Nissan Formula E Team’s Oliver Rowland enjoyed an excellent weekend on the streets of Monte-Carlo, taking the win during Round 6 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on Saturday, and earning pole position and a second place finish during today’s E-Prix.
For the opening event yesterday, Rowland lined up on the front row in P2 after making the final of the duels. The Brit made his way into the race lead before halfway, completing his Pit Boost stop on Lap 18. He emerged in a net-third place showing great pace, taking his final four minutes of Attack Mode in the closing stages. Rowland then produced some excellent late overtakes to cross the line in first, wrapping up his third win of the season.
In the #17 car, Nato started in P18 and used his Attack Mode in the first half of the E-Prix. The Frenchman showed positive race pace and gained four places, finishing 14th.
Today’s event started in the wet with Rowland advancing through to the duels where he showed his experience in a chaotic session to take his first pole position of the season.
The Drivers’ Championship leader held his position off the line in tricky damp conditions, before dropping back to second as those around him used their Attack Mode. He showed brilliant speed to hold off his competitors, taking his first four-minute extra 50W boost on Lap 18. The Brit was held back slightly having to give a position back, but battled to secure second.
On the other side of the garage, Nato, who qualified in P15, once again used his Attack Mode early to push forward. The Cannes born driver enjoyed a clean race in difficult conditions to cross the line in 13th at his home E-Prix.
The results from the weekend see Rowland extend his lead in the Drivers’ Standings to 48 points, while Nissan Formula E Team maintains second position but further closes the gap to the top in the Teams’ Championship. On the constructors’ side, Nissan remains first in the Manufacturers’ Standings after seven rounds of action.
Formula E gets back underway on 17-18 May with the Tokyo E-Prix, which will be a home race for Nissan Formula E Team.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “It’s special to have such a successful weekend during the first-ever double-header here in Monaco. During Saturday’s race, the plan worked brilliantly as Oli capitalized on our Attack Mode and Pit Boost strategies to help ensure the win. Norman struggled as we had a few issues which prevented him showing his full pace, but he still managed to gain a handful of positions in the race.
“Today was less straightforward with the wet conditions, so we were delighted to take pole position and a second-place finish with Oli. He was flying throughout qualifying and started the race well. Overtaking proved very difficult given the conditions, but it was an excellent result and topped off a great weekend for him after the victory yesterday. On Norman’s side, we made changes during FP3 which helped, but he was still lacking some confidence in the car, especially in these conditions. He showed good pace during the race, but it’s easy to get stuck in traffic in the midfield. We know how important it is to score with both cars at every round, so that will be our priority heading to Tokyo. The whole team is looking forward to being there and striving for an even better result at our home race!”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “It doesn’t get that much better than finishing first and second in Monaco! Yesterday, we did a great job on the strategy and timed the Pit Boost and Attack Mode perfectly to get the win. I had some overtakes to make towards the end of the race, but we executed it perfectly. Today I lost some time during the race being stuck in second, and then we dealt with the 50-50 overtake where I had to return the position to avoid a penalty. Second is still a great result, it’s been a strong weekend with the victory yesterday and the pole position this morning, so I’ll aim to keep this momentum going for next time in Tokyo – it’s not only our home race but also a track I enjoyed last season, so I can’t wait to be there.”
Norman Nato, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “We struggled for pace during Saturday’s event, we had some issues in the car from FP1 onwards which made it difficult to score points. The team made some changes overnight and I felt better in FP3 this morning. However, the rain made it really slippery in qualifying and during the race, it was hard to make places when it’s all so tight. It’s been a weekend to forget for me, but there’s lots of racing coming up now to put it right, starting with our home race in Tokyo in two weeks.”
