Sergio Sette Camara has joined the Nissan Formula E team as its reserve and simulator driver. The move follows his exit from ERT (now Cupra Kiro) over the offseason. Sette Camara’s first race in his new role will be on home soil at this weekend’s …
Sergio Sette Camara has joined the Nissan Formula E team as its reserve and simulator driver. The move follows his exit from ERT (now Cupra Kiro) over the offseason.
Sette Camara’s first race in his new role will be on home soil at this weekend’s Sao Paulo E-Prix, and he will continue to work closely with the team’s race drivers Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato over the rest of the year to accelerate development of the new Nissan e-4ORCE 05 GEN3 Evo car.
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“I’m thrilled to join Nissan Formula E Team. It’s always been a goal of mine to work with a big manufacturer in the series, and Nissan took a big step forward in Season 10. I believe that, with my experience, I can help the team to keep this momentum going. I’m pleased to become the reserve and simulator driver and contribute to developing the car in the right direction as we enter the GEN3 Evo era. I can’t wait to get started and be in attendance at my home E-Prix this weekend with the squad.”
The Brazilian has 66 starts in Formula E for Dragon/Penske Autosport and ERT over the last four seasons, with a best result of fourth in the second race of the 2021 Diriyah E-Prix for the former. Last season he finished in the points three times, but finished one position – and one point – behind his ERT teammate Dan Ticktum, with the Brit’s fourth place in the first race of the Misano E-Prix stronger than all of Sette Camara’s best finishes.
Prior to his switch to Formula E, Sette Camara was a frontrunner in Formula 2, where he achieved three race wins and a further 15 podium finishes across three seasons. He also served as a test driver for Toro Rosso, McLaren, and Aston Martin in Formula 1.
“We’re delighted to welcome Sergio as our reserve and simulator driver for Season 11,” said Nissan Formula E Team managing director and team principal Tommaso Volpe. “He has plenty of experience in the championship and is a very talented racer, so it was a clear choice for us to sign him.
“Regardless of ability, it’s tough to jump in a Formula E car and be competitive straight away, given its complexity, so we were keen to recruit an experienced driver and ensure we don’t miss any chance to score points in the season, no matter the circumstances. We’ll also benefit from his extensive knowledge of the series in our race preparation, which is always key. I am convinced he will be a great asset to the team and help us achieve our full potential.”
Jaguar and Nissan have been hit with fines and testing restrictions for breaching Formula E’s cost cap regulations during the 2022-23 season, following the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration process. They are the first-ever breaches of Formula E’s cost …
Jaguar and Nissan have been hit with fines and testing restrictions for breaching Formula E’s cost cap regulations during the 2022-23 season, following the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration process. They are the first-ever breaches of Formula E’s cost cap regulations.
Formula E introduced a cost cap of €13 million per season from the 2022-23 campaign – the ninth season of the all-electric series, and the first in which the GEN3 car was raced. Additionally, and separate from teams, powertrain manufacturers are only allowed to spend €25 million over the course of two consecutive seasons as of Season 9.
Jaguar Racing and Nissan Nissan Formula E team – the teams, not the manufacturers – were deemed to have committed procedural and minor overspend breaches during Season 9, with Nissan’s breach being 2 percent of the €13 million cost cap, and Jaguar’s breach being by 0.6 percent.
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Nissan’s breach was said to be by €269,252, for incorrectly excluded and/or adjusted costs relating to simulator and travel costs, car component costs, social contribution costs, the offsetting of apprentice subsidy and other recharges, and costs of services received by its manufacturer partner (Nissan).
Jaguar’s breach, meanwhile, was by £73,849, and related to unrecorded costs of paddock fees, truck rental costs, simulator development costs, an overstatement of marketing activities, and “costs in respect of non-Formula E activities”.
The FIA said that both 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.”
For its breach, Nissan will pay a fine of €300,000 and will lose half a day (three hours) of running on the first day of pre-season testing for the upcoming season. Jaguar, meanwhile, gets a €100,000 fine and a loss of half a day of running on the first day of pre-season testing. All punishments come as part of an Accepted Breach Agreement reached by both teams with the FIA. Both decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
In response to the ruling, Nissan, in a statement sent to RACER, said, “Following the review of the Reporting Documentation for the 2022-2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship by the FIA Cost Cap Administration, Nissan Formula E Team recognizes to have unwittingly and unintentionally incurred in a minor procedural and overspend breach of less than two percent 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.”
