Oliver Rowland has said his Nissan Formula E Team are “gelling in a good way,” after the Brit cemented his title credentials with a commanding victory in Race 2 of the Jeddah E-Prix.

Starting from second, Rowland played a team strategy perfectly, using his Attack Modes well to overcome the challenge of NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard to claim his second win of the season.

Rowland told Motorsport Week that, whilst his team and himself are now being labelled as one of the title favourites, you can’t be complacent.

“I don’t think you can expect it in this game,” he said. “Look, I’m always very clear with what I want to achieve each weekend. I have set out goals in my mind, which I focus on.

“I’m getting more and more experience with my team. We know what the car needs, we know what I need. We’re gelling in a good way, so I’m really happy.”

‘He’s very much like me’ – Rowland proud of protege Barnard

The race result had to significant additional points of interest with the first all-British podium in FE history, with Jake Hughes claiming third, and Jake Dennis finishing fourth to make it a UK quartet, as well as Barnard being a product of Rowland’s karting team initiative.

Rowland said that he noticed the talent of the 20-year-old – who became FE’s youngest-ever pole-sitter this weekend – and isn’t surprised to see him sharing a podium with him now.

“I saw his talent when he was 11, 12. He needed help because he had no backing or funding and managed to find him a really good seat so he could show even more of his talent. 

“And to be here at such a young age, youngest pole sitter, youngest podium, I think I have a good eye for that sort of stuff!

“But he deserves it. He’s very much like me. He came from a background that couldn’t afford to even do basic karting, so it’s nice to see him up here.”

Rowland added that he is proud of what the British youth system for young budding racing drivers has been able to do in terms of producing such a breadth of talented drivers.

“Britain is generally spoilt for drivers. You look in Formula 1, you look in Formula E, WEC, wherever, we have such a good grassroots karting that we really teach the kids very well and they’re able to perform.”

Rowland joked: “If we can put Britain on the map, from a selfish perspective, I don’t really care about the others, apart from him [Barnard] a little bit!”

READ MORE – Jeddah E-Prix: Oliver Rowland leads home British Formula E quartet

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Oliver Rowland took his Nissan to the top of the timing sheets in FP1 ahead of tomorrow’s first race for Formula E at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The Brit, who won last time out in Mexico City, set the benchmark of 1:15.849, with team-mate Norman Nato second a tenth-of-a-second behind.

Both drivers for the Japanese marque were the only ones to move into the 1:15.000s, with Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara, third two tenths off with a 1:16.069.

NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird was fourth, followed by Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum in fifth, with reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein sixth.

Stoffel Vandoorne put his Maserati in seventh, with title-leader Antonio Felix da Costa eighth.

Max Gunther’s DS Penske was ninth, with Mitch Evans’ Jaguar rounding-up the top 10.

Only five tenths-of-a-second covered Rowland to Evans, with 1.6s covering the whole field, which was back-ended by the McLaren of Taylor Barnard.

Rowland will be looking to keep the momentum going from his late victory from the Porsche pair of Wehrlein and da Costa in Mexico, and has already set the tone under the lights in Jeddah, which will play host to its first-ever FE events, having moved to the F1 venue from the previous location in Riyadh.

The Corniche has introduced a new FE-friendly layout, two miles less than its F1 version, and has incorporated temporary chicanes, the final one leading out onto the start-finish straight, with a small bump on the exit that seemed to put many of the cars into a wiggle on the exit.

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Nissan Formula E team has confirmed Gabriele Mini will drive for the team in the rookie practice session at next week’s Jeddah E-Prix.

The Italian youngster, who will make his full-time Formula 2 debut with Prema this year whilst continuing as a member of the Alpine Academy, has already tasted FE with the Japanese marque, partaking in the previous rookie test in Berlin last May.

The move is continuation of the team’s relationship with the French Formula 1 team’s breeding ground, both of which are based at Viry-Chatillon.

In a statement released by Nissan, Mini said: “I’m looking forward to this opportunity after working with the team at the Berlin Rookie Test last year.

“It was my first time in an electric race car then and I learnt a lot which I’m confident can help me in Jeddah.

“The biggest challenge when I discovered Formula E was the complexity of the race simulation, and having to be quick but also efficient, with energy management, at the same time.

“I’ve worked in the simulator to prepare for the challenges in Jeddah, but there will be unknowns as this is a new circuit.

