Nissan Formula E driver Oliver Rowland is thrilled with three straight podium finishes this season, crediting the team’s impressive qualifying performance for his success.
“Honestly, I would say that it couldn’t go much better,” said Rowland. “The first two races were a little bit difficult. We were trying to find a balance with the car with the setup, we’d made some changes from last year that we were kind of trying to experiment with it didn’t really work, let’s say. But since going back to our baseline settings, and being able to obviously do three podiums in a row and two propositions that’s obviously very, very positive.”
“We still have some areas to improve”
While acknowledging the team’s strengths, Rowland also identifies areas for improvement, particularly in race efficiency. He recognizes that this may be an area where rivals have an edge, but he remains confident in the team’s ability to address these challenges.
“We still have some areas to improve. There are a couple of things on the car that I’m not 100% comfortable with. But there’s also not much we can do about that right now until next year. So we kind of just have to work around those things at the moment. But I would, I would still say that the races in terms of pure efficiency is an area that we need to improve.”
Home Race Success and Looking Ahead
A @JuliusBaer Pole Position and P2 at his team’s home race… it was quite the weekend for @OliverRowland1! ⚡️
Read more about the @NISMO driver’s review of the #TokyoEPrix 👇
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 2, 2024
Rowland recently secured a second-place finish at the home race in Tokyo, a moment he cherishes despite the added pressure that comes with competing on home soil.
“It was a pretty incredible event,” said Rowland. “Nissan put on an amazing show, let’s say in terms of how the event was ran. Obviously, with it being the home race for Nissan, there was an element of pressure, we had a lot of the, you know, the top executives there that had come to experience the race, come to see how we were doing, let’s say, and it was almost a bit of like a head teacher marking the scores. So there was a lot of pressure on the team. But it was a fantastic event. I think, everybody that came to watch all the Japanese fans, there was an incredible amount of support for Nissan.”
A difficult challenge for Misano
Looking ahead, Rowland is focused on the upcoming race in Misano, a track he admits is not his favorite due to its wide layout and less challenging driving experience. However, he remains determined to secure a positive result.
“Honestly, I’ve driven nearly 20 laps this morning in the simulator. I know it briefly but obviously, it’s slightly different for Formula E. It’s not my favourite track, to be honest. It’s not a traditional Formula E track. It’s very wide, lots of runoff. No, not particularly challenging. Let’s say for from a driving perspective. The energy management in the race is the second day is just Yeah, way too much. That’s a bit strange. But the first day should be slightly better from the racing perspective. But honestly, it’s not my favourite event.”
At the end of the FP1 in Misano he only got the 13th position against the brilliant job of Jaguar’s powertrain cars.
Nissan’s Commitment to Formula E
Nissan’s recent announcement to continue its participation in Formula E until 2030 has been met with positive reactions from Rowland, who sees it as a sign of stability and commitment to the championship.
“Yeah, I mean, I think first of all, it’s great for the championship that someone like Nissan’s size and manufacturer can can commit to the championships or 2030. So that’s fantastic. I think what it does is brings everybody some stability here. The team, you know, there’s a long term plan of how we want to improve how we can do things better.
