Jake Dennis played a huge part in the first race in London, but not quite in the way he had hoped beforehand. The Andretti driver was involved in multiple incidents, received three penalties, and was even shown a black-and-white flag.
After a somewhat disappointing qualifying session, Dennis kicked off the race from P10. The Brit knew he would have to make up a lot of positions if he wanted to stay in the title race, and ended up taking a lot of risks. Right after the start, he got involved in an incident with Robin Frijns. Dennis was able to continue the race with a 10-second penalty, but Frijns wasn’t as lucky. The Dutchman not only had to park his car, but was also brought to the hospital for a check-up.
He then received a 5-second penalty for causing a collision with DS Penske driver Jean-Éric Vergne. Not long after that, he got involved in another incident. This time, he made contact with Nick Cassidy, which left him with an additional 5-second penalty. By the time lap 21 rolled around, Dennis was shown the black-and-white flag for his driving standards.
“I mean… yeah, it was an eventful race”, Dennis said to Pit Debrief after the first race in London. “My race was done after the Robin penalty, which I don’t really agree with, to be honest. I haven’t seen the full onboard footage, but I felt like I was relatively alongside. My front left was near his front right, and he just squeezed me onto the kerb, and then we made contact.”
He continues: “Shame to get a ten second [penalty]. Then from that point on, it was just about trying to move forward, and to make up as many positions as we can. In the end, we actually finished fifth, but obviously the penalties took us out. But it was a really good race.”
Asked about the amount of risk he took, Dennis says: “I mean, there’s always a risk around here, but there were a lot of penalties. I think there were like four or five guys that got penalties. They were quite strict out there today, it is the first time they’ve been like that.” He emphasises that it’s a good development. “I think so. It’s the first time they’ve really penalised drivers, because this year they have been like super lenient. Obviously I came off worse, but it’s fine.”