“My goal is to help the team for the remainder of the weekend by collecting as much data as possible.”

Nissan boss Volpe ‘delighted’ with Mini acquisition

Team Principal Tommaso Volpe said: “We’re delighted to be working with a great talent like Gabriele again after the Berlin Rookie Test in Season 10.

“He’s showed impressive performance with us since the beginning, and has also had a very strong season in 2024, finishing second in Formula 3 and securing a F2 podium on his debut.

“This Rookie Free Practice session is going to be very important as it will be the very first time that the cars will be on track at a brand-new location.

“We’ll be looking to collect as much meaningful data as possible during those 40 minutes, and that’s precisely why we wanted to get Gabriele back for this session, as we know he can help us with the initial car set up.

“We look forward to being back on track with him and to his contribution to the team ahead of the race.”

READ MORE – DS Penske snap up Daniil Kvyat for Jeddah rookie practice

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Nissan’s Oliver Rowland went fastest in the first free practice session of the FIA Formula E season in São Paulo.

The Englishman went fastest, utilising the new four-wheel drive feature, with a 1:10.162, which is over three-and-a-half seconds faster that last season’s pole position time on the Anhembi Sambadrome circuit.

It was a one-two for the Japanese squad, with the returning Norman Nato second.

Jake Dennis was third for Andretti, with Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara fourth.

Rookie Taylor Barnard was fifth for NEOM McLaren, followed by Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans and Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns. Evans stopped out on late towards the end of the afternoon’s running with a suspected software problem.

Tag Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein were eighth and ninth respectively, with the second Jaguar of Nick Cassidy rounding-up the top 10.

Nico Müller was forced to pit just before the halfway stage, having clouted the wall at turn six, damaging his left-rear suspension, putting him at the bottom of the pack. Many drivers were forced to take evasive action at turn one, all pushing hard early-on.

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F1 Academy title-leader Abbi Pulling has told Motorsport Week that she is hoping to “seal the deal” and win the title in order to progress to the GB3 category.

Just before the interview took place, it was announced that the eventual winner of the F1 Academy championship – which she leads by 95 points with just two weekends remaining – will earn a contract with Rodin Motorsport in the GB3 Championship for next year.

Whilst Pulling is aware that she can wrap-up the title next time out in Qatar, she reiterated that for now, it’s an ‘if’, not ‘when’.

“All season I think we’ve been very grounded,” she said. “It’s obviously been an incredible year so far, but I know there’s still hard work to do. It’s not over till it’s over, but at this point in the championship, I’ve got to really mess it up to not seal the deal, so I’m just going to focus on keeping on doing what I’m doing and hopefully in the end we can come out on top and get that prize. 

“It’s an incredible opportunity that the Academy are providing for the champions. It’s a new car, it’s been packaged, which is also very exciting. It’s the closest to an FIA car.

“I think it’s a really, really good championship to build and learn and craft and understand animals. I’ve not driven a car for a while, ever since I’ve done this, so I’m definitely going to be trying to get the championship and get the prize.”

Pulling ‘looking forward’ to Nissan test

Pulling was speaking from Jarama, where she is preparing to take part in Friday’s groundbreaking all-female FIA Formula E test for the Nissan squad.

She revealed that her links to Alpine were crucial, and the late venue change due to the floods in Madrid have given her the opportunity for an intense simulator session with the team.

“I’ve known for a while, I think since it was really announced that there was a Formula E test taking place.

“I’ve got a really good relationship with Alpine, so it made sense. I was thrilled with them and the opportunity to work with a manufacturer like Nissan is incredible, and obviously they’ve had very good results. They won the last race of the season last year, so I’m looking forward to working with them and putting their programme to work.”

“I actually did my simulator prep quite late, which at one point I felt quite unprepared, but then it ended up being the best thing as I did it this Monday, so we’d already known that there was a change in venue, we’d known that we’re now coming to Madrid, so that meant for my simulator session on Monday I was on the right track. 

“Actually, because the team hadn’t ran here before, I did a lot of runs for them to learn more, so my programme was more in-depth, so that they could understand more of what they needed to do around this track, which I really enjoyed. 

“I just hope that I can help them for their pre-season test.”

The test is the first of its kind and Formula E have enabled fans to watch the session by opening the circuit up to the public, and Pulling says she is “really excited to get going,” adding: “I mean, it’s a big wealth of experience of the girls that are here. 

