Rome E-Prix Race Review (Round 14)
Grand Slam Dennis takes control of the Championship with victory in Rome
Jake Dennis had a perfect day in Rome as he scored maximum points to put one hand on the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship trophy. Nissan scored their first Podium in 2 years as Norman Nato came home in P2 whilst Jaguar’s Sam Bird rounded out the Podium.
The Most Notable Moments
Jake Dennis got off the line well to lead into Turn 4 (the start and finish line were in different places in Rome) whilst Norman Nato managed to find his way past Nick Cassidy a little bit later round the lap. However, Cassidy was quickly able to re-overtake Nato before Mitch Evans followed through meaning the top 3 in the Drivers’ Championship were all running in the Podium places early on. However, that didn’t last as at Turn 7, Mitch Evans broke too late into the corner, clipped the back of Dennis’ car before he went flying over Cassidy’s Envision resulting in big damage for the pair of them whilst Dennis managed to get away unscathed in what could be the pivotal moment in this year’s Championship. The Safety Car was called out and when it came back into the pits, Jake Dennis led from Norman Nato, Sam Bird, Dan Ticktum, and Edoardo Mortara whilst Nick Cassidy was running right at the back of the field whilst Mitch Evans quickly came in to retire after it became clear that the damage was too much. On Lap 6, Nato went for an audacious move on Dennis which wasn’t the smartest decision and it resulted in the Nissan driver damaging his front wing. Elsewhere, Antonio Felix da Costa missed his breaking zone completely at Turn 7, resulting in the Portuguese driver going down the escape road and out of the points. Sam Bird was then trying to put pressure on Jake Dennis, but he just couldn’t get past him and after everyone had taken their second Attack Mode, Dennis led from Nato, Bird, and Mortara. It then became clear that everyone had just about enough energy to push flat out which meant Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis was able to build a gap and set the Fastest Lap whilst Jaguar’s Sam Bird just couldn’t find a way past the Nissan of Norman Nato who was doing a fantastic job to stay in P2 despite having a damaged wing. On the final lap of the race, Nick Cassidy and Andre Lotterer collided which resulted in Lotterer being put into the wall. It’s pretty clear that Cassidy’s frustrations had gotten the better of him because this was completely unnecessary.
Drivers who Impressed
After losing his Championship lead yesterday, Jake Dennis pulled out the day of his career as he took Pole position, set the Fastest Lap of the race, and led every lap of the race to take a crucial victory in his pursuit of becoming a World Champion. Norman Nato drove superbly well to take his second-ever Formula E podium whilst Sam Bird should be happy with third. Maserati MSG should certainly be delighted with P4 and P6 for Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Gunther respectively whilst Stoffel Vandoorne recovered from a tough Qualifying to finish 8th (he started 18th). Dan Ticktum also scored a couple of points for NIO whilst Nico Muller got himself another point in Rome with ABT CUPRA.
Drivers who Struggled
Whilst Pascal Wehrlein did a decently good job to recover from 15th to finish 7th, his poor Qualifying performance has pretty much put an end to his title challenge which looked so promising coming out of Diriyah. Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa was on for good points before he made a mistake whilst Nick Cassidy, who wasn’t at all at fault for his Championship-changing collision, let himself down by taking out Lotterer at the end of the race. Jean-Eric Vergne also had a tough day for DS Penske and as for Mitch Evans, his mistake today has potentially ruined two drivers' chances at winning the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship which is not a good thing at all.
Overall Race Results
Jake Dennis: 45:04.323
Norman Nato: +3.105
Sam Bird: +3.633
Edoardo Mortara: +4.357
Sebastian Buemi: +5.004
Maximilian Gunther: +5.403
Pascal Wehrlein: +11.586
Stoffel Vandoorne: +11.951
Dan Ticktum: +12.563
Nico Muller: +13.313
Jake Hughes: +14.507
Antonio Felix da Costa: +18.034
Rene Rast: +21.029
Nick Cassidy: +23.475
Jean-Eric Vergne: +1:26.623
Sacha Fenestraz: +1 Lap
Sergio Sette Camara: DNF
Andre Lotterer: DNF
Robin Frijns: DNF
Lucas di Grassi: DNF
Roberto Merhi: DNF
Mitch Evans: DNF
Drivers’ Standings:
Jake Dennis: 195pts
Nick Cassidy: 171pts
Mitch Evans: 151pts
Pascal Wehrlein: 146pts
Jean-Eric Vergne: 107pts
Teams’ Standings:
Envision Racing: 253pts
Tag Heuer Porsche: 239pts
Jaguar TCS Racing: 228pts
Avalanche Andretti: 218pts
DS Penske: 153pts
