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: 6^th 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: 8^th place, race result: 5^th place, points: 91, driver standings: 3^rd 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: 10^th place, race result: 8^th place, points: 66, driver standings: 14^th 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'.