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Diriyah is a circuit the drivers adore - it’s fast, flowing and sees the pilots pushed to their limits. Not only is it the only night race on the calendar, it can get dirty, dusty and can throw surprises at all of the 21 corners.
One man who had some promising results here last season was Andretti’s Jake Dennis. The Brit finished both races of the double-header in second place, with the TAG Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein winning both Diriyah events with the same Porsche powertrain.
PREVIEW: Formula E's Diriyah double-header, Rounds 2 & 3 of Season 10
“Diriyah is always a special event,” Dennis began. “It's probably one of the drivers' favourite circuits. The circuit offers the opportunity for the driver to make a difference, particularly through the narrow and winding mountain section.
“You have to push the car to the limit which comes down to risk versus reward.”
Although Dennis managed to win the Mexico City E-Prix in Season 9, he could only manage ninth this time around in Season 10. Determined to bounce back and do better in Diriyah, the 2022/23 Formula E World Champion looked ahead to this weekend.
“Ultimately, we need to leave after Saturday (Round 3) with some good points on the board after a somewhat difficult race in Mexico City. I’m confident that both Norman and I can achieve a top result and I’m super excited to get going and get the job done.”
With Dennis and Norman Nato finishing in ninth and tenth respectively in Mexico City, the team will be hoping for bigger and better results this weekend in Diriyah.
"Mexico City opened Season 10 just two weeks ago and the Andretti Formula E team brought both cars home in the points, though we were slightly disappointed with the final classification by our own high standards,” Roger Griffiths, Team Principal at Andretti said.
“The next two races will take place within the historic town walls of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, where the team has seen considerable success in past years with two wins, five podiums and three pole positions.”
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Andretti and BMW won their first race here in 2018 when it was the Ad Diriyah E-Prix with Antonio Felix da Costa. A year later Alexander Sims stormed to victory for the team, achieving the Julius Baer Pole Position over both races that weekend.
“The circuit is now well established on the Formula E calendar as a pair of unique night races and has quickly become a series favourite,” Griffiths continued.
“Heading into the next two rounds of the Championship, I feel like I have grasped a much better understanding of the package,” Norman Nato concluded. In his first race for the team he managed to pick up a single championship point. “It was important to take the chequered flag in Mexico City in order to get some valuable time in the car. We’ll be aiming for a much better result this weekend, but it was still good to get a baseline so that we can maximise our setup for the next two races in Saudi Arabia. We’re fast and certainly hungry for more than what we managed to achieve in Mexico, so it’s all about putting it all together now.”