Jake Dennis returned to the Formula E podium in style at the Monaco E-Prix, claiming a hard-fought third place in a race marked by carnage, controversy, and tactical chaos.
The Andretti driver, who hadn’t seen the podium since Misano last season, had every reason to celebrate – even if he had to hold back.
“Yeah, I mean it’s been a minute,” Dennis told media including FastestFormulaNews post-race. “Honestly; felt like a win to be honest, especially with what happened in that race.“
What happened during the Monaco E-Prix?
With Taylor Barnard stunning the grid by taking pole for the first time, all eyes were on how long the young Brit could hold on. At lights out, Barnard held firm through Sainte Dévote, but the real drama would unfold later, in a classic Monte-Carlo war of attrition.
An early full course yellow for Antonio Felix da Costa’s crash, after he claimed to be pushed by Mortara, shuffled strategies up and down the pack. The pit boost phase, unique to Monaco’s E-Prix format, proved decisive. Dennis, who had qualified only seventh after a self-confessed mistake, was among the group to pit mid-race, but chaos struck.
“Really unfortunate with obviously the pit boost situation, losing quite a bit of time, losing two positions. But thankfully, I managed to pull it back through,” he explained.
He wasn’t alone in pit lane drama: Nico Müller, who led for a spell after a smart early stop, would later fade, helping Dennis reclaim ground.
“But ultimately took it thankfully to Nico [Müller]. You know, he helped me out a lot. I think he did have some other issues, but yeah, I don’t think that’ll be okay today if it wasn’t for his help.“
Issues came rolling in
Dennis’ drive wasn’t without incident. A close call under the tunnel involving Nyck de Vries saw him handed a five-second time penalty.
“It was either hit the back of him or jump off the brake and overspeed,” Dennis said. “But I was hoping they would be a bit more lenient with it.”
Still, with the help of Müller’s issues and his own raw pace, he clawed back to P3 at the flag; though it was a nervous wait to see if the penalty would drop him further down.
Ultimately, the result stood, and Dennis secured a much-needed podium as Rowland took the win ahead of de Vries.
“It was overall just a really good Formula E race from what it felt like inside the car anyway.”
With another race at the Monaco E-Prix looming just 24 hours later, Dennis was already focusing ahead:
“Yeah, I mean I think the celebrations would be a lot better if there wasn’t a race tomorrow. But ultimately, we’ve got to do the job tomorrow, and then we can celebrate. But… Yeah, just do it all again.”
If Sunday brings as much drama as Saturday, Formula E fans are in for another classic on the streets of Monte-Carlo.
