Diriyah hosted the second and third rounds of Formula E. The electric championship raced the first double header of Season 10 during the Saudi nights.
The two races saw Jake Dennis and Nick Cassidy taking the win, becoming the main characters of the weekend. The Jaguar driver conquered the head of the championship, with Pascal Wehrlein missing out on the chance to keep the first position. During the not-so-outstanding Diriyah E-Prix, a driver made his comeback. His name is Oliver Rowland, the new Nissan squire alongside Sacha Fenestraz.
The British driver was present at the start of Formula E Season 9, driving for Mahindra. After only a couple of weeks, the team and Rowland parted away, for reasons that have never been clear. Rowland disappeared from the grid for the rest of 2023, but at the end of the year, after the departure of Norman Nato, Nissan announced the Brit as the new driver. Rowland raced for the Japanese team between 2019 and 2022.
🏆🏆POLE POSITION for @oliverrowland1 🏆🏆@Nissan @nissansaudi #NissanFormulaE #FeelElectric pic.twitter.com/PFa3jsElKt
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) January 27, 2024
Diriyah E-Prix: pole position and first podium
The first round, which took place in Mexico City, was tough for Rowland; he missed the points for only one position, finishing eleventh. Luck wasn’t by his side also during the first race in Diriyah and his Nissan crossed the finish line in the thirteenth position. The situation changed during the second qualifying session when Rowland found access to the final duel against Robin Frijns.
The British driver conquered the pole position and had the chance to start in front for Race 2. After the start of the E-Prix, the white and red Nissan was overtaken by the rivals. Rowland didn’t give up and finished the race in third position. It’s the first podium for the Brit since 2022, and the first seasonal podium appearance for Nissan. At the end of the E-Prix, Rowland declared:
“I am slightly disappointed coming third. You know, the start of the day was a lot of wheel spinning, but we had our chance to control the race if we wanted to win. We didn’t manage to do that, but still a great result for the team. Lots of points. And we’ll take this confidence into the next one. I can build on this momentum going into Sao Paulo, I came back to Nissan with the target of winning. We know it’s a long road, but we’ll keep pushing and I think the first step was made today, and the potential we’ve seen over the first two races has been very good. I’m happy.”
