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So far in this editorial series, we have looked at the performance of Andretti's Jake Dennis and DS PENSKE's Jean-Eric Vergne over Season 10. However, now is the turn of Nissan's Oliver Rowland as he fights for his first Drivers' World Championship in Formula E.
Fifth in the standings, just 36 points behind Championship leader Nick Cassidy of Jaguar TCS Racing, stands Oliver Rowland. The Nissan driver is on the comeback arc of his career, having rejoined the Japanese manufacturer at the start of this season and has collected six podiums – including a victory – over the course of the year.
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Despite missing both Portland rounds last time out, due to illness, he’s still in with a shot of his first Formula E drivers' title as we go into the London double-header. Rowland is on a roll, and the 31-year-old is ready to bring it home in front of his home crowd next weekend.
How Rowland’s Season 10 unfolded
Rowland made a welcomed return to the Formula E paddock at the start of Season 10, having departed Mahindra Racing in a “mutual agreement” mid-way through last year. He was back at the team he’d raced with from Seasons 5 to 7, having shared many special memories with Nissan e.Dams as they were known at the time.
Now their own entity, Nissan was ready to build on the promising display of results they had shown in the first year of GEN3 thanks to Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato. However, the 2023/24 campaign didn’t get off to the best starts for Rowland.
He finished the first two rounds of the season – Mexico and Diriyah – without a single point to his name. Traffic during qualifying in Mexico City meant the Yorkshireman started on the 10th row of the grid when it came to lights out, but a hugely respectable climb up the grid saw him earn the ABB Driver of Progress award and finish 11th.
Round 2 in Diriyah wasn’t so eventful, as he started 14th and made up one position to finish in 13th. However, what a difference a day can make, as Saturday’s race day was the start of our championship charge from Rowland.
"That's why I came back"
It was smiles all round as Rowland stormed to the Julius Baer Pole Position for the third round in Diriyah, beating Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns in the Final Duel. “That’s why I came back,” he said on the radio after setting the quickest lap time of the Diriyah weekend.
"Honestly, I'm just relieved to be back here,” he continued after collecting his trophy and three points for pole. “It's been a very, very difficult two years. We knew we had the pace of this since pre-season testing, but in the first two rounds nothing quite went to plan. We're back on the map and in the mix!”
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At the start of the race, Rowland suffered some wheelspin on the dusty Diriyah circuit but managed to collect his first of many podiums this year. Although he was “slightly disappointed” at coming third, it showed that Rowland was back where he belonged.
Overtake of the year?
This then started an incredible run of form, with another third place in São Paulo. In an unbelievable last lap of the race, which saw compatriot Sam Bird send his NEOM McLaren into the lead and past Mitch Evans’ Jaguar in the final moments, Rowland was also able to claim a third place. As TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Andretti’s Jake Dennis fought for the final podium slot, Rowland was able to send it up the inside on the last corner of the race to steal the position from both of them. It might have been overshadowed by Bird’s ambitious overtake, but is still definitely a contender for overtake of the year!
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The only way was up, and at Nissan’s home race Rowland delivered more headlines as he took pole position in Tokyo. Japanese fans went wild in the grandstands as he made his way to the top spot, with eight drivers from eight different teams taking part in the qualifying Duels. For the race itself, Rowland led the pack away but a struggle to sustain his energy levels saw him surrender the lead to Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther with eight laps to go.
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Although the win was lost, he was able to secure second and said after the race he had “no regrets” when looking at the overall picture. “"I'm happy - three podiums in a row and second place at a home race with a pole position! There's an element of disappointment after leading the whole race but no regrets - I did my best.”
Heroics and heartbreak
Next up was the Italian double-header in Misano. In the space of 24 hours, Rowland was able to experience both the highs and lows that can come with motor racing. Having started in fifth for Round 6, he was able to progress up the pack and settled for second at the chequered flag. However, a post-race disqualification for Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa saw Rowland promoted to the win – his second in Formula E, and first since Berlin in Season 6.
The following day, Ollie started in 10th but fought his way to the front of the pack to try and attempt back-to-back wins. Things were looking good for another victory, as he led the race at the start of the final lap, but pulled over to the side of the circuit after running out of energy.
In a strange set of circumstances, Rowland suffered a technical issue that gave him false information as to when the race distance was done. The problem, which came at the start of the race, meant that when the Nissan driver crossed the start line on the first lap the car dropped a lap when it shouldn’t have done.
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A sixth place in Monaco came next, but a double podium result in Berlin was able to help get the championship fight back on track. Over both events, Rowland managed to climb 25 places with 60 competitive overtakes to earn the ABB Driver of Progress award twice in the German capital. Having started 15th for the first race and 16th in race two, the Nissan pilot was able to use his energy perfectly to position himself third over both rounds. The double haul of podium trophies also provided 30 points to add to the pot with six races remaining.
Rowland just missed out on another piece of silverware in Shanghai when he finished fourth in the first race of the Chinese double-header, and could only pick up a single point the next day when he classified in 10th at the line.
Pain in Portland
Things then took a big turn, when Nissan confirmed that Rowland would miss the Portland E-Prix weekend. It was a huge blow to his championship chances, especially as standings leader Cassidy would fail to bag any points, but illness and being unable to travel ruled him out of the US rounds.
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Rookie Caio Collet did a stellar job stepping in, but there was no denying that it was a season-defining moment for Rowland and Nissan’s chances at the title.
Next up is London, a home race for the boy from Barnsley. Although he’s never had huge success at the ExCel Arena circuit, with its unusual half indoor-half outdoor design, perhaps the momentum of this season and the home crowd could shake things up.
He remains just three points behind Antonio Felix da Costa in the championship standings, and is on a fantastic run of form in his most successful year of Formula E to date. Plus, he has the benefit of not having a teammate to battle with for the Drivers’ World Championship, unlike the other four guys above him, and so can go full selfish mode with no threat of team orders at play.
Let’s see what Rowland can do as the fight boils down to two final rounds in London.
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Be sure to tune back each day to read more about each of the seven drivers who are fighting for the Drivers’ World Championship in London next week.