From next year, Brands Hatch will host the Formula E World Championship’s London E-Prix, taking over from previous venue Excel London. Ahead of this year’s season finale in London, I spoke with Jake Dennis and Oliver Rowland to get their thoughts.

After previously holding its season finale at Battersea Park in 2015 and 2016, Formula E announced that in July 2020, the British capital would play host to a doubleheader for its 2019-20 finale. But there was a twist…

It would be held on an indoor-outdoor circuit, the likes of which had never been attempted in top-level motorsport. 

The COVID-19 pandemic scuppered these plans, however, and racing finally came to the Excel the following year for the penultimate weekend of the 2020-21 season, Formula E’s first with world championship status. Mahindra’s Alex Lynn and Andretti’s Jake Dennis became the Excel’s first-ever polesitter and race winner on Saturday, whilst on Sunday, Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne took pole and Lynn took his only career Formula E victory.

Five years, ten races, six more different winners and four season finales later, the Excel’s tenure as one of motorsport’s most unique venues has seen three different drivers and teams crowned world champions as well as Porsche take consecutive manufacturers’ titles. 

Two of those world champions are British drivers Jake Dennis from Nuneaton, Warwickshire and Oliver Rowland from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The pair won their titles in the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons respectively, the former winning in the first race of the London weekend and the latter entering the finale already crowned champion. 

“Ultimately, Excel for [Formula E] has been super successful,” Dennis told me in the Friday media pen. 

“It’s quite good fun to drive over one lap, and I think over the years it’s produced some pretty cool races,” Rowland added afterwards.

The pair both raced at Brands Hatch earlier in their careers. Dennis raced on the Indy layout in 2011, where he took two third-places, on his way to the InterSteps title, and on the Grand Prix layout in his sole year of DTM in 2019. Rowland raced on both layouts in 2011 when he finished runner-up in Formula Renault 2.0 UK. He won both races from pole on the latter configuration. 

“I think it’ll be super good,” Dennis said. “I’m just intrigued to see what they do with the circuit. Ultimately, I think they are going to have to make some modifications for us to race, but I think the circuit itself is mega.

“The location itself should bring in some new and different fans. From my side, I think it’s great to have another British race on the calendar, not to lose the UK is important.”

“I think it’s a mega track,” Rowland echoed. “The GEN4 car will be a spectacle on that track, so I’m really looking forward to going there. It’s a proper driver’s track and a proper bit of fun!”

The 2026-27 Formula E World Championship kicks off this December with two races at the Jeddah E-Prix. In the United Kingdom, you can watch Free Practice for free on YouTube and the rest of the action for free on ITVX as well as on Disney+.

Globally, you can also catch all the action on Disney+ as well as through other local broadcast deals, which can be found on the Formula E website. 

Header image credit: Sam Bagnall / LAT Images