Oliver Rowland explained after finishing third in the São Paulo E-Prix that it was the "first" time the drivers had to deal with overheating batteries in the Gen3 era. The fourth round of Formula E Season 10 took place in scorching conditions, with the air temperature having been a mighty 35 degrees Celsius, whilst the circuit was measuring 60 degrees Celsius. As a result, overheating batteries were a huge issue during the race, with virtually every driver having been forced to deal with the never seen before problem. Rowland started in 12th but quickly got himself into seventh, before he became one of the first drivers to suffer from a overheating battery. However, himself and Nissan got on top of the problem, allowing him to make his way into third on the final lap. “The race was crazy, there was so much to manage in terms of temperatures… I managed to do well in the beginning to get up to seventh, and honestly when I was there, I was quite happy to just score some points but the car was really good," Rowland said. "I could carry the speed in the corners, and we had a good strategy so everything was just under control, I think you could see that at the end.”

'New for everybody'

Overheating batteries added a fascinating new element to the peloton-style, with it having been a new challenge for the whole paddock. Nissan seemingly managed it better than most, as Rowland's second consecutive podium was achieved by overtaking Jake Dennis and Pascal Wehrlein on the exit of the final corner. "It's a really tricky balance for us to kind of have the right targets, but not have saved too much," Rowland added. "Because like I mentioned, you can have all the energy at the end, but you can't actually use it if your battery's overheating. "And so I think it was the first time in Gen3 that we've had this and it's quite new for everybody."

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