Oliver Rowland: “It’s sad to be leaving, but I’m happy to end on a high”

Oliver Rowland’s final race with the Nissan e.dams team saw him claim a podium finish in race two of the Berlin E-Prix, and he was pleased to end his three-year tenure with the team on a high note.

The British racer is set to join Mahindra Racing for season eight of Formula E, but he claimed a second-place finish at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit on Sunday for his second top three finish of the year.  He leaves Nissan with one win to his name and four podium finishes in his thirty-nine starts with the team.

Ultimately, Rowland did not have the pace needed to deny ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Norman Nato victory in Berlin, but he felt he maximised the potential of the car on Sunday to finish in second place to move up to fourteenth in the Drivers’ Championship.

“Today was a great day,” said Rowland. “We qualified on the front row and finished P2. Of course, there’s only one spot better and it would have been nice to win today for Nissan, but ultimately, I am happy with the job I did, as I think we maximized what we had.

“I’m really happy for all the guys and it was nice to be able to give them some champagne. I’ve had three fantastic seasons with Nissan, I’ve learned a lot and want to thank everyone in the team.

“The team has helped me develop as a driver and a person. It’s sad to be leaving, but I’m happy to end on a high today.”

“We’ve not really matched the expectations we had at the start of the season” -Sébastien Buemi

Team-mate Sébastien Buemi’s 2020-21 season ended on a mediocre note, with the Swiss racer finishing down in fourteenth on Sunday afternoon to end the year twenty-first in the standings.

It has been a difficult year for the former Formula E champion, with only three top ten finishes to his name, with a fifth place in the third race of the year in Rome his best result. 

Buemi says there will be a lot of work to do ahead of season eight, but he hopes to come back stronger in 2021-22, starting with the Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia in January.

“Congratulations to Oli, he did a great final race for the team, so I am happy that everyone got to enjoy the podium in this final race,” said Buemi.  “It’s been a tough season for me as we’ve not really matched the expectations we had at the start of the season.

“We now have lots of work to do during the off-season to better understand what didn’t go well for us, so we can come back stronger in season eight.”

Sébastien Buemi failed to score in Berlin and ended twenty-first in the standings – Credit: Nissan e.dams/FIA Formula E