The first impressions of Formula E's brave new era
OPINION: Formula E kicked off its Gen3 era at Mexico City with keen anticipation - and anxiety - surrounding its new, more powerful cars. Here's how the new machinery got on in its first race, and what could be open to improvement later down the line
The Hankook tyres wailed like banshees as the drivers tortured the last ounce of grip from them through the medium-speed corners. And, through the Peraltada, they were on a knife-edge; Rene Rast and Edoardo Mortara went beyond the limits in practice as the cars bucked under load and threw them into the wall.
Others corralled the new Formula E cars into complying with their inputs. In the qualifying semi-final shootout between Jakes Dennis and Hughes, the latter driver began to feel the rear of his Nissan-powered McLaren stepping out through the 180-degree Peraltada. It should have been a one-way ticket to the outside wall, but Hughes managed to put enough steering in to coax his car through the corner.
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Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.
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