Article

Reigning Formula E world champion Oliver Rowland has hailed Jaguar as having made the "biggest jump" since last season, previously deeming the Big Cat to have been "nowhere".

Despite only scoring a huge haul of points in Miami through Mitch Evans’ victory last time out, Jaguar has impressed much of the paddock across the opening races.

It struggled significantly for performance in the opening rounds of last season but has since made a visible step in the right direction.

While Evans has faced difficulties in the dry, new signing António Félix da Costa has looked consistently quick, with his four points not being a fair representation of his pace.

"I think Jaguar has made the biggest jump since this time last year," Rowland told RacingNews365 in Jeddah. "I mean, they were nowhere at the start of last year.

"And now, when you look at qualifying, like António, it’s been impressive. In Mexico, I think he missed FP2 and still nearly got into the duels. And he looked super quick in Miami and also in São Paulo.

"He looks fast. He just needs to put a weekend together."

Friday and Saturday’s Jeddah E-Prix are viewed by many as particularly fascinating, given how many teams struggled at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit 12 months ago.

Rowland was unstoppable in Saudi Arabia last season, claiming a second place and a win, but he has conceded that this campaign already feels very different from that title-winning year.

Asked if this season feels different from last year, Rowland said: "Yeah, I think so. I mean, it feels like there are more people scoring points every race.

"So, you know, you can easily qualify 16th, 17th, 18th without doing a bad lap. Some races you can rescue that with strategy; races like this weekend, you can’t, so you have to be fast over one lap."

Also interesting:

In this video, we explore a fascinating Mercedes engine theory that is engulfing the F1 paddock. We break down how it works, why it matters, and why this advantage — if real — may be brilliant, legal… but only temporary.