The breaches are the first of their kind in Formula E. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
Jaguar, in a statement of its own, accepted the ruling, and said that had it filed correctly, it would have been compliant.
“Like all Formula E teams, we have welcomed the introduction of the FIA Formula E Financial Regulations and have worked transparently and cooperatively with the Cost Cap Administration throughout this first full reporting period covering Season 9,” the team said.
“It’s an extremely complex process and while at all times JRL acted in good faith with honesty, integrity and in a spirit of transparency and cooperation, we acknowledge that procedural filing errors have led to the minor overspend breach of 0.6%, GBP £73,849.
“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 re-filing 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.”
Jaguar finished second in the 2022-23 season, with four wins (all courtesy of Mitch Evans), while Nissan finished seventh, its best finish being a second place in the second race of the Rome E-Prix by Norman Nato, who was recently re-signed by the team for upcoming season after a year with Andretti.
Now this is cool. Reggie Bush teased his appearance in Nissan’s popular “Heisman House” ad campaign with a video on Twitter showing him hanging a portrait from his USC Trojans days on display alongside other Heisman Trophy winners — while wearing his old USC jersey, too.
It’s been a long time coming. The former New Orleans Saints star running back was finally welcomed back into the Heisman Trust’s good graces this year, and he’s eager to make up for lost time. Bush was one of the most exciting college football players of his generation and he rightfully won the Heisman Trophy for his efforts on the gridiron. Now he gets to enjoy the same opportunities as other award-winners.
The theme of Formula E’s GEN3 era so far has been the battle for supremacy between Porsche and Jaguar, yet as the current season enters its second half, one man isn’t keeping to the script. Nissan driver Oliver Rowland is a legitimate championship …
The theme of Formula E’s GEN3 era so far has been the battle for supremacy between Porsche and Jaguar, yet as the current season enters its second half, one man isn’t keeping to the script.
Nissan driver Oliver Rowland is a legitimate championship contender sitting third in the points with one win to his name, and could have very nearly been two not for a team error in Misano — a weekend where Nissan hadn’t expected to be so strong due to the track’s high energy consumption tendencies and the Japanese brand’s efficiency deficiency.
Immediately after Misano, Rowland admitted, “I don’t think I ever expected to be in the position that I’m in at the moment” but looking back, he now admits that his performance that weekend has been a cause for optimism moving forwards.
“I think Misano was quite a big surprise for us in terms of how we were able to be competitive in quite an energy-efficient race,” Rowland told RACER. “And what that did was it kind of changed perspective for us, because there’s quite a lot of these energy-sensitive races towards the end of the season. I think that’s why I was quite less optimistic in the beginning, because I knew they were coming. So I guess it’s changed slightly since then.”
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That optimism isn’t coming at the expense of awareness, though. Rowland knows just how stiff the challenge remains.
“I need to be perfect every weekend if I want to go with the two Jags, (Pascal) Wehrlein and Jake (Dennis),” he ssaidays. “I think what we’ve built here is good, but we know that we still lack a little bit in some areas compared to them. But I’m still in it, but not really thinking of that, just trying to do each race as best I can and see how that evolves.”
One area where Rowland acknowledges Nissan is lacking is one-lap pace. Qualifying for Nissan-powered cars has been inconsistent this season, although Rowland has been able to compensate for that with stellar race performances that have seen him accrue the second-highest podium haul this season with six, just one less than championship leader Nick Cassidy.
“It’s tough,” Rowland conceded. “I was on pole in Tokyo and fifth in Misano — but also the second day in Misano I should have been in the Duels. In Monaco, we weren’t as competitive as we thought, and there was some issues that I was having with the car.
“It does seem like we’re more competitive in the race, and that’s what we kind of put a lot of focus into. But we need to make sure that the qualifying is back in a good place — that will help us in the races by not spending too much energy to get to the front of the races so we can be a little bit more efficient.
“I think the main focus for us is efficiency. We understood last year that we missed a bit compared to probably Jaguar and Porsche, and I think what they’ve found is a good step. If we achieve our target, then we’ll be up there with the best thing in terms of efficiency.”
