Oliver Rowland can savour this fourth victory in Formula E. The Briton, winner of the Mexico E-Prix, has perhaps claimed his most unexpected victory in the all-electric championship. Starting from the second row, the Nissan driver was nevertheless still well placed in the Top 100, but was unable to gain the upper hand over the two drivers Porsche, Antonio Félix da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein, much more efficient and impressive on the Mexican track. Approaching the last laps, stuck in fourth position, the Englishman seemed to be heading towards the places of honor…
… But the race changed on lap 29 when David Beckmann, hit by Zane Maloney, stopped at the entrance to the stadium and brought out the Safety Car. Oliver Rowland had just activated his second six-minute Attack Mode, but the Safety Car quickly cleared and with the field packed together and two minutes of Attack Mode remaining, the Briton was able to attack and easily get rid of Jake Dennis and then the two Porsches, vulnerable to the Nissan's extra power. In less than a lap, the #23 Nissan had moved from fourth to first, before holding on and crossing the checkered flag first.
“It was fun, but it was stressful, said Oliver Rowland after his victory in Mexico. I was a little disappointed with myself in the morning, in qualifying, I didn't manage to put everything together in my lap. (eliminated in the semi-final by Pascal Wehrlein, Editor’s note.). We were there but to be super competitive, let's say, but I managed to stay in the game, stay 4th. When I took the last Attack Mode, I said to myself: 'OK, it's time to go in front', and that's what I managed to do… except that the Safety Car intervened a second time, and I said to myself: 'Oh no, not again!'. The emotions of going for the victory were incredible. (…)
Rowland and the Luck Factor: "It makes up for the bad luck a little bit." from São Paulo
Oliver Rowland does, however, acknowledge that he had excellent timing with the appearance of the Safety Car and his brief intervention on track, which allowed him to close in on the leaders and overtake them at the restart. Without that, the Nissan driver admits that he would not have taken the victory… “With the safety car there was an element of luck, but I also lost almost six minutes of Attack Mode. But I honestly think I would have struggled to win without the safety car because I was struggling a bit to be effective after about ten laps.”
For the Briton, fourth last season with Nissan, this victory snatched from Porsche is also a revenge on the São Paulo E-Prix, last December. In Brazil, he had been sanctioned with a drive-through for overpowering and had finished outside the points, while he was fighting for the victory. If everything was not perfect in Mexico, Oliver Rowland knows that he and his team are on the right trajectory to play for the title in 2025.
"We can go back to what happened in São Paulo, yes, but I think we found a bit of luck today, it compensates a bit for the bad luck we encountered there, underlines the Briton. [This victory] is also for my performance engineer (Asier Sebastián, victim of an appendicitis attack) who is in hospital at the moment, and who was not present on the track during the day. (…) I was not efficient enough, it is something that we must look at and improve. I had to fight with other cars, the balance was less good after about ten laps… There are things to analyze, but we knew that the Porsches were very efficient in Mexico, so I am not panicking.
ALSO READ > Oliver Rowland wins Mexico E-Prix, stealing victory from both Porsches
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