Oliver Rowland will return to Formula E for Season 10 with Nissan after parting ways with Mahindra mid-season.
Rowland will be a driver for the Nissan Formula E Team, teaming up with Sacha Fenestraz, who will be starting his second season in the all-electric championship. With this announcement, Rowland will race once again for the team he has spent the majority of his Formula E career with.
The British driver raced for the Japanese team for three full seasons. During his stay with the team, he won the Berlin E-Prix and also earned five podium finishes.
Oliver Rowland left Formula E unexpectedly and without warning. He agreed to step aside for the seven races that followed, and it was announced at the end of May that Roberto Mehri would take his place.
While Rowland had a contract with Mahindra through 2025, it was obvious the British driver was dissatisfied with the Formula E squad. However, it made sense why Rowland was upset. Mahindra had a very difficult campaign this year. Mahindra and ABT Cupra, its customer team, both placed last in the championship standings.
Lucas di Grassi’s third-place performance in the season-opening race marked the team’s high. However, this outcome would eventually turn out to be one that Mahindra was unable to replicate.
A string of zero-point finishes and a few DNFs were what came next. The Cape Town E-Prix, where none of the Mahindra-powered cars could start the race, was a very low point for the team.
“I’m kind of at a phase where I’m still quite young, I have a good amount of experience,” speaking to The Race, Rowland shared his dissatisfaction with the position he had been in this season.
“So it is a really important phase in my career where I need to get results, hopefully championships, and really utilise that potential.
“I think that’s why the last couple of years became more and more frustrating, because I felt like I was in a position where I could really deliver but wasn’t able to.”
Rowland’s hurried departure from the team is an indication that a lack of results took a toll on him. However, leaving in the middle of the season may have been a logical move.
This year, Nissan outperformed Mahindra in terms of speed, with Sacha Fenestraz taking the pole position and Norman Nato earning a podium finish.
