Rowland keeping his cool as Nissan FE title challenge builds

Oliver Rowland doesn’t feel like he’s gone from hunter to hunted despite his prime position in the Formula E standings.

The Nissan driver is in the thick of the championship fight for the second year in a row, but while last year was a story of Porsche vs Jaguar with Rowland finding his way up there in spite of having an inferior car, this year Rowland is the man to beat with three wins from seven starts, podiums in all but two races, points in all but one, and a 48-point lead over nearest rival Antonio Felix da Costa.

But despite the change in championship complexion for the Briton, his outlook on it hasn’t changed.

“I still feel like a hunter — I always will,” he told RACER. “I think you always have to keep your feet on the ground and expect to not be the best, to keep fighting together. So now, of course, in the championship, you can see me that’s being hunted. The mentality is to just try and maximize every small detail and do the best job we can.”

Rowland won twice last season and entered the London season finale with an outside shot at the title, although withdrawing from the two races in Portland that preceded it ended any realistic hope of a triumph. He feels that, although he has a sizeable lead one race before the halfway point in this season, there hasn’t been big changes to put him in the driving seat of the title race.

“Last year I was already in the championship fight without missing the two races and the bad result in Misano (where high temperatures led to a battery issue that forced him to retire from the lead in the second race of the weekend),” he said. “I was there with them all year, so I think this year it’s a case of the car’s a little bit better in the race, and then it’s all the small pieces of the puzzle put in together and working in a slightly better way.”

While other works teams offer the clearest title threat to Rowland and Nissan, he sees independents presenting both challenges and opportunities. Joe Portlock/Getty Images

Once again Porsche is a big threat to Nissan’s teams’ championship ambitions, but it’s also faced increased competition from NEOM McLaren this year, with it having the third-most podiums behind the duo. With McLaren being a Nissan customer team, Rowland says that the British team’s step up is useful for the factory operation he drives for.

“It’s great to have the data, it’s another three cars in your direction,” he said. “Maybe if you’re having a tough weekend, it’s a really positive thing that they’re as strong as they are.

“Last year, I always struggled fighting against two Andrettis, two Porsches, or two Jaguars or two Envisions. Having McLaren up there, we’re trying to slowly build that relationship so can all work together.”

Next up for Formula E is Nissan’s home race in Tokyo – an occasion it has marked with the launch of a new retro-inspired online racing game – and although he’s going there as the man to beat, Rowland doesn’t feel concerned about the extra pressure that could come racing in front of the team’s home crowd.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “Last year was already enough pressure with all the big guns from Nissan there, so of course, it’ll be more of the same. But I feel like I’m the type of guy that when that’s there, I tend to perform, so I’m not too worried about that.”