Oliver Rowland relief as Formula E title defence dream alive

Oliver Rowland outlined his relief at leaving Formula E’s Tokyo E-Prix double-header firmly in the title mix, keeping the dream of defending his crown alive.

Rowland entered Tokyo as the renowned King of the Big Sight, having always qualified on pole and never finished lower than second.

That impressive statistic quickly ended, as a poor qualifying performance ahead of the opening race left him with the task of recovering as many points as possible — something he achieved by finishing seventh.

However, it was in the second race where the reigning world champion showed his class, taking the gamble of using intermediate tyre pressures on a fully wet circuit in the hope of it drying.

It did exactly that, with Rowland surviving a tricky opening five laps before fighting through to finish fourth. Had it not been for a late red flag, he could have even finished second.

Asked what tyre pressures he went for, Rowland told RacingNews365: "It was intermediate. I think we knew it was going to dry. There’s also a risk if you go too low that you lose too much lap time at the beginning.

"Honestly, I think my guys did a great job. I was just a little bit careless with energy at some point, so my target was a bit low.

"But I do think Jake [Dennis] probably would have won without the red flag, and I think I would have been close to catching the front two because I had more energy. But yeah, really happy with the day."

Rowland ready to 'pick up the pieces'

For a period, it felt like a Rowland win was inevitable, as the Nissan driver had more energy than those ahead and stronger pace. He too thought victory was on the cards.

Asked if there was a moment when he felt the win was his, Rowland conceded: "Probably for a good 10 laps. I thought it was mine, but then I was also aware — I didn’t ask — that if somebody else was taking a bigger risk, then it was going to come better for them."

Crucially, Rowland heads into the final two rounds in London firmly in title contention, just 14 points adrift of new championship leader Dennis.

Despite some difficult results for Nissan in recent races, Rowland has remained in touch with the title leaders, with him hoping to "pick up the pieces" at the ExCeL Centre.

Looking ahead to London and being right in the title fight, a relieved Rowland said: "I mean, honestly, I’m just really happy to leave here in that situation. I think the pressure and focus will be on the other three guys, and hopefully, we can pick up the pieces."