“We obviously have someone like Simona de Silvestro, Alice Powell, who’s been a development driver for F1 for a while, so there’s people that are maybe a bit more experienced than me with this machinery, but I think it also lets you know whereabouts you are and kind of the trajectory of where you’re going.

“Hopefully with this test, we can show that you’re doing a good enough job and work more with the team in the future. 

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Jaguar TCS Racing and Nissan FIA Formula E teams have been found to have breached the sport’s financial regulations.

An announcement by the FIA concluded that Nissan had been fined €300,000 for a breach of two percent (€269,252), with Jaguar fined €100,000 for an overspend of £73,849, just 0.6 percent.

An additional penalty is that both teams will be suspended from running for half of the opening day of the upcoming pre-season test in Valencia, on November 4th.

In a statement, the FIA said: “The Cost Cap Administration recognised that the teams have acted cooperatively throughout the review process and have sought to provide additional information and evidence when requested in a timely manner, that this is the first year of the full application of the financial regulations and that there is no accusation or evidence of aggravating factors or that they have sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in fraudulent manner, and nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.”

Both teams have accepted the charges and have also responded, with Nissan saying:

“Nissan Formula E team recognises to have unwittingly and unintentionally incurred in a minor procedural and overspend breach of 2.0% of the cost cap. The team has therefore signed an Accepted Breach of Agreement (ABA) as offered by the FIA Cost Cap Administration in order to resolve this matter.

“Following a very cooperative review process with the Cost Cap Administration and an exhaustive internal audit, Nissan Formula E team has determined that these minor breaches are exclusively related to the process of interpretation and adaption of the new financial regulations at a time when the team was also facing specific challenges linked to its change of ownership, full restructure, and relocation.

“Nissan Formula E Team has since put in place all the necessary precautions to avoid these kinds of miscalculations and oversights in the future.”

Jaguar said: “Following consultation with the FIA, we believe that had we filed correctly we would have been fully compliant with teams’ cost cap and the minor overspend breach would not have occurred.

“Unfortunately, we understand a refiling is not allowable by the current regulations and therefore due to these unintended procedural errors we are in a very minor overspend position. At no time did we seek or gain a technical or sporting advantage, as can be seen and confirmed by the Cost Cap Administration’s findings and the nature of the ABA.

“We will continue to work closely with the FIA going forward on the development and application of the cost cap and in the best interests of Formula E – the pinnacle of electric racing.”

A spokesperson for Formula E said: “We understand the findings and recognise the diligence with which the FIA carried out the complex review process, in what is the first full year of the Financial Regulations being in place.

“Although two teams were found to have been in minor breach, the championship accepts these were absolutely not intentional and appreciates the exceptional way that these teams have and continue to operate.”

Jaguar to run special livery in test

Jaguar has revealed its special one-off livery that it will be used in the Valencia test, the design a nod to the 16 different wins the team has achieved on 11 different circuits.

The big cat delivered its first-ever Formula E win at Rome in 2019, the team going from strength-to-strength since then, with highlights including a momentous one-two finish at the Monaco E-Prix last season.

The team, despite missing out on the Drivers’ title with Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans, did secure the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ championships after a season of consistency and speed.

Its full season livery will be revealed in due course.

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Nissan has announced that Abbi Pulling and Sophia Flörsch will test for the team in the all-female FIA Formula E test in Valencia next month.

The Japanese marque, which launched its new car – the e-4ORCE 05 – last week, said is “fully embracing this opportunity and has opted to participate with two
rookies in the test, fielding a pair of promising young racing drivers.”

In Pulling, Nissan has secured perhaps the most exciting young female driver in the world right now. Leading the F1 Academy championship by a whopping 95 points with seven wins in from 10 races, Pulling is in prime position to take the championship.

She is also in the history books as the first female driver to take victory in British F4 race.

Like Pulling, Flörsch is a member of the Alpine Academy [both Alpine and Nissan currently have bases in Viry-Chatillon] and most recently competed in FIA Formula 3, finishing 29th out of 34 drivers. Much of her racing career has been in sportscars, having competed in WEC, European Le Mans Series as well as three entries in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours.

In a statement, Team Principal Tommaso Volpe said: “This is a great initiative to give women the opportunity to test Formula E machinery, and we’re delighted to be taking part with two cars.

The number of women racing drivers has been increasing in recent years, and we’re proud to be contributing to the acceleration of this process. It’s a fantastic chance for Sophia and Abbi to learn and to help the team iron out any difficulties we encounter during the week. We’re very pleased to have two of the highest-profile women drivers.