Oliver Rowland feels the unusual 24-hour period in Misano in which he inherited one Formula E win after a post-race ruling, then lost another on the final lap, generated positive momentum overall for his Nissan team, despite the emotional roller …
Oliver Rowland feels the unusual 24-hour period in Misano in which he inherited one Formula E win after a post-race ruling, then lost another on the final lap, generated positive momentum overall for his Nissan team, despite the emotional roller coaster.
Rowland was awarded the victory in the first part of the Misano E-Prix after Antonio Felix da Costa was found to have an illegal throttle damper spring in his Porsche, but lost out in Sunday’s race after running out of usable energy five corners into the final lap.
“It’s never the way you want to win, right? You want to stand on top of the podium, and in some aspects, I don’t class it as a pure win because I didn’t stand on top of the podium,” Rowland admitted. “I think what the judgment was for after the race wasn’t performance enhancing, so I didn’t deserve to win that race, let’s say, because somebody beat me.
“What I will take is the points and the rest of the stuff that comes with it, and also the confidence for the team. We’ve put one on the board, now so it kind of relieves a little bit of pressure on that side moving forward.”
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Rowland revealed that he had already left the track by the time the ruling was delivered, and was making his way to another hotel after a rough night before the first race day. Nevertheless, it wasn’t an unexpected call, with he and his team having a feeling something was coming after da Costa’s Porsche remained in scrutineering for a longer time than normal
“I actually had a lot of noise in my hotel on Friday night, and I think I slept an hour and a half,” he said. “So I was swapping hotels and walking between the two of them when I had a call from the team and they sort of informed me that we’d won the race.
“To be honest, it became quite apparent quite quickly after the race that there was something not quite right,” he added. “So we were aware that something was ongoing there and when a car stays in parc ferme for that long, obviously, there’s always a few questions asked.
After inheriting the Saturday win, Rowland nearly added a legitimate victory on Sunday. He had expected high temperatures to work in his favor and hamper the chasing Pascal Wehrlein but it was Rowland who ultimately suffered.
“We expected there to be some thermal limitation from the battery if you sat in the slipstream, very much like you saw in Sao Paulo — a lot of cars finished with a lot of energy still in the car because they weren’t able to use it because of the battery temp,” Rowland explained.
“So by taking the lead, I was also ensuring that I wasn’t going to have any battery temp issues. He (Wehrlein) was in my slipstream for the majority of the race — he kind of built up that energy but he wasn’t able to use it, and the team told me at some point that he’s going to struggle with temperatures and derating, and that’s why he can’t really attack you.
“I think what was quite frustrating is I still had the same energy as (Jake) Dennis, (Nico) Mueller and (Nick) Cassidy and I’d been leading for five laps already. So I was in a very strong position compared to the others if I’d have just held station for 15 laps, to go a bit longer. But it’s also very normal when a Porsche has one or two percent more (energy) than you — it’s almost every race I get told that — and I knew my targets when I could lead the race and when I wouldn’t be able to get past.”
Ultimately, it was the team’s assumption that Wehrlein’s energy advantage would amount to nothing, because of an issue that never came — and Rowland’s subsequent push to hold him off — that cost the British driver.
“In hindsight, the team said it wasn’t that obvious,” he said. “I was very similar apart from Wehrlein and Cassidy, and I think the team just assumed at that point that they weren’t able to use that energy because of the battery temp issues.”
Oliver Rowland says he’s enjoying playing an underdog role in this year’s Formula E championship, as he challenges the Jaguar and Porsche runners for the title. Rowland’s Nissan package is seen as being inferior to the pace-setting Jaguars and …
Oliver Rowland says he’s enjoying playing an underdog role in this year’s Formula E championship, as he challenges the Jaguar and Porsche runners for the title.
Rowland’s Nissan package is seen as being inferior to the pace-setting Jaguars and Porsches — Porsche won the championship with customer team Andretti last year as Jaguar won the most races with its factory team and customer outfit Envision Racing. This year is a similar story, Porsche and Jaguar heading the new-for-2024 manufacturers’ trophy, but in the drivers’ standings, Rowland is in the thick of the fight, and was even leading the points until he lost a certain race win last Sunday at Misano with less than a lap to go.
“I don’t think I ever expected to be in the position that I’m in at the moment,” Rowland told select media that included RACER. “But it’s been a welcome surprise, let’s say, and something that I’m actually relishing and enjoying.
“I guess that I’m enjoying the kind of underdog fight. I think nobody really expected anybody other than the probably the Porsches (and) the Jaguars to be able to challenge for the championship this year or race wins, so for us to be kind of in the mix and consistently performing is very positive.”
