Unstoppable Brits make history with stunning Formula E World Championship results
The Brits were unstoppable in the latest round of the Formula E World Championship in Saudi Arabia – with an unprecedented TOP FOUR lock-out on the shores of the Red Sea. Nissan’s Oliver Rowland took a well-deserved victory ahead of NEOM Mclaren’s rookie Taylor Barnard, with Jake Hughes of Maserati MSG Racing finishing third in the second of two races in Jeddah. The Brits swept the podiumGetty Former world champion Jake Dennis made up an incredible 15 places to finish just shy of the podium for Andretti in fourth as history was made at the series’ inaugural race weekend in the Saudi city. Rowland extended his early Formula E championship lead to 17 points – managing his energy expertly and timing his Attack Mode strategy well to cross the line almost six seconds ahead of Barnard in second. This Nissan driver had narrowly missed out on victory in the first race of the double-header 24 hours before, after being overtaken on the final corner of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit by DS PENSKE’s Maximilian Guenther. On the success of British drivers, Rowland told talkSPORT: “We’ve always been spoiled for good racing drivers and it stems from the grassroots. “It starts off with karting from a very young age, it’s very competitive. I think it breeds us in a really good way to develop – hopefully we can keep that” Rowland himself has supported numerous young hopefuls in karting through his recently concluded Oliver Rowland Motorsport project. One of those prospects is the man who became Formula E’s youngest ever pole-sitter before finishing behind Rowland in the race, NEOM Mclaren’s Barnard. He explained to talkSPORT how he wouldn’t have been in a position to compete against his rival if it wasn’t for his support a number of years ago: “I finished my UK karting campaign and I didn’t have money to do anything else. “Ollie was the bridge between UK and European karting which then gave me the opportunity to show what I could do. Without that I wouldn’t be sitting here today, so I have a lot to owe Ollie” Barnard was handed his opportunity at NEOM Mclaren following the departure of Jake Hughes last summer and after bagging his first podium for his new team Maserati MSG Racing – the Black Country driver added his thoughts on the talent coming out of the UK. “Motorsport is famous in the UK – a lot of teams in Formula E and F1 are based there. A lot of the talent in not just driving, in staff and where you learn to drive and where engineers learn is there. We’re very blessed and I’m sure there’ll be more to come as well!” Rowland extended his lead to 17 points in the championshipGetty Rookie Barnard finished second in SaudiGetty Cupra Kiro’s British driver Dan Ticktum secured his second Top 10 finish of the season in 9th, while Formula E veteran Sam Bird came home 12th for NEOM Mclaren. The next round of the Formula E World Championship takes place in Miami on April 12th, with exclusive UK radio commentary on talkSPORT2.
The Brits were unstoppable in the latest round of the Formula E World Championship in Saudi Arabia – with an unprecedented TOP FOUR lock-out on the shores of the Red Sea.
Nissan’s Oliver Rowland took a well-deserved victory ahead of NEOM Mclaren’s rookie Taylor Barnard, with Jake Hughes of Maserati MSG Racing finishing third in the second of two races in Jeddah.
Former world champion Jake Dennis made up an incredible 15 places to finish just shy of the podium for Andretti in fourth as history was made at the series’ inaugural race weekend in the Saudi city.
Rowland extended his early Formula E championship lead to 17 points – managing his energy expertly and timing his Attack Mode strategy well to cross the line almost six seconds ahead of Barnard in second.
This Nissan driver had narrowly missed out on victory in the first race of the double-header 24 hours before, after being overtaken on the final corner of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit by DS PENSKE’s Maximilian Guenther.
On the success of British drivers, Rowland told talkSPORT: “We’ve always been spoiled for good racing drivers and it stems from the grassroots.
“It starts off with karting from a very young age, it’s very competitive. I think it breeds us in a really good way to develop – hopefully we can keep that”
Rowland himself has supported numerous young hopefuls in karting through his recently concluded Oliver Rowland Motorsport project. One of those prospects is the man who became Formula E’s youngest ever pole-sitter before finishing behind Rowland in the race, NEOM Mclaren’s Barnard.
He explained to talkSPORT how he wouldn’t have been in a position to compete against his rival if it wasn’t for his support a number of years ago: “I finished my UK karting campaign and I didn’t have money to do anything else.
“Ollie was the bridge between UK and European karting which then gave me the opportunity to show what I could do. Without that I wouldn’t be sitting here today, so I have a lot to owe Ollie”
Barnard was handed his opportunity at NEOM Mclaren following the departure of Jake Hughes last summer and after bagging his first podium for his new team Maserati MSG Racing – the Black Country driver added his thoughts on the talent coming out of the UK.
“Motorsport is famous in the UK – a lot of teams in Formula E and F1 are based there. A lot of the talent in not just driving, in staff and where you learn to drive and where engineers learn is there. We’re very blessed and I’m sure there’ll be more to come as well!”
Cupra Kiro’s British driver Dan Ticktum secured his second Top 10 finish of the season in 9th, while Formula E veteran Sam Bird came home 12th for NEOM Mclaren.
The next round of the Formula E World Championship takes place in Miami on April 12th, with exclusive UK radio commentary on talkSPORT2.