They’ll be at the workshop and in the simulator before the test, these cars are not easy to drive so we’re giving them plenty of preparation ahead of the day. It should be a productive session, both for the team moving forwards and a great experience for Sophia and Abbi as they look to further their motorsport careers.”

Pulling said that he has “been wanting to drive a Formula E car for a long time,” adding: “so to be given the chance to test the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 is a dream! I’m very excited to take on
the challenge of learning the car with the guidance of the Nissan crew.

“There is a lot to learn and much more to manage so we will take it step by step. It’s a completely different environment to what I’m used to, but the focus is on doing what the team ask of me and to enjoy a productive test together.”

Flörsch said she was “very excited” to have the opportunity, adding: “It’s going to be very different to my previous motorsport experiences, but I’m always curious to try new things.

“I’m highly motivated to get the most out of the test and do my all to help the team as they prepare for Season 11. I’ll be spending time in the simulator to be as ready as possible for Valencia and allow me to extract all I can. Looking forward to getting out there and taking on this incredible opportunity!

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Nissan’s FIA Formula E team has unveiled the e-4ORCE 05, with a continuation of its “meaningful” livery used for the last two seasons.

The Japanese marque is approaching the new season, which kicks off in São Paulo on December 7th, off the back of an unexpectedly-successful Season 10, which saw the team score two victories and five podiums, all coming from Oliver Rowland.

As previously announced, the Paris-based squad has partnered Rowland with its former driver Norman Nato, who returns after a season with Andretti, replacing Sacha Fenestraz.

The car’s colour scheme is once again red and white, with cherry blossom patterns on the top of the side pods, which it says is “meaningful for the outfit, both as a hint to its Japanese DNA and new beginnings, as well as now being part of Nissan’s identity in Formula E.”

The team has also confirmed that its new factory is now fully operational, boasting the “dedicated facility stretches over 2,600 square meters and features a workshop area, simulator, engineering and management offices, as well as display, meeting and multipurpose areas.”

Nissan ‘ready to take up the fight’

The a statement released by Nissan, Team Principal Tommaso Volpe said: “We’re excited for the new season and have been working hard, getting to grips with the GEN3 Evo car.

“Everything has been running smoothly so far and we’re looking forward to getting out on track in Valencia. Our new workshop is fully operational now, which is making a huge difference – we’ve been able to take full advantage of the facilities, allowing us to maximize the potential of the team.

“In terms of drivers, Norman has settled in very quickly, he knew most of the crew already so that made things easier than normal. Together with Oli, we’re confident that we have a strong line-up ready to fight for wins and podiums throughout the upcoming campaign.”

Rowland was similarly buoyant, saying it has been “good to recharge after a busy year,” adding: “It’s great to have the new workshop fully in action, I’ve been really impressed by the facilities.

“The location is ideal and it sets a high bar for ourselves, showing our ambition to continue improving and fighting at the front. There are a few areas to get on top of with the GEN3 Evo, including the all-wheel drive technology, but we’ll look to iron everything out and be ready to take up the fight from the first race.”

Nato conveyed his excitement at the new season ahead, saying: “I’m delighted to be back with team and I already feel comfortable straight away with the car, simulator and staff. The biggest change has been the excellent new workshop, allowing us to prepare and debrief from races in amazing conditions, with the highest level equipment available to us.

“The updated livery is really cool, keeping our Japanese identity and the fans love it, making us so recognizable on-track. I can’t wait to start this GEN3 Evo era in Valencia testing, before heading out to Brazil for the season opener!”

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In the second part of our exclusive interview with Nissan FIA Formula E Team Principal Tommaso Volpe, we find out some insight into the preparations for Season 11, including work on the nascent GEN3 Evo car, as well as his thoughts on the newest FE calendar.

Nissan has been working hard on its preparations for the beginning of the GEN3 Evo era that commences in Brazil on December 7th. Volpe is leaving no stone unturned, and is confident the car will show itself up compared to its rivals by the time of pre-season testing in five weeks’ time.

“We still have to fine-tune some things,” he said. “Obviously more on the software side because the hardware is pretty much done. And the car, we think, is a big step forward.

“Then, you know, as any motorsport you need to see the improvement that the others have made as well but I would say that if we are focusing now on fine-tuning some areas of the software, we should be ready for Valencia. We feel quite optimistic there should be an improvement compared to last year.”

