BMW driver Jake Dennis wins Formula E race in Valencia on Sunday

Jake Dennis won the Sunday race of Formula E in Valencia. The Briton controlled the entire sixth race of the season and secured BMW's first victory since the Berlin E-Prix in August 2020. Andre Lotterer in the Porsche finished second, earning his first points of the season. Mahindra driver Alex Lynn completed the podium. Rene Rast (Audi) finished sixth after a strong performance.

Dennis was able to maintain his lead at the start. Norman Nato and Oliver Turvey each gained a position, and Jean-Eric Vergne also passed Andre Lotterer in the first lap. Pascal Wehrlein was pushed wide in a corner by Rene Rast. Otherwise, the first lap went off without incident. Alex Lynn put early pressure on Dennis, while his Mahindra teammate Alexander Sims received an early drive-through penalty for a technical violation and fell to the back of the field.

Nato overtook Tom Blomqvist to take fourth place. Dennis, however, could not pull away. Instead, the entire field lined up closely behind him. Lynn drove close behind his rival and benefited from the slipstream of the BMW with his energy targets. Thus, he had recovered about one percent energy after ten minutes. This was likely why he did not attempt an overtaking maneuver initially.

Attack-Mode brings movement into strategic waiting

After six laps, Vergne passed Blomqvist. Edo Mortara also made several places with two bold attacks and moved into the top 10. Turvey was the first driver in the leading group to take his first of the mandatory two Attack-Modes. A lap later, his direct rivals responded. Dennis maintained his lead despite passing through the Attack Zone, but Turvey moved between him and Lynn. The Mahindra driver reclaimed second place shortly afterward.

After 20 minutes, Turvey also had to let Vergne and Lotterer - both in Attack-Mode - pass. Antonio Felix da Costa had a hard battle with Rast and pushed the Audi driver into the gravel, causing him to lose his position. The incident was investigated by the race director. Lotterer overtook his former teammate Vergne and moved up to fourth place. At the front, it was the same scenario: Lynn was driving in Dennis's slipstream and saving energy, as his team instructed him via radio.

Meanwhile, Rast surged forward using his Attack-Mode and overtook not only Felix da Costa but also Turvey, Vergne, and Lotterer. However, the German used significantly more energy than the leading group. Then the shock for Mahindra: Nato bumped the rear of Lynn’s car, causing him to slide into the gravel and lose several positions. Rast also overtook Nato for third place and suddenly found himself fighting for a podium.

Collision between Buemi & Vandoorne

Then came the first major accident: Sebastien Buemi braked too late at Turn 9 and went wide. As he re-entered the track, he didn’t leave enough space for Stoffel Vandoorne, who hit the wall with his right front at Turn 10 and had to pit with his damaged Mercedes. That was the end for the Belgian, who until then had shown a strong recovery drive. Another setback for Felix da Costa: The reigning champion received a drive-through penalty for an error in Attack-Mode.

In the fight for the podium, Oliver Rowland put pressure ten minutes before the end and attacked Rast in Attack-Mode, who was running fourth, just behind Lotterer. Rast was able to fend off the attack at Turn 1. Behind, Lynn remained within striking distance of the leaders. Dennis still led the race with about a 1.5-second lead over Nato. The Venturi driver, however, received a deserved 5-second time penalty for the collision with Lynn, taking him out of the race for victory.

Five minutes before the end, Lynn overtook his countryman Rowland, who, like Rast, had used two percent more energy. Shortly afterward, Lynn also passed the Audi driver and moved up to fourth place. Rast also had to let Rowland pass.

Full throttle into the final lap

In the final lap, all the drivers went all out - energy no longer mattered. Lotterer tried to pass Nato to attack Dennis but finished third - due to Nato's penalty, he moved up to second. Lynn finished third ahead of Rowland, Nato, and Rast.

In the overall standings, none of the top 6 drivers scored points, so Nyck de Vries still leads the championship. Rast moved closer to the top in sixth place. With Lotterer's podium finish, no driver is left without points. Mercedes continues to lead the team standings, while BMW made a significant leap to seventh overall.

The next Formula E race is already on the program in two weeks, on May 8th. The electric series will then race for the first time on the slightly modified Formula 1 circuit in Monaco.