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Rowland, like championship leader Pascal Wehrlein, has two poles to his name this year, while Jake Hughes’ top qualifying performance on Sunday for Nissan customer McLaren means that the Japanese manufacturer’s powertrain has the most poles so far. But in races, the Porsche has been the class of the field thanks to its superior efficiency, which has enabled it to overhaul poor qualifying performances and score two wins for Wehrlein, another for Andretti’s Jake Dennis, and a fourth for Antonio Felix da Costa that was later rescinded and handed to Rowland.
But while Rowland acknowledges there are stronger drivetrains in the field, he says the Nissan’s all-round performance, keeping it there or thereabouts, is keeping him in the title fight.
“It seems that Porsche, in particular, always has a very strong race package that can kind of qualify a little bit up and down the grid, but still be able to come through,” he said. “But I think what kind of stands to our advantage a little bit at the moment is that we’re kind of good at both — we can qualify towards the front and we can race towards the front. I think it’s a tricky one to say, will we be there in London (for the season finale) — I think the best way to be there in London is just focusing on race by race.”
Elaborating on his chances to still be in the hunt for the championship by the time Formula E heads to the English capital in July, Rowland says there are two races he expects Nissan to fare well at, but two it might struggle at.
“If I look at the calendar, I think last year Nissan were very strong in Monaco in qualifying, and in Portland in qualifying, both Nissan and McLaren were… that was probably one of the best races of the year,” he said. “So I kind of think there’s a little bit of expectation to be competitive there and to be able to race at the front.
“I mean, Portland is going to be a bit of a Misano in terms of the race, but I think after the weekend, we’d have to say that we should be quite OK in those situations. Berlin was a big struggle for the team last year, and obviously, Shanghai is a new track.
“So I think looking at the remaining races, we’ve kind of got two that we don’t really know if we’re going to be that great at, and then two that we should be able to score strong points, in theory. By the time we get to London, unless somebody runs away with that, I think we still should be in with a shout if, if everything goes to plan.”
Maximilian Guenther claimed his and Maserati MSG’s first win of the Formula E season on the streets of Tokyo, resisting a late charge from polesitter Oliver Rowland, who’d handed him the lead earlier to save power. Nissan driver Rowland controlled …
Maximilian Guenther claimed his and Maserati MSG’s first win of the Formula E season on the streets of Tokyo, resisting a late charge from polesitter Oliver Rowland, who’d handed him the lead earlier to save power.
Nissan driver Rowland controlled the race for the first two thirds, but ceded the lead on lap 25 to fellow front-row starter Guenther, who’d lost out to a fast starting Edoardo Mortara at the start of the race.
A move to reclaim second from Mortara on lap 10 gave Rowland some breathing space up front as he went for his Attack Mode power boost for the first time, while a subsequent trip round the longer line for Mortara consolidated Guenther’s move.
A second trip to the Attack Mode zone dropped Guenther down once again on lap 14, but he retook position on track, getting by Mortara at Turn 16, before setting his sights on Rowland out front.
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A safety car on lap 21 for debris after Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans slammed the wall at Turn 9 three laps earlier bunched up the field and aided Guenther massively as Rowland needed to save power to make it to the end of the race, which had been extended by two laps to 35 after the caution period.
He was now in prime position to snatch the lead when the race resumed on lap 23, and two laps later, Rowland lifted on the approach to Turn 10, making Guenther’s pass for the lead an easy job, but Rowland remained on his tail. However, an attempt at snatching the lead with a pass around the outside on the final lap — what would have been the second race in succession the win was decided in such a fashion — failed to pay off, allowing Guenther to bring Maserati its first victory since the second race in Jakarta last June.
Oliver Rowland conceded the lead to save power for a chance to steal back the win, but his tactic fell short. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images
Third went to Andretti’s Jake Dennis, who capitalized on a failed attempt from da Costa to pass Rowland for second with three laps to go. Da Costa was left to take fourth ahead of TAG Heuer Porsche teammate Pascal Wehrlein, who’d also dropped down the order after a tussle with Dennis earlier in the race.
Nico Mueller claimed Abt Cupra’s first points of the season in sixth, ahead of Nick Cassidy who finished eighth on the road — having started 19th as a result of a penalty in qualifying — but was bumped up a place after Mortara was disqualified from what would have been Mahindra’s first points finish of the year in sixth for energy overuse.
