Nissan Formula E Team’s Oliver Rowland produced another fantastic performance in the second Berlin E-Prix, taking his sixth podium finish of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Teammate Sacha Fenestraz also showed strong pace and looked set for a strong result, before being pushed into the wall and forced to retire.
A frustrating qualifying gave the Nissan Formula E Team duo a tough task at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, with Rowland lining up 16th on the grid, one position ahead of Fenestraz.
Following his third-placed finish from 15th on the grid in the first of the Berlin double header, Rowland made up 13 positions today to again finish third, taking a total of 30 points from the weekend. The British driver’s performance was reminiscent of Saturday, making up ground early on in the race and battling at the front, completing several good moves to secure another trip to the rostrum.
Meanwhile, Fenestraz was aiming for a fifth consecutive points finish and looked good to take a strong haul, making several excellent overtakes and setting himself well for the final sprint. However, while involved in an intense battle for position, a competitor made contact with the side of the #23 Nissan e-4ORCE 04, sending Fenestraz into the wall and out of the race.
Formula E returns in two weeks’ time as the series heads to China, making its first visit to the Shanghai International Circuit on 24-26 May.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “Another race brilliantly managed by the team and a great result. That’s six podiums for Oli this season and two this weekend! It was great to have Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida here with us to see our performance and celebrate the podium. Qualifying was obviously not so good, but we knew we had a strong race pace and could recover. We went with an aggressive strategy and it paid off with Oli in both races. On the other side of the garage, today was a bit frustrating and a real shame for Sacha – he drove two fantastic races this weekend, but results were compromised by incidents in both events, he will get the results he deserves soon. Six races to go this season, and we’ll look to continue maximizing our results in each.”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “Our strategy today was a little bit different from yesterday, I kept it calm for the first few laps and then went on a mission to try and work my way to the front. It was a really quick race, again tough and intense but a lot of fun. Everyone was aggressive, there was a lot of barging and fighting for position, but I enjoyed it and I’m delighted to be on the podium for the second time this weekend. Going from 16th to third is another incredible result and we’ll look to keep this attacking mentality for the next races.”
Sacha Fenestraz, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “We had a strong day and it was looking like we were going to score plenty of points. I was under control with the energy management, feeling good in the car and ready to attack the final few laps, but unfortunately the contact pushed me into the wall and our race was over. It’s frustrating to have this continued bad luck and I feel we deserved more, top-five was possible again today, so we’ll keep working and hopefully it will go our way in Shanghai.”
