Jake Dennis claims his first Formula E world title at the Hankook London E-Prix

- Jake Dennis was crowned the new Formula E world champion in Great Britain
- Formula E and Hankook took their place in the Guinness Book of Records, in the run-up to the Hankook London E-Prix, Briton Jake Hughes smashed the previous indoor land speed record
- Hankook had extremely positive first season as official technical partner and tire supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and will look ahead to Season 10

Seoul, Korea, July 31, 2023 – Saturday’s opening race of the Hankook London E-Prix double-header provided the answer to the weekend’s biggest question. After 36 dramatic laps of the unique indoor and outdoor circuit, packed with spectacular overtaking maneuvers, safety car phases and stoppages, Britain’s Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E) came home second to ensure he was crowned the new Formula E world champion before the final race on Sunday. New Zealander Mitch Evans from the Jaguar TCS Racing team won the race itself, but Dennis’ advantage over the chasing pack was already unassailable coming into the final race of the season. The secret of the 28-year-old’s success this season was unquestionably his consistency: Dennis made it onto the podium a total of eleven times. He proved to be particularly successful in the races with Hankook as the title sponsor. The Brit won the season-opener at the Hankook Mexico City E-Prix and the Sunday race at the Hankook Rome E-Prix. Dennis is the first Formula E world champion from Great Britain.

Sunday’s final race of Season 9 was won by Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing), ahead of Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E). As a result, it was Envision Racing who won the Team Championship.

Hankook Motorsport Director Manfred Sandbichler: “On behalf of the whole Hankook team, we congratulate Jake Dennis and everyone in the Andretti team on winning the Formula E Drivers’ World Championship. Jake’s strong performances throughout Season 9 make him a very worthy champion. We also congratulate Envision Racing, who won the Team Championship. We are pleased to be part of this success as exclusive tire supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. In its first season, the Hankook iON Race has impressed with its high level of reliability and performance. The tire always provided the drivers with optimal support, regardless of the circuit, surface or weather conditions.”

Sanghoon Lee (President & COO Hankook Tire Europe) and Jeongho Park (Executive Vice President & CMO Hankook Tire), two of Hankook’s top management officials were in Great Britain to watch the season finale. As well as joining the Formula E management and all 22 drivers for an official photo, Jeongho Park also presented the winner’s trophy to the victorious Jaguar TCS Racing team on Saturday.

218.71 km/h – faster than any car had ever travelled indoors. In the run-up to the Hankook London E-Prix, Briton Jake Hughes smashed the previous indoor land speed record by over 50 km/h at the wheel of a Gen3 car named the GENBETA, which had been modified by Formula E partners Hankook and SABIC, among others. As such, Formula E and Hankook now take their place in the Guinness Book of Records. Manfred Sandbichler (Hankook Director Motorsport) and Felix Kinzer (Hankook Communications Director) congratulated Jake Hughes personally and presented the 29-year-old with a voucher for a set of Hankook iON road tires for his electric car.

As official technical partner and tire supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Hankook has enjoyed an extremely positive first season. A well-attended press conference at the season finale, the Hankook London E-Prix, saw Felix Kinzer (Hankook Communications Director), Manfred Sandbichler (Hankook Director Motorsport), Benoît Tréluyer (Development Driver FIA / Formula E), Thomas Baltes (Chief Engineer Motorsport) and Nico Müller (ABT Cupra Formula E Team) look back on Season 9.

Manfred Sandbichler: “Our summary is extremely positive. The Hankook iON Race has arrived in Formula E and has been fully accepted. It has behaved exactly as requested ahead of the season. Of special note is the fact that we did not suffer a single product-related puncture all season.” Thomas Baltes said: “The Hankook iON Race impressed all along the line, and in all kinds of conditions: in a cool 8 degrees Celsius in Mexico and with track temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius in a hot Rome, in the Berlin rain and the dust of India, and of course on a wide range of different surfaces. The performance was always there.” Felix Kinzer added: “The tire also helped the drivers with their power management, as the relatively low roll resistance allowed them to save valuable energy.” Development engineer Benoît Tréluyer is also happy: “We had clear guidelines from the FIA and Formula E when developing the tire. It is nice to see that Hankook has implemented these precisely and delivered exactly the product that was requested.” Current Formula E driver Nico Müller was also full of praise: “At the start of the season, we all first had to learn how to work best with the new tire. We are now very good at that, and the tire is absolutely reliable. I am really impressed how well it performs in all conditions.”

Envision Racing presented a real eye-catcher in the Fan Village at the Hankook London E-Prix: a Gen3 car made entirely of electronic scrap. The reproduction of the Formula E race car was created by artist “Lazerian” (Liam Hopkins) using discarded electronics from across Great Britain. A large variety of scrap materials were used, ranging from laptops, mobile phones and vapes to chargers and games consoles. The car was built to raise awareness of the increasing global issue of electronic waste.

Good news for Formula E and its fans. Iconic German sports car manufacturer Porsche is remaining true to Formula E and has extended its involvement in the series until 2026.

Formula E will put pedal to the metal again in October. The official pre-season test for Season 10 once again takes place in Valencia, Spain, from 24th to 27th October. All the teams and drivers will spend four days at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, working on the set-up of the Gen3 cars ahead of the season-opener in Mexico City on 13th January 2024.

As well as on YouTube, you can also find regular news and information on Hankook’s involvement in Formula E on Twitter (@hankook_sport) and Instagram (@hankooktire.motorsports).

You can find the latest Hankook Press Kit for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, looking ahead to the coming race in Season 10 here.