GEN3 Evo is of course, in many respects, a big step-up in terms of the technology which is being added to the GEN3 car, with additional features like the all-wheel drive, which aids launching off the line, and contributes towards its record-breaking 1.82 0-60 time.

Volpe explains that he foresees a potential early-season struggle to, quite literally, get to grips with the car, but believes that his drivers, as well as others, will quickly get used to

“Well, you know all of our [FE] drivers obviously come from other series. In a way, these changes add complexity a little bit, but in a way, for instance in the all-wheel-drive phase, this makes in a way the car more similar to other categories because of the traction.

“In those moments efficiency might play less of a role compared to in the standard mode and I think they will adapt quite fast, to be honest. All of them have been involved in development testing.

“It’s not just Valencia, it’s just the work they do during the development test, so I think yes, they will adapt fast. So the main area where they will have to probably adapt, and we might see, it can happen that we will see some, hopefully not, but we might see some accidents at the beginning of the season, is how to manage all-wheel-drive or these other features while racing.

“I think, in short, I don’t think drivers will have big difficulties in adapting to manage the machine itself because it’s just more traction when you have all-wheel-drive, they will learn it fast. But probably at the beginning there might be a little bit of confusion in managing it into the pack.

“When you have the all-wheel-drive, other cars don’t, or vice versa, and maybe this might cause a little bit of extraction to be used to.”

‘Philosophies in development’ to change through peloton

One thing that teams would have been prudent to consider in developing their own GEN3 Evos is ensuring they will adapt to the breadth of circuits on the Season 11 calendar.

The peloton races have caused headaches for drivers and teams alike, and only teams like Tag Heuer Porsche and Jaguar TCS Racing were able to truly enhance its cars to work well on all circuits.

Volpe says that these different styles of races that will take place across the calendar and the teams’ ability to now get used to this will see a reduction in the gulf in pace between certain squads.

“Yeah, this is absolutely a super valid point. When we entered GEN3, in a way we were all surprised, some more, some less, as everybody has different philosophies in development, but we were not expecting a lot of races in the permanent circuits, like what happened in the US or in Italy and other circuits. 

“So this was not expected at all. Also, of course, this came as a surprise to all manufacturers. Again, I cannot talk for the others, I’m sure some were more surprised than others, and also what changed as well is that if you look at the difference between Season 9 and Season 10, in Season 10 we had more peloton races than in Season 9, so not just the fact that we have them, but how many of them we have is becoming a considerable number in the season, and the same in Season 11. 

“Then we have China now, even if China is more about free race, but you see the point. I would say that definitely GEN3 Evo, in a way, was developed by manufacturers having a little bit more precise view on what is going to be the usage of the machine.

“It’s true that we started two years ago anyway, when we were already into GEN3 Evo, but at that point it already started to be clear that this would have been a little bit of the direction of the calendar, so I would expect that the gaps between manufacturers in the philosophy of the car are a little bit smaller. 

“We have all been probably gone to a more similar compromise of serving peloton races as well as more like normal Formula E races with energy management, but without the peloton effect.”

I press Volpe for his views on the Season 11 calendar. With the introduction of a new venue for Saudi Arabia – an abridged layout of the Jeddah Corniche F1 track – the Homestead Miami Speedway as well as the team’s home race on the streets of Tokyo – which debuted last season – now a double-header.

He says he is looking forward to not only an extra day of racing in-front of the Japanese fans, but also going to a wide range of nations in order to promote, what he believes, is the most advanced EV brand that is racing in the sport.

“Look, what I always say is that we are in a very, very, very privileged position as Nissan because we are probably the most global car brand in the sport. 

“We sell cars in every single market where we race and we have a Nissan presence in every single market where we race because of our dimension, our footprint as a company, so in a way, wherever we race, the calendar will serve very well our objective of promoting Nissan and our transformation towards electrification in the car business. 

“Having said that, for sure, as you mentioned, having a double-header in Tokyo where we are the only Japanese car brand involved in the sport and we also had a great result last year and is literally 40 minutes from our headquarters, means a lot to us. 

“But it’s also important for us having the race in China as well as in the US because there are two very important markets for Nissan. And again, Europe as well because Europe is actually the pioneering area for electrification for Nissan.

