The Nissan Formula E Team had a tough weekend at the season finale of a strong 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Racing in a special teal-blue livery to celebrate the launch of the new Nissan LEAF, Norman Nato secured points on Saturday and Rowland fought at the front on Sunday before an incident forced the Brit to retire.
In Round 15 on Saturday, Nato put in a solid performance to earn a top-10 finish. The Frenchman started 16th but quickly made his way up the order, consistently showing competitive pace and gaining seven places to come ninth.
In the #23 car, recently-crowned Season 11 World Champion Oliver Rowland lined up in 12th. However, damage from contact during the E-Prix hampered his progress, with the Brit ending up just over a second off a points finish in 11th.
Despite a frustrating first race of the weekend, the team worked hard and was fully focused on the final round of the season, with an opportunity to still clinch both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles.
Both drivers narrowly missed out on the Duels in qualifying, lining up side-by-side in ninth and 10th. Early contact forced Nato to pit, but once he re-joined at the back of the pack, he battled his way up to 11th, finishing under a second off the top-10.
Entertaining campaign
In the #23 car, Rowland made great early progress from 10th on the grid, swiftly moving up the order. However, the Brit had an incident while in the podium positions, which brought his race to a premature end.
Formula E now enters its off-season after another entertaining campaign, which saw the Nissan Formula E Team secure four pole positions, and seven podiums including four wins.
An incredible campaign from Oliver Rowland meant he clinched the Drivers’ title at the previous event in Berlin with two races to go, while the Japanese squad also took its best finish in the Teams’ Championship since the automaker fully took over the team by claiming third, with Nissan also taking third as a constructor in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of the Nissan Formula E Team, said: “It’s disappointing to finish third in both the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championships after leading them for parts of the season.
“However, if we take a step back, we can be very proud of this amazing year. We’ve achieved seven podiums and four victories, we’ve secured the Drivers’ Championship with two races to go, and we were in the fight for the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles until the very last race. We’ve been competitive throughout and we’ve matured together as a team.
“Our mistakes and anything that didn’t go our way during this campaign will help us to be even stronger next season.”
Oliver Rowland said: “We struggled for pace a bit on Saturday and then got stuck behind other cars after our Pit Boost stop. It’s tough to overtake here and then I suffered contact, which denied me the chance of scoring points.
Difficult weekend
“Today we had a better qualifying and I was able to race at the front, before an incident ended my race. It’s been a difficult weekend but, overall, Season 11 has been a remarkable one. It’s a dream come true to be World Champion and to collect the trophy today!
“This will give us great motivation in the off-season to continue to improve and come back even better next season.”
Norman Nato added: “It was a disappointing weekend in general, but everyone has done an amazing job this season to have us fighting for the Teams’ and Manufacturers’ Championships until the very end. It’s part of the journey with the team, and we know that the squad can perform even better in the future.”