Formula E

"No 2 perspectives" - Jake Dennis apologizes to Antonio Felix da Costa after Berlin collision

Svenja König

Svenja König

Jamie Sheldrick / Spacesuit Media

With about ten laps to go in Saturday's Formula E race in Berlin, brand colleagues Jake Dennis (Andretti) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) had good prospects of finishing in the top 6. After a problem braking in turn 6, the Briton slid into the Porsche driver and ultimately took both cars out of the race. Dennis took the blame after the race, and Felix da Costa also said, "There are no two perspectives there." At Andretti, the analysis surrounding the incident began afterwards.

The actual duel had not happened at all between Jake Dennis and Antonio Felix da Costa. Instead, the Briton had tried to overtake Maximilian Günther, who was driving in front of him. "It was a difficult battle, especially with Max, and I was frustrated," Dennis recalled. "I knew I had to pass on this lap or the next to win. I didn't have to make the overtaking maneuver and in hindsight I wish I had stayed behind. But I had the most energy of anyone, so it wouldn't have made sense to stay behind."

When braking into turn 6, it initially looked as if Dennis might pass the German on the inside. However, instead of braking later and getting back in front of Günther, Dennis spun and roared into the front axle of Felix da Costa's Porsche. "That was very bizarre," Dennis told 'e-formula.news' after the race. "We need to analyze what happened there on the brakes and why I spun when the emergency braking system kicked in."

After the incident, Dennis also radioed that Günther had steered in very late. He did not question the blame for the collision, however: "I deserve the penalty (of five seconds)," Dennis said. "Yes, Max got off the throttle very early, but because in Formula E you roll for a very long time before braking, you then still have time to move. That's what he did, but it was too late. By then I had already decided what I was going to do."

"He apologized, and I respect that"

The one to suffer was Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa. The latter had worked his way up from 18th on the grid to fourth position in the course of the race and, like Dennis, was fighting for the podium. His opinion on this at the 'e-Formel.de' microphone was clear: "There are no two perspectives on this. I went through the corner like I do on every other lap, and a car just ran into my front axle."

There is no bad blood between the two brand colleagues, even if Felix da Costa was crestfallen after the race: "We were fighting for the podium and I lost twelve or 13 points. He apologized, and I respect that. In Portugal we have a saying: you don't apologize, you try to avoid it. But still, mistakes are human."

Felix da Costa calls for more attention: "There you just have to look ahead"

After the race, however, the Porsche driver criticized not only Jake Dennis, but the many collisions in general: "There were a lot of cars very close together - on a track where you hit each other in almost every corner. That's where you have to stay alert and just look ahead. I had the feeling that not all people were doing that."

After an otherwise strong race, the Portuguese will "wake up happy anyway", because Sunday is the second day of racing in Tempelhof on the program. Race start is at 15:00.

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