Formula E

Nissan Formula E Team ready for debut Madrid race on series’ return to Spain

March 18, 2026

5 min Reading

Norman Nato leans into a left hand turn in Jeddah

Rowland and Nato to take on challenging Jarama circuit

Nissan Formula E Team heads to Madrid for Round 6 of the 2025/26 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as the series introduces its second new race venue of Season 12.

Reigning Drivers’ World Champion Oliver Rowland has had a solid start to his title defense, scoring podium finishes in three of the five rounds so far, including last time out in Jeddah. Meanwhile, teammate Norman Nato will be looking to convert his impressive recent qualifying performances into strong points in Spain’s capital city.

Both drivers have experience at the Jarama circuit from Season 11’s pre-season testing, although neither have previously competed at the circuit. It will be the maiden Formula E event in front of a crowd in Spain, following the behind closed doors event in Valencia in 2021, while Madrid becomes the 35th city to host an E-Prix.

The event will see Pit Boost introduced for the first time in a single-header, with cars being charged up with a 10% energy increase mid-race. This means only one six-minute Attack Mode will be in use, making a good strategy crucial to getting a positive result.

Measuring 3.934-kilometers, Formula E will compete on the full Grand Prix Jarama layout, with a chicane added on the pit straight. The twisting circuit features plenty of high-speed corners which will challenge the drivers and teams throughout the event.

Track action begins on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 16:30 local time (UTC+1), before qualifying gets underway at 10:40 on Saturday. The race follows later that day, with lights going out at 15:05.

On Sunday, Nissan Formula E Team’s reserve and simulator driver Abbi Pulling and Alpine Racing driver Victor Martins will participate in Season 12’s Rookie Test. Six hours of running will be available for the team to take advantage of as it looks to continue developing its car ahead of upcoming races.

Oliver Rowland leads a group of cars in Jeddah

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “We’re very happy to be back racing in Spain, and to compete in front of the passionate Spanish fans for the first time! It’s been positive to have scored three podiums in five races so far, but our goal now is to find more consistency. This weekend will be an interesting one as it’s a new race venue for Formula E, although we have data from the test ahead of Season 11. It’s a challenging track for drivers, so we need to provide Oli and Norman with a car which can give them confidence, especially in qualifying, with strategy set to be very important in the race.”

Oliver Rowland

“Jarama is a fun track, but it’s also physically demanding inside the car. With the Pit Boost, we’re expecting a similar race to the first Jeddah E-Prix, meaning qualifying will be vital. Our one-lap speed hasn’t been where it needs to be this season, so we’ve been working hard to find improvements and build confidence. It’s been a positive season so far, despite not being the best in the field. We’ve still managed to finish on the podium three times, which is a promising sign, so we’ll look to keep building in the right direction this weekend.”

Norman Nato

“The last time we were on track in Madrid was a great memory for me as it was my first on-track action since rejoining Nissan Formula E Team at the beginning of Season 11. Jarama is a difficult circuit as it’s got some high-speed corners which are tricky to manage and it can be challenging to put everything together. Qualifying will be very important as overtaking opportunities could be hard to come by, with Attack Mode potentially being less of an advantage than we’ve seen so far this campaign. However, I feel like I’ve qualified well so far this season and now it’s about putting it all together in the race to ensure we collect some valuable championship points.”

Sam Bird

“Jarama is a very fast and undulating circuit, which can make for exciting racing. As ever at a new venue, it will be extremely important to get up to speed quickly in Free Practice. We have a lot of good data from Pre-Season Testing at this track ahead of Season 11 and the simulator prep has been good, so we’ll be looking to take advantage of that. Qualifying is going to be key, I think starting in the top-six will be vital to aim for the win.”

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