Oliver Rowland enters round five of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship having finally claimed a points finish, with the British driver having endured some woeful luck so far in Season Nine.
The Mahindra Racing driver finished sixth at the team’s home race in Hyderabad, yet would’ve had a podium had he not been demoted places for exceeding track limits. Nevertheless, it gives him something to build on this weekend at the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, with him having the belief that the team “have the pace to battle at the front”.
It’s been an odd start to the season for Mahindra, with the car having looked strong in Mexico City before falling towards the back in Diriyah; however, they certainly made amends at their home event.
Given that he missed out on a podium due to a time penalty, Rowland enters this weekend in South Africa with “unfinished business”, giving him something to “aim” for.
“I really want to keep the momentum going in Cape Town after a successful weekend in Hyderabad. It was good to finally get some points on the board, but I still feel like there’s unfinished business as getting pinged for track limits meant I lost out on the possibility of a podium in India. At least we know we have the pace to battle at the front, which is something we aim to do this weekend. We usually go well at new circuits so that’s something that stands in our favour.”
“Everyone is on a level playing field once again” – Lucas di Grassi
Whilst Rowland enjoyed an excellent race in Hyderabad, Lucas di Grassi couldn’t quite claim a points finish at the team’s first home race in Formula E, after finishing fourteenth.
Di Grassi’s only points finish this season is still his podium at the season opener, a race he also claimed pole for. Things just haven’t clicked for the former Champion since his mega Mexico City performance, with the Brazilian having also struggled in qualifying. With this weekend being another new venue, though, the Formula E veteran does enter the event “on a level playing field”, meaning that absolutely anything could happen.
The thirty-eight year-old will be targeting points this weekend to move him up from tenth in the Drivers’ Championship, at a circuit he rates as “fantastic” based-off the simulator work he’s done ahead of the weekend.
“I was very happy for the team that they scored some good points at their home race in Hyderabad. I was unfortunate not to quite get into the points when we were running well during the early stages of the race, but we look ahead to Cape Town now. It’s another new track for the team and the whole championship so everyone is on a level playing field once again like in Hyderabad. Having been on the simulator, the track feels fantastic so I can’t wait to get out on it for real.”
Credit: Sam Bloxham courtesy of FIA Formula E