“Some of the most important investments towards electrification for Nissan are made in Europe, specifically in the UK and with our factory in Sunderland, so again, as long as the calendar is global, it fits the interests and the needs of Nissan because we consider Formula E a global project to promote our global plans, so we are quite happy.

“And also the mix between peloton races and street races I think is good for us because it gives the opportunity to promote electrification in a more flexible way whether it’s more like extreme energy management or a little bit more performance-pushed racing is always a good message because in our plans to transform our portfolio into an almost fully electrified portfolio the fact that electrification can be utilised for family cars as well as performance cars is an important message. 

“And if Formula E in the motorsport contest reflects this flexibility, it’s something that serves our promotional narrative as well.

‘Electrification’ of EV brand key to Nissan’s GEN4 commitment

Given that, as discussed in part one, Nissan perhaps over-achieved in Season 10, there may be reason to feel there is a bigger target on its back than originally thought for Season 11, but Volpe disagrees.

“No, I think this is motorsport and you know that there is always pressure on and Oliver and Norman as well are used to be under pressure as drivers but also the team.

“Let’s not forget that the roots of this team is a team that won the championship more than once, three times and some of our key talents have been there since Season 1 so they have experienced already the pressure of being the strongest team and to have expectations around us and other talents come from teams where they won championships so I think we have all, most of our talents and the drivers are used to work under pressure so this won’t be a factor that will make a difference to be honest.”

At the Tokyo race last season, Nissan became the first manufacturer to commit to the GEN4 era of Formula E that begins in two years’ time.

“I cannot compare our commitment to Formula E to other teams but definitely our commitment is serious and the reason why it is serious is because it is very close to probably the most important corporate objective of the company which is electrification the commitment to Gen 4 which we did as a first manufacturer is also due to the nicely aligned deadline which is 2030.

“Our most important corporate plan is called Ambition 2030 and by 2030, Nissan would have converted our portfolio into an almost complete electrified portfolio selling 60% of our global volumes as electrified vehicles and the only reason why the percentage is not higher is because we sell everywhere and there are regions where this is technically not possible like Latin America or India etc, otherwise if you look at Europe including UK this target is 100 percent it is not even 60 percent.

“In short we are serious about Formula E because it is probably the closest to the most important corporate objective which is electrification, so we take it seriously because it serves the promotion of Ambition 2030 and it can also generate additional R&D and IP that we can use even to serve the development of cars for Ambition 2030 so there is this closeness to Ambition 2030 that makes it a very serious project for us and of course we want to win.”

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In the first of an exclusive two-part interview with Motorsport Week, Nissan’s FIA Formula E Team Principal Tommaso Volpe gives his views on Season 10, the redemption of Oliver Rowland’s career as well as the controversial removal of Sacha Fenestraz from its driver line-up.

It is fair to say that Nissan exceeded expectations in FE Season 10. Viewed by many within the team as year of preparation for a full-on assault on the title in Season 11, the team, headed by Oliver Rowland, surprised many, with an impressive fourth place in the Teams’ Championship, and a commendable fourth for Rowland in the Drivers’.

Volpe explained that, whilst the goalposts were not particularly moved in terms of the targets it set at the start of the season, there was definitely an air of surprise permeating through the team’s French HQ once the car’s form began to show.

“Well, it’s funny because at the beginning of the season we were definitely targeting something,” he said.

“We knew we would have been better than the previous season, but we were targeting P4, P5 in the championship, but fighting for it, let’s say. 

“So in a way we were surprised during the season when we started to be very consistent quite early on. After three races we started to be consistent in having good results. So at some point, as you can imagine, we started thinking differently and we were targeting top three positions.

“We’d been second at some point in the championship and so we were targeting to finish P3 at least. Then, of course, Oliver missing two races in Portland, Sacha not finding his best form during the season.

“At the end of the day, he ended up with a final result, fourth in the championship, so I would say that if I look at what was the objective at the beginning of the season, we achieved, even overachieved. 

“But we were a little bit with this bittersweet taste at the end of the season because we were aware that we could have done a little bit more even, but it’s OK – we definitely achieved our targets.”

The aforementioned absence of Rowland in Portland was the notable cause of the bittersweetness,, because, as Volpe explained, the weekend was one where the infamous peloton style of racing, seen a lot of Season 10, was in evidence, and the hectic and highly-competitive nature of those races were ones in which Rowland had often excelled.

