Dennis heads into the new Formula E season and the Hankook Mexico City E-Prix Round 1 off the back of his first world title and a series record 13 podiums in Season 9.
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He is clearly the man to beat, and after an off-season enjoying the spoils of victory back home in London, Dennis is focused on repeating the feat as he bids to become only the second driver in Formula E history – after Jean -Eric Vergne – to win two titles, back to back.
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“It’s been a long time since July now and I’ve had a very busy summer, celebrating with friends and family and enjoying our success,” the 28-year-old said. “I’m eager to get back into it now and I’m more focused than ever just try to repeat what we did.”
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The team was nowhere to be seen at the start of the GEN3 run after the Valencia test, but this time they know the car they have to work with – ominous given the level of dominance Dennis showed last time here at the season opener 9, as he reached one of the all-time winning margins.
“Last year, we were one of the slowest in testing, so we’re in a much better position now heading into the season than we were last year. It all depends on the progress that everyone around us has made.
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“We’ve certainly made some decent strides, obviously everyone else has. Ultimately, it comes down to who’s done the most. I’m looking forward to seeing where we land and hopefully we’re on the right side of it and still competitive. I’m not saying we’ll we’re the fastest car or something like that, but if we’re top two or three then we should start the year well.”
Season 10 will be closer than GEN3’s first outing last year
With the first season of GEN3 over, teams have been working throughout the off-season to optimize what they have and get the most out of their package – with hardware changes recognized and not allowed until GEN3 arrives .5.
There are limits to what can be done in software and systems engineering as well as set-up, but Dennis has no doubt that the pace will be up from the start in Season 10 and it will be closer and closer to the track and that DS has shown that it can compete with the Porsche-powered Andrettis and TAG Heuer Porsche team, as well as title winners Envision Racing and factory team Jaguar TCS Racing.
“The gaps will be smaller than they were last year. It will be tight and everyone will be closed. I think it will be the Jaguar and Porsche cars with DS-engined cars here and there fighting for race wins.
“DS always say it’s too bad, but the number of times the Stellantis cars have come through practice and won races – they dominated in Jakarta – I think they’re as quick as anything on the grid when they’re in the window. It’s obvious it seems a bit more difficult for them to hit the sweet spot. They’ve had the offseason to try to work on that and if they can do that more, they’ll be competitive.”
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The relationship between factory and privateer is strong among the Porsche-powered components, but the achievement of outdoing their factory sibling, for both Andretti and Envision, cannot be understated.
“It was a small victory as we had all eyes on the World Drivers’ Championship. Envision apparently did the same with Jaguar and it’s a great thing for the privateer teams.
“For our part, Porsche has been fully in tune with us and we are very excited to work together and continue to work together as much as we can. life easier!”