The Race last week outlined five Formula E drivers that are essentially beholden to Antonio Felix da Costa and Porsche’s ongoing discussions about their future together.
But there is also one driver who kind of sits independently of that, safe in a good, stable seat and with options that not many outside his orbit are particularly aware of.
That person is 2023 world champion Jake Dennis, a driver who has made the Andretti team his own since he was given the chance to shine almost five years ago now. Since that time, he’s taken a title, six E-Prix wins and has blown away four different team-mates to varying degrees over the last five seasons.
Dennis has a year left on his contract with Andretti. That means most people, especially the Andretti team itself, expect him to race for them next season. He should do that, but then he also might not.
This isn’t exclusively down to the da Costa and Porsche situation although it is, like pretty much everything in the paddock, partly responsible.
Dennis is most definitely on Jaguar’s radar right now and has been for some time. But The Race has also learned that scope for a possible move to make an all-British line-up with Oliver Rowland at Nissan is also a possibility.
Quite how a switch would happen a year ahead of his Andretti deal expiring is unclear. But it could include some kind of performance clause, as is normal in any given contract at this level of motorsport.
Whether that is the case or not, Dennis has shown some signs of being a driver ready to jump from being a high-performing ace with a top customer team to a fully-fledged manufacturer star.
The wider picture is that the Gen4 test and development phase will kick in later this year, and with probably a diminished chance of the early Gen3 customer team heroics amid teams learning the ropes that contributed to his 2023 title, Dennis and his team might well view now as just the right time for a career transition.
Andretti team boss Roger Griffiths has been vocal in his questioning of the rules that limit customer team testing, and Dennis is known to find it difficult as he and his car are largely on the backfoot heading into race weekends.
Griffiths also told The Race in Berlin earlier this month that “there are for sure options [on Dennis] into Gen4".
But he also covered off the possibility that Dennis may want to taste manufacturer life at some stage too.
“I mean, do I want a driver that's not committed to me? Probably not, and also do I want to hold a driver back from a different opportunity?" said Griffiths. "Maybe if a manufacturer came calling, then you've got to look at it again. But right now, Jake's 100% committed to us.”
Andretti is very likely to race with Nissan for the Gen4 era as a customer team. With Rowland ensconced at Nissan for several more seasons to come, Dennis may well take the view of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ and choose to fly the Andretti nest.
But could he sensationally do it even earlier than 2026?
A shock early switch?
An opportunity is probably available at Nissan for next season alongside his good friend and recently crowned champion Rowland.
Dennis is well remunerated at Andretti, but he would likely get at least close to his earning figure alongside Rowland at Nissan. The sporting advantage, though, may well be worth any potential financial shortfall.
Nissan, along with Porsche, has been the clear leader this campaign and will likely be next as well. It is also far advanced in its Gen4 programme, which it conducts with group sibling Alpine.
But it’s not all rosy. It must replace Jaguar-bound technical leader Theophile Gouzin as soon as possible. Rowland is also pushing to strengthen in all areas so that this period of success can be consolidated. While Rowland doesn’t make those calls, his opinion is sought and considered.
When it comes to a team-mate, one who can contribute big points will be vital in 2026. With the demise of McLaren, Nissan doesn’t have the luxury of a customer team next season, so is highly unlikely to feature in the manufacturers' battle as it has this season.
Therefore, the teams' title battle will be even more crucial, and for that it clearly needs a more balanced ratio of points scoring than has been the case this season when Rowland has provided 184 points and team-mates Norman Nato and (Nato's Berlin stand-in) Sergio Sette Camara just 21.
Dennis would be a very good bet for at least a 100-120 point haul alongside Rowland and that would put them in contention for a teams' title in 2026. That will be attractive for Nissan, as would be the knowledge that Dennis and Rowland have mutual respect for each other. Although the two tigers in one cage analogy might become an issue further down the line, too.