“The thing is that it’s not just missing two races where you never know what happens, it’s missing those two races. I mean, these peloton races where Oliver has been always strong and so I think that he had the chance to score strong points in those two races, and so both the team and the driver’s championship could have been even better.

“Let’s also be honest, we missed the victory in Italy [in which Rowland ran out of energy on the final lap whilst in the lead] because of a mistake we made in the car setup at the beginning of the race, so it’s also our fault if we haven’t achieved the best we could have this season. 

“But I would say it’s part of the improvement that I mentioned before, the team has improved massively in Season 10 compared to Season 9, and we still have room for improvement, avoiding these kinds of mistakes or being more careful also probably from Oliver’s side with his own health, and you know, everything matters in such a complex sport.”

‘Never any doubts’ in Rowland amid redemption arc

Rowland was without doubt, one of the revelations of the season. After leaving Mahindra midway through Season 9, the longevity of his Formula E career had a dark cloud hanging over it.

But instead of allowing it to rain upon him, Rowland took the opportunity Nissan handed to him by re-signing with the team he knew so well, and made hay whilst the sun shone. He took two race wins in total, and performed with a level of consistency only matched by his title rivals. His form won him plaudits from many across the grid, including Motorsport Week, which named him the Formula E Driver of the Year.

Volpe reveals he never had any doubts about his ability to bounce back and reveals his experience helped the team to reach the heights that it reached in S10.

“In fact, it’s funny every time I kind of look back on what happened in those periods. I’m always surprised by how this decision looked outside and how it was from inside. 

“We Oliver very well since the very beginning and if you look at the data, already after the first season, he was out-performing Sebastian Buemi, someone who won the championship and knows Formula E upside down probably more if not at the level of any other top driver. So we knew that Oliver was a top driver for Formula E.

“And the reason why he stopped racing for Nissan and e.DAMS at that time is because we couldn’t find an agreement, not at all because we were not believing that he could have been a top driver with us.

“The evidence is that as soon as there were the conditions, it became super easy to agree on his comeback because the relationship has always been very good, so I knew personally that he could have achieved great things. 

“And I have no doubt that he could have brought experience to the team, helped the team to grow, not just with his performance on track but also with his experience, and to be an overall better team, not just having a strong driver on track.

“I understand why some people were doubting about it, because of his season in Mahindra was not maybe exceptional and his state of form maybe was not at the top, but we never had any doubt. 

“The only doubt we had was how fast he would feel comfortable in the car because the fact was that for six months he didn’t race, and with this big change with GEN3 compared to GEN3. So definitely we had the doubt how fast he could have adapted to the car in our team. 

“And on this aspect it surprised us for sure how fast he was but we had no doubt at all that he could have been our top driver already in Season 10.”

Replacing Fenestraz ‘not an easy decision’

For Season 11, Rowland will be partnered by former Nissan man Norman Nato, who returns to the Japanese marque after a season with Andretti.

Sacha Fenestraz was with the alongside Nato and then Rowland for Seasons 9 and 10, and despite a lack of development and some poor form across the season, looked set to stay.

But at the 11th hour, the Argentinian was replaced by Nato, in a move which shocked and upset a significant portion of the FE fanbase, with whom Fenestraz is a popular figure.

Volpe said that the lateness of the announcement did not come as a consequence of indecision, rather than a thorough analysis of the situation, and the team concluded that the experience of Nato was the driving factor once the Frenchman became a free agent.

“I cannot disclose too many details, but in short it was not an easy decision for sure because we invested in Sacha and we still believe Sacha is a very strong talent, and he can be very strong.

“But unfortunately somehow he couldn’t find his best form in Season 10. At the end of the season we looked at the data, we tried to understand, we talked to him and it was still a valid option. I mean we don’t say that we discarded Sacha because we thought that there was no hope at all, it was still a valid option, but then at some point, we had to evaluate all the options we had in front of us available, and we thought that a driver like Norman, who has already been on podium three times – once with us by the way – and one win as well as experience in development as well, not just in racing, could fit better to our ambition for Season 10.

“So that’s why we decided. And the timing of it doesn’t hide any specific event or specific turnover as I could see in the press. 

“It’s just that we took our time to analyse all these factors and to take the best decision, what we believe is the best decision.”

In part two, Volpe talks about the GEN3 Evo car, pre-season testing and Nissan’s long-term commitment to Formula E.

The post Exclusive: Nissan Formula E boss Tommaso Volpe speaks to Motorsport Week appeared first on Motorsport Week.