Nissan Formula E Team secures points on Sunday in Shanghai

Rowland finishes P8 while penalty hinders Nato’s race

Nissan Formula E Team managed to leave Shanghai International Circuit with points, as Oliver Rowland came eighth today in Round 13 of the 2025/26 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The adverse weather forecast meant that today’s proceedings were again brought forward by three hours, the same as on Saturday.

In qualifying, Oliver Rowland showed strong pace in the wet conditions, advancing to the semi-final stage of the Duels and lining up fourth on the grid. Teammate Norman Nato also made it through to the Duels and was initially going to start just behind in fifth, but was subsequently disqualified from the session for a minor technical infringement. 

For the race, the team opted to start both cars on a full wet set-up and the E-Prix got underway after three laps behind the Safety Car, due to heavy rain.

After initially maintaining his position inside the top-10 while the circuit was damp, Rowland began to fall back on a drying track, with tires set for the wet. A late full course yellow allowed the Brit to execute a bold strategy to pit and changes tires, with pressures for dry running. When he rejoined the race and took his final Attack Mode, the current World Champion showed incredible pace in the remaining three laps, gaining six positions on the final tour alone to finish eighth as well as securing the extra point for fastest lap.

In the #23 car and having to start from the back of the grid, Nato began well but like his teammate was unable to make positions with the wet set-up on a drying surface. The Frenchman was advancing during his final six-minute Attack Mode but a full course yellow halfway through put an end to his charge and he eventually crossed the line in 17th.

Formula E is back in action on 24-26 July as the Japanese outfit tackles its home race weekend in Tokyo.

Oliver Rowland

Qualifying: P4

Race: P8 (+4 points), FL (+1 point)

Norman Nato

Qualifying: DSQ

Race: P17

Standings after Round 13:

Teams’ Championship – P6 (125 points)

Manufacturers’ Championship – P5 (151 points)

Oliver Rowland – P3 (114 points)

Norman Nato – P19 (11 points)

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “It was unfortunate that we didn’t achieve more in the race as the adjustments we made overnight worked well and we did a great job in qualifying. For the race we opted for wet set-ups on both cars, which didn’t pay off as the rain stopped and the track dried faster than expected. But at least the bold move with Oli to change tires during the full course yellow was the right one - he showed great pace after that and could score some points. We didn’t maximize our performance this weekend, but Oli is still in a good position to battle for the Drivers’ Championship going into the last four races, which is very positive. Now all our focus will turn to Tokyo, a race that the whole team is looking forward to and where we will have even more motivation to do well in front of Nissan’s home crowd.”