For our latest installment of the series about Formula E drivers and teams, let’s talk about Avalanche Andretti, who has moved up to fourth place in the constructors standings after scoring a podium in Monaco.
Photo credit: Formula E Media Bank / Sam Bloxham
The American team joined the electric championship in its inaugural season of 2014/2015 using Renault powertrains, achieving multiple podiums with the French engines, scoring the second place in the first ever Formula E race with Franck Montaigny.
They moved on to build a solid partnership with BMW, which lasted until the 2021-2022 season. During the collaboration with the German household name, Andretti achieved its first race win with Antonio Felix Da Costa, obtained on the first round in Diriyah of his third year with the team.
In the same 2018-2019 season the American team achieved its best overall result as well, tied with the year after, scoring a P5 in the constructor’s standings. Among the team’s other former drivers, it’s important to mention race winners Alexander Sims, who won in Diriyah, and three times race winner Max Günther.
Since the beginning of Gen3 and BMW exiting the sport, Porsche has been providing Andretti’s team with engines, with positive results as of now considering that the team is in the fight for its best ever result in Formula E.
Jake Dennis
Dennis’s first driving successes begin in 2012, when he won the Formula Renault NEC title, testing his racing abilities in a number of different driving championships: he has achieved podiums in European Formula 3 and wins in the GP3 class before competing in endurance for Audi and Aston Martin, including the 2016 24h of Le Mans.
Since 2018 he has been a testing and simulator driver for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1, and has also had the opportunity to test Indycar machinery in 2022.
The British driver is in its third year with Avalanche Andretti and in Formula E. His first year with the American team was pretty impressive, as he ended his rookie season third in the drivers standings. Highlights of the strong year were definitely his first win in Valencia and winning the race taking place in his home country, the London E-Prix. Dennis won again in London in the year after, with a new teammate as Oliver Askew replaced Maxi Günther. In the same season he also scored three podiums, for a total of 126 points.
Season 2022-2023 has been his best one so far, winning the inaugural Mexican round and scoring four other podiums, but there have also been difficult moments as he didn’t manage to score in four rounds.
Photo credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
Andre Lotterer
The very talented German driver’s career has been very long and successful, with many championship and important races won in a number of different motorsport championships. His first junior championship wins in Formula BMW allowed him to be noticed and signed as test driver for Jaguar Racing in Formula 1, while he moved to Japan to compete in Super Formula and Super GT.
In the same year of 2009, Lotterer also made his 24h of Le Mans debut with Audi machinery. Due to his strong performance, he was signed by the official Audi team the year after, achieving P2. Between 2011 and 2014 he won three times the famous endurance race, as well as many other WEC rounds, before moving to Porsche. In 2014 the German driver made his Formula 1 debut for Caterham, but was forced to retire on the first lap.
Lotterer debuted in Formula E with Techeetah in 2017, alongside JEV, who will go on to become one of his dearest friends. He scored two podiums in his rookie season, and other two in his second season with the team. For the 2019-2020 season he was signed by Porsche, securing other two podiums with the German team, including a P2 on the opening round of Diriyah. The German driver was confirmed by Porsche for the following two years, scoring two podiums while partnering with Pascal Wehrlein. For the first season of Gen3 cars he partnered with Jake Dennis for the Avalanche Andretti team, newly motorized by Porsche, with a best seasonal result of P4.
Photo credit: Formula E Media Bank / Sam Bloxham
After half of the season, Andretti doesn’t want to give up the championship title without a proper fight, which we admire. Can they rise up again after being dethroned from the Top 3 by Jaguar? We’re curious to know what you think – what’s your opinion on the drivers? And if you’re a fan – what are your favorite fun facts about them? We’re looking forward to reading the comments.
For now – enjoy the race, wherever you are ✨