Robin Frijns subsequently took eighth for Envision Racing despite a collision with Norman Nato on lap 32 that resulted in the Andretti driver receiving a five-second penalty which dropped him out of a points scoring position, too. Sergio Sette Camara was ninth, giving ERT its first points finish of the season, while Sacha Fenestraz ensured two Nissans scored points on home turf with 10th.
After pitting to replace his front wing, Evans came home 14th, behind DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne, Envision’s Sebastien Buemi, and NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, but ahead of the penalized Nato.
In a stark contrast to last time when he won in Sao Paulo, Sam Bird was the last of the runners to finish, taking 19th ahead of Abt Cupra driver Lucas di Grassi and Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries, who both retired after colliding while trying to avoid Evans. Bird did, however, claim the fastest lap, with a 1m19.731 on lap 27.
Oliver Rowland delivered a popular home pole position for Nissan in the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix, narrowly defeating Maximilian Guenther in the final of the head-to-head Duels. Rowland’s lap time of 1m19.023s in the Final was a mere 0.021s ahead of …
Oliver Rowland delivered a popular home pole position for Nissan in the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix, narrowly defeating Maximilian Guenther in the final of the head-to-head Duels.
Rowland’s lap time of 1m19.023s in the Final was a mere 0.021s ahead of the Maserati MSG driver, who went quicker in the final two sectors, but lost time in Turn 1 which ultimately cost him the top spot. That enabled Rowland to claim an eighth career pole and his second of the season.
Ahead of the Final, a number of big names fell in the first round of Duels, with reigning Formula E champion Jake Dennis, Mitch Evans, and Pascal Wehrlein all being defeated.
Andretti’s Dennis lost out to Edoardo Mortara by 0.315s, while TAG Heuer Porsche driver Werhlein was eliminated by a comparable margin by Guenther.
Evans initially didn’t even make the Duels, finishing his group qualifying session in fifth, but he got a reprieve after his Jaguar TCS teammate Nick Cassidy – who’d initially advanced to the head-to-heads after finishing third – had his best time deleted for an unspecified technical infringement.
Then in Evans’ Duel race, he lost out to Rowland by 0.284s after slamming the outside wall at Turn 9.
Evans (and Cassidy) and Wehrlein’s early eliminations from the Duels ensured that for the first time this season the fight for pole would not feature a single Porsche or Jaguar-powered car for the first time this season. Eight different teams occupied the eight spots in the Duels, however, for the first time this season.
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In the Semifinals, Rowland defeated Mortara, who’d taken his Mahindra further than the Indian team had been in qualifying all season. He finished 0.226s adrift of the Brit despite gaining time in the second half of his lap. Guenther had an easier ride, with early wall contact for ERT’s Sergio Sette Camara taking him out of contention right away.
In the opening Group sessions, Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, Andretti’s Norman Nato, NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, Abt Cupra’s Lucas di Grassi, Maserati’s Jehan Daruvala, and Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi – who clipped a wall and bent his steering – all joined Cassidy in being eliminated.
In the second group, it was Robin Frijns (Envision), Nyck de Vries (Mahindra), Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske), Dan Ticktum (ERT), Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) and Sam Brid (McLaren) were all eliminated.
For Bird, it was particularly disappointing to wind up last after winning the most recent race in Sao Paulo, Nissan customer McLaren’s first victory in Formula E. He lost control through Turns 16-17, spinning off behind de Vries who’d had a similar off, on his final timed lap.
Nissan has become the first manufacturer to commit to Formula’s GEN4 regulations by signing an agreement to remain in the series until at least 2030. The news, which comes ahead of the first Tokyo E-Prix this weekend, ensures that Nissan will be in …
Nissan has become the first manufacturer to commit to Formula’s GEN4 regulations by signing an agreement to remain in the series until at least 2030.
The news, which comes ahead of the first Tokyo E-Prix this weekend, ensures that Nissan will be in the series when the next ruleset comes into force in Season 13, the 2026-27 campaign, and aligns with the company’s Ambition 2030 initiative which will see it introduce 34 electrified vehicles to its road car lineup in the next six years.
“We’re extremely pleased to continue our involvement in Formula E until 2030,” said Makoto Uchida, CEO ofNissan Motor Corporation. “In addition to bringing excitement and an on-track spectacle to our fans, our participation in the series will make a significant contribution to our electrification goals set out in our Ambition 2030 plans.
