News Nissan Formula E Team scores a top-10 finish on challenging return to Jakarta
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Nissan Formula E Team clinched a points finish with Oliver Rowland during Round 12 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as the squad managed to bounce back from a tricky start to the weekend, showing good pace during an eventful race.
With poor track conditions due to overnight rain and a muddy tarmac, the Brit and his teammate Norman Nato both missed out on progressing through to the duels. The duo had to deal with traffic during a tricky qualifying session, meaning they lined up P16 and P21 respectively.
Rowland made up two positions on the opening tour of the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit and continued this trend as he battled through the field into thetop-10. During the frantic final stages of the event, Rowland saw two Full Course Yellows come out during his six minutes of Attack Mode, stalling his progress as he crossed the line in seventh. However, due to an earlier five-second penalty for causing a collision, he dropped back to 10th. This incident is currently under investigation with an outcome expected next week.
On the other side of the garage, Nato moved up a handful of places in the first half of the E-Prix on a different strategy. While being patient, waiting to use his Attack Mode at the optimal time, an unfortunately timed Safety Car during his six minutes of 350kW power compromised his race entirely. He continued to fight his way through the field, showing good pace to achieve the fastest overall lap of the E-Prix and gaining a total of seven positions, crossing the line in 14th.
This result sees Rowland extend his lead in the Drivers' Standings to 69 points, while Nissan continues to lead the Manufacturers' Championship. The squad also narrowly sits second in the Teams' Standings by just 12 points with four races to go.
Formula E returns on 12-13 July at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit in Berlin.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: "The rain made FP2 a very difficult session, with the track in very poor conditions, and then we had a tough qualifying with both drivers missing out on the duels. This automatically made the race a tricky one, as overtaking is hard here. Despite this, both Oli and Norman delivered great drives with Oli moving up into the top-10, crossing the line in seventh before a penalty demoted him down to 10th."
Norman's strategy was compromised by the Safety Car coming out during his six minutes of Attack Mode, but he still showed very good pace and even set the fastest lap of the race, though he finished 14th. We will see what the result of the investigation will bring in the next few days but, in any case, we still remain in a strong position to fight for all three championships in the last four races and we will do just that, one race at a time.
"Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: "We executed a very good race after a disappointing qualifying, managing to gain nine places before the penalty demoted us to P10. I was still able to extend my lead in the Drivers 'Championship by a point, which could still be very important at the end of the season, but we want more than that as we've got close battles in the Teams' and Manufacturers' Standings. We need to understand what went wrong and analyze why we were so poor in qualifying this morning. I'm confident that we can do that and be ready to come back fighting at the front in Berlin."
Norman Nato, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: "It's always difficult when you miss the duels in qualifying, especially at a track like Jakarta where overtaking can be tricky. However, in the race we did a great job, but then got very unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car coming out while I was in my six-minute Attack Mode. I still felt like the pace was good as we gained seven places and achieved the fastest lap of the race. It's the story of my season so far that the performance isn't reflected in the results, but we know that we can still secure valuable championship points in the final rounds of the season."
About Nissan in Formula E
Nissan made its all-electric racing debut in Season 5 (2018/19) of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to enter the series.
In Season 7 (2020/21), Nissan announced its long-term involvement in Formula E and its commitment to the GEN3 era, which will run from Season 9 (2022/23)through to the end of Season 12 (2025/26) of the all-electric racing series.
In April 2022, Nissan acquired the e.dams race team, with the Japanese automaker taking full ownership of its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E GEN3 era.
On 28th March 2024, ahead of the first ever Tokyo E-Prix, Nissan announced its long term commitment to Formula E, becoming the first manufacturer to sign up for the GEN4 era, which runs until 2030, reinforcing its pledge to its Ambition2030 electrification targets.
For Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers are Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato.
Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.
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About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing.
All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology. The World's greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centers in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.
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Nissan Global Newsroom
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