Nissan Formula E Team Denied Points Despite Strong Pace in São Paulo E-Prix
Nissan Formula E Team Shows Promise Despite Penalty-Marred São Paulo Debut
São Paulo, Brazil – The Nissan Formula E Team kicked off the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with blistering pace and a commanding lead in the São Paulo E-Prix, only to be denied points by a series of penalties.
The GEN3 Evo era began with a bang for the team,as Oliver Rowland secured a front-row start in qualifying,with teammate Norman Nato close behind in sixth. Rowland’s lightning start propelled him into the lead, a position he held for several laps. Meanwhile, Nato battled his way into contention, reaching the front before a drive-through penalty for exceeding power output dropped him down the order.
A strategic exchange of positions during the Attack Mode phase saw Rowland regain the lead just before a red flag interruption.Regrettably, the timing of the stoppage meant Rowland lost valuable extra power, relegating him to second for the restart. undeterred,he stormed back into the lead,pulling away from the pack before receiving his own drive-through penalty for exceeding power.
Nato, having fought his way back into the top 10, was poised for a strong finish before the second red flag. At the final restart, he battled fiercely, crossing the line in sixth. However, a post-race penalty for an incorrect restart position dropped him to 13th, while Rowland finished 14th.
“It was a very unfortunate race,” said Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of Nissan Formula E Team. “Our finishing positions don’t reflect our performance on track.We displayed fantastic pace in qualifying and the first half of the race, and Oli showed he had the potential to win. We need to accept our mistakes and work on the aspects that cost us, both on the car and in race management, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Today we proved how competitive we can be this season, and we’ll be looking to bounce back in Mexico.”
Despite the disappointment, the team remains optimistic.
“We where strong in practice and qualifying, and it was great to start on the front row,” said Rowland. “The first half of the race was perfect. We were looking good to win but then the red flag came. We made some mistakes and unfortunately dropped out of the points. The positives are that the car is fast, I was able to lead and still be energy efficient, but we made too many errors, which is something we will aim to rectify in the next rounds.”
Nato echoed the sentiment, stating, “We have positives to take from the opening event, especially from qualifying, where both Oli and I were swift. P6 was a good place to start, but unfortunately the race didn’t unfold how we wanted. We had a chance to be on the podium today, but we made several mistakes which cost us a lot, so we will need to address that for the next races. However, the potential is there and it was good to be back on track with Nissan. I worked really well with the team and we’ll focus on improving in Mexico.”
Reserve and simulator driver Sérgio Sette Câmara,attending his first race weekend with the team,added,”I’ve enjoyed attending my first race weekend with Nissan Formula E Team,and I think we proved that we have major potential for the season ahead. To be so strong in qualifying and then have a good race pace is extremely promising. I believe Oli was likely to win the race if not for the red flag, and Norman could have been up there as well, but we got unlucky today.Though, this can happen in Formula E, and we need to focus on the positives. the car was fast and efficient and I’m sure we will be back up there fighting for the rest of the campaign.”
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