“The technological breakthroughs that we make on the track will provide great insights to the development of our future products. We’re excited to see the future of electric racing unfold and to keep working towards a sustainable world for everyone.”
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Nissan has been something of a mainstay in Formula E since the beginning, with alliance partner Renault being a technical partner to chassis manufacturer Spark as it developed and produced the Spark-Renault SRT_01E, the first Formula E car.
After a season where everyone ran drivetrains developed by what is now known as McLaren Applied, Renault went on to campaign successfully as a manufacturer outfit with French team DAMS, winning three consecutive teams’ titles between 2014-14 and 2016-17 before the Nissan brand took over the support for e.dams in 2018-19.
The team became a full in-house Nissan operation ahead of the 2022-23 season, which also marked the start of the company supplying customer teams (although Renault previously supplied Techeetah in Seasons 3 and 4) — McLaren runs Nissan powertrains and won the brand’s first race of the GEN3 era two weeks ago in Sao Paulo.
“We’re very happy at Formula E to see Nissan extending their involvement in the series until 2030,” said Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds. “Nissan shares our values of promoting sustainability around the world, striving for the best automotive performance through electric solutions.
“Having a truly global brand like Nissan, with great presence in every country we visit and beyond, is vital for us as a truly global championship. It not only helps us promote the series to a wider and more diverse audience, but also contributes enormously to promote EV technology worldwide. Nissan is a highly respected manufacturer that is perfectly aligned with our goals and values, and we’re excited to see the role the marque will play in the bright future ahead of us.”
Oliver Rowland was in a class of his own as he took pole for the second race of the Diriyah E-Prix Formula E doubleheader, Nissan’s first since Cape Town last year. Rowland topped his group in the first part of qualifying, before setting three …
Oliver Rowland was in a class of his own as he took pole for the second race of the Diriyah E-Prix Formula E doubleheader, Nissan’s first since Cape Town last year.
Rowland topped his group in the first part of qualifying, before setting three consecutive fastest laps of the day in the head-to-head duels to lock in the top result. He first of all disposed of Maserati MSG’s Jehan Daruvala, who was appearing in the duels for the first time in his short Formula E career. The gap of 0.637s between the pair was the biggest gap of any of the duels.
Rowland then beat Jaguar TCS’s Nick Cassidy, before taking down Robin Frijns of Envision Racing in the final with a lap of 1m10.055s, 0.274s quicker than the Dutchman. The result was Rowland’s first pole of the season, with his previous best qualifying result in the first two rounds of the season being 14th.
Friijn’s quest to the final had him beat Friday polesitter Jean-Eric Vergne and his DS Penske teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.
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As well as taking pole, Nissan also topped both group rounds at the start of the session. Sacha Fenestraz led Group A, ahead of Frijns, Vergne, and Vandoorne — who went on to knock out Fenestraz in the first round of the duels – with TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, Dan Ticktum (ERT0, Nyck de Vries (Mahindra), Norman Nato (Andretti), and Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) all failing to advance.
Group B was halted after a late crash for Sebastien Buemi. The Envision driver misjudged his braking into Turn 1 after receiving a radio communication on the approach. He locked his rear wheels and went straight on into the wall.
The red flag caught out NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird, who was on course for a top-three result that would have got him into the duels. Instead, he finished down in seventh, one spot ahead of dominant Friday winner Jake Dennis who struggled after overnight setup changes, describing his Andretti Porsche as the “worst car” he’d ever driven in Formula E.
Cassidy finished Group B second to Rowland with Jake Hughes (McLaren) and Daruvala also advancing at the expense of Buemi, Sergio Sette Camara (ERT), and Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra), Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) and Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra), the final trio finishing behind the aforementioned Bird and Dennis.
Cassidy will start third behind Rowland and Frijns, with Vandoorne alongside him in fourth. Daruvala will line up a career-best fifth, ahead of Hughes, Fenestraz, and Vergne, with Sette Camara and Wehrlein completing the top 10. Buemi was on course to start from 11th after his crash but the the car was judged beyond immediate repair and he will have to sit out the race, putting Maximilian Guenther 11th, Bird 12th, Evans 13th and Dennis 14th. Ticktum, Mueller, de Vries, Mortara, Nato, di Grassi, and da Costa complete the grid.