Outwardly, Nissan is playing it cool with Tommaso Volpe publicly backing Nato, saying the right things about Sette Camara and also even maybe toying with a rookie in Gabriele Mini, whose manager Nicolas Todt is getting much more active on a potential Formula E drive sooner rather than later.
But with success comes a responsibility to gain more. A Dennis swoop, should it be possible, might be just the ticket, even if it creates an initial frisson with Nissan’s future customer team.
What about Jaguar?
It’s not too hard to imagine Dennis in Jaguar overalls, is it?
Jaguar absolutely does not have to run a British driver. But it’s a nice bonus if it can. Previous drivers have included Adam Carroll, Alex Lynn and James Calado, but none of them came to the Big Cat with Dennis's record of achievement or were allowed the time, in Lynn and Carroll’s case, to be able to attempt it.
Should da Costa get tangled in the Porsche legal contractual net and have to complete a fourth season at Weissach, then Dennis will glow red hot for Jaguar’s head-hunters should he be available for next season.
What such a deal would look like is unclear. Jaguar’s main target to replace what is close to the irreplaceable – Nick Cassidy – is clearly da Costa.
But the long game might be one Dennis has his eyes on here. Will Mitch Evans stay for Gen4 and get a new deal to take himself into a remarkable second decade with Jaguar? That’s up for debate very soon as Jaguar forms a new-look operation with the yet-to-be-confirmed but widely expected hires of Ian James and Gouzin.
Should Evans move on after 2026, then a Dennis and da Costa squad for Gen4 looks on paper to be as good as you can get on the Formula E grid.
In the meantime, a scenario also exists in which the da Costa/Porsche impasse does not budge, Jaguar's patience breaks and it signs Dennis, and then da Costa eventually does split with Porshce and has no other option but to join Rowland at Nissan.
Those elaborate consequences would tick a major box for Nissan in getting a strong team-mate for Rowland. Nissan has been keen on da Costa in the past. The lateness of da Costa's extrication from Porsche would also diminish his hand in financial negotiations because of the lack of chairs once the music stops.
Could he stay put?
From the outside looking in, Dennis is so ingrained at Andretti it's hard to imagine a world without that partnership locked in.
Andretti is also in the middle of trying to be in charge of its own destiny with its other seat, which is available for next season. The Berlin rookie tests showed it has two possible future stars, with both Jak Crawford and Frederik Vesti impressing.
Nico Mueller hasn’t performed as hoped this season, although the flashes he has shown may still be enough for a second season in 2026. And if Dennis was to sensationally leave then Mueller’s possibility of staying grows, depending of course on da Costa’s own future whereabouts.
From Andretti’s perspective, Griffiths was up front about the driver sequencing forecast, which is part and parcel of his role as much as choosing what is possibly a fifth partner for Dennis next season, should he see out his present contract with Andretti.
“You've always got to be looking at succession planning,” said Griffiths.
“So, at some point, Jake's going to want to do something [else]. He might want to retire. He's young, but he might decide he likes Monaco and play golf, right?
“So, you've always got to look at it, at some point, there will be an Andretti Formula E team without Jake. Is that next year, the following year? I don't know. And I don't think Jake knows. He's very happy here.
“To some extent, he's built and moulded this team around him. We've helped him do that and we won a world championship together, so we've been very successful together.
“But I'd be foolish to think he's going to be an Andretti driver until the day he dies. So, you always got to have in the back of your mind the 'what if' scenario, and I wouldn't be doing my job properly if I wasn't thinking that way.
“We love Jake and we want him in our car for the foreseeable future. So hopefully that foreseeable future is a few more seasons.”
Personally, Dennis is pretty unfazed by most things. He’s got experience working with manufacturers and big organisations such as BMW, Red Bull and even in his GT3 days with Aston Martin. He’s a driver who can definitely hit the ground running with a new employer.
Yet, staying at Andretti, where he is well-paid, top-dog and has the possibility to add to his six E-Prix victories, feels very safe and secure. You might call it the safest option, especially with a Nissan partnership coming for Gen4. But will it be enough to get Dennis a second title?
That will be the big question he is asking himself right now.
