN DIRIYAH – No problem for Dennis who brings P1 home with the fastest lap. Behind, it’s disaster for Evans who attacks Vergne for P2 but can’t make it stick and instead falls down into fifth. Vergne maintains second ahead of Cassidy.