Rowland reveals plan to avoid Formula E title scrap

Oliver Rowland has revealed that he was keen not to get "involved" in the title fight in the Formula E season finale, and instead wait for things to "kick off". 

The Nissan driver ended his campaign with victory in the London E-Prix after making a great start from ninth on the grid. 

He quickly found himself in fourth and with an energy advantage, but was keen to avoid getting amongst the leading trio who were fighting for the title. 

In the end, everything worked in Rowland's favour, as Nick Cassidy sustained a puncture and both Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans lost several seconds in the closing laps taking their attack modes. 

"Amazing, starting ninth in this type of race, we would have never expected to win, but it was a crazy race," Rowland said. 

"I picked my moments in the early parts of the race, and then honestly, when I got to fourth, I just didn't want to get involved with the title fight. 

"I was waiting. I was kind of hoping something was going to kick off, which it did in the end, and I managed to pick up the pieces and win the race."

Rowland's second victory of the season secured the Briton fourth in the drivers' championship, and sealed fourth for Nissan in the teams' standings. 

On top of that, the Japanese manufacturer ended the 2023/24 Formula E campaign third in the manufacturers' standings, giving the team much to celebrate. 

With the return of Rowland this year, Nissan has made huge steps in the right direction, much to the delight of team principal Tommaso Volpe.

“What an amazing way to finish the season!" celebrated Volpe. "After a frustrating race one, where both drivers were involved in incidents and picked up penalties, we bounced back with an improved set-up and great pace from Oli to take the win. 

"The strategy was spot on to get up to fourth, and then he took advantage of incidents and the frontrunners needing to take Attack Mode to move into the lead. He stayed calm, executed it perfectly to claim the win, making it an excellent end to a really strong season. 

"Sacha [Fenestraz] also did a great job protecting his position against our most direct competitors and keeping them behind. To finish fourth in the Teams’ Championship and third in the manufacturers’ standings is a real positive and we can be proud of our performance. 

"It was also great to have Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida with us for this win, which made it even more special! This result will give us a boost heading into the off-season. We’ll look to keep pushing and improving ahead of next year, where we aim to challenge for both championships.”