Jakes began racing in 2002 in T-Cars, a saloon-car-based junior series, finishing second in the championship in 2003. He moved into the British Formula Renault Championship with Team AKA for 2004, becoming a consistent race contender and finishing third in the championship in 2005. His performances earned him a McLaren Autosport BRDC Award nomination and BRDC Rising Star status.
Jakes contested a single British Formula 3 round in the National Class in 2005 before making the step up to a full campaign with Hitech Racing in 2006, finishing eighth and also placing sixth in the Macau Grand Prix. In 2007, he moved to the Formula Three Euroseries with Manor Motorsport, finishing fifth in the championship with a win at Magny-Cours.
He remained in the Euroseries for 2008, joining ART Grand Prix alongside Jon Lancaster, Jules Bianchi, and Nico Hulkenberg. He won on the street circuit at Pau but tailed off as the season progressed, finishing thirteenth overall in a team that produced both Bianchi and Hulkenberg as standout performers that year.
Jakes drove in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series for Super Nova Racing, equalling his best finish of third in the opening race in Abu Dhabi when he returned for the 2009-10 edition. He signed with Carlin Motorsport to race in the inaugural GP3 Series in 2010, and despite missing two rounds of the season, scored three podium finishes and finished eighth in the championship. He made his full GP2 Series debut at the final round of the 2010 season, stepping in for Alvaro Parente at Scuderia Coloni.
In March 2011, Jakes tested an IndyCar car for Dale Coyne Racing at Barber Motorsports Park and was subsequently signed to race the full season. He went on to compete in IndyCar for several years. In his second season in 2012, he recorded a tenth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway and eighth in Toronto. For 2013, Jakes switched to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where he achieved a second place in the second Detroit race and sixth in the first Houston round. After a year away from the series, he joined Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for 2015 and scored a third-place finish in New Orleans.
After his IndyCar years, Jakes moved into GT racing and competed in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with Comtoyou Racing. He drove alongside experienced GT campaigners in the Audi-supported squad, rounding out a career that demonstrated versatility across open-wheel and sportscar disciplines.
Jakes' trajectory through British single-seaters, European Formula 3, the GP2 and GP3 feeder categories, and then a sustained IndyCar career reflects a driver who found his best environment in North American oval and road-course racing. His podium at the Indianapolis-affiliated New Orleans street circuit in 2015 and competitive stint at Rahal Letterman Lanigan stand as career highlights after an itinerant path through European junior formulae.