Formula E champion Oliver Rowland talks Ibiza trip, Max Verstappen friendship and being a girl dad
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
OLIVER ROWLAND will treat his Nissan team to a knees up in Ibiza after the season finale in London.
The Barnsley-born 32-year-old was crowned Formula E world champion in Berlin last time out.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
4
Oliver Rowland celebrated his maiden Formula E win with four-year-old daughter Harper at Legoland
Credit: Getty
4
Harper congratulated her dad on the team radio when he sealed the championship in Berlin
Credit: Getty
4
Oliver Rowland won his maiden Formula E world title in Berlin
Credit: Getty
4
Rowland plans to treat his Nissan team to a celebratory holiday in Ibiza
Credit: Getty
Rowland was reduced to tears on his final lap and his four-year-old daughter Harper said on the team radio: 'Daddy, you're the world champion!'
The British driver secured four wins and seven podiums with his team this season and it was his first championship in seven seasons in Formula E.
Rowland isn't one for the glitz and glamour of motor-sport, and is quiet off the track, preferring to do his talking in the car.
He has spent the past week celebrating his title by spending quality time with Harper and his wife Lauren.
They even took a trip to Legoland where Rowland couldn't help coach his daughter on the smaller cars, although she was too young to get her driver's license.
He said: "It was my daughter's birthday last Tuesday, so I spent the full day at Legoland celebrating I was absolutely knackered by the end of the day!
"She wasn't tall enough to get her driver's license but she went on the baby cars and I was asking her to get her head down like they do in go karts it was so funny."
Rowland has been known to celebrate his wins with a "few beers" this season, but he will be taking that up a notch with a team trip to Ibiza after this weekend's final race in London.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
He added: "Since we're so close to City airport and all in London together I decided to invite all the engineers away with me.
"I just thought it was something different and nice to do for them. Let them have a nice two or three days.
Glamorous TikToker Bianca Bustamante gives behind-the-scenes look at a Formula E race week
"I wanted to appreciate all the work that the whole team does and it was a gesture to show my appreciation. We can have a bit of fun together."
Rowland has a presence in F1, and has been with Alpine for 10-years helping with testing.
He also enjoyed a short stint as a junior driver for Williams in 2018.
He still has a presence in the sport, mentoring F1 prospect and Red Bull junior driver, Arvid Lindblad.
And is good pals with four-time world champion Max Verstappen who wished him luck ahead of Berlin.
Rowland added: "He sent me a message on on Saturday night, telling me to score points and calm down a little bit,
"Then on Sunday, he told me, well done so yeah, it was really nice for him, because I was feeling pretty down after Saturday's mistake and he reached out.
"Just said 'yeah look, you got this, you're doing a good job'."
Rowland's most treasured congratulatory message remains from his daughter Harper though.
Being a 'girl dad' is his biggest achievement and wife Lauren is pregnant with baby number 2.
He added: "At the beginning I always wanted to have a boy but another girl like Harper would be super cute."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
18 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Marcus Rashford back with ex-fiancee Lucia Loi two years after split as childhood sweetheart joins him in Barcelona
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MARCUS Rashford has rekindled his relationship with former fiancée Lucia Loi — and she was with him when he signed for FC Barcelona, The Sun can reveal. The Three Lions ace, 27, and childhood sweetheart Lucia, 26, were together during a photoshoot before he was unveiled as the Catalan giants' latest signing at the Camp Nou stadium. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Marcus Rashford being unveiled as Barcelona's latest signing at the Camp Nou stadium Credit: Getty 7 The footie ace has rekindled his relationship with former fiancée Lucia Loi Credit: Getty 7 Rashford had proposed to Lucia after a romantic meal at celebrity restaurant Catch LA in 2022 She took his photo, then moved behind him to take another and seemingly checked his shirt before the Man United exile posed beside a traditional red British phone box. Rashford was later seen emerging from the kiosk in a post on FC Barcelona's social media, captioned: 'Hello? Barca? For sure, I'm coming.' The striker has signed a year-long deal with Barcelona, who have an option to buy him next summer for around £26million. Old Trafford boss Ruben Amorim has made it clear he will not play for United while he is in charge. Rashford has been given the No14 shirt previously worn by big names including Johan Cruyff, Thierry Henry and Ronald Koeman. The Sun understands that Rashford has asked calming influence Lucia, who works in PR, to help him settle in to life in Spain so he can focus on his football. But they were not seen together until they were unwittingly snapped preparing for his phone box stunt. A source said the pair have stayed close, despite their 2022 engagement fizzling out, and have grown close again of late. They added: 'Marcus knows that some of the best moments in his career have occurred when Lucia has been at his side. 'They got together when they were very young and have had ups and downs, but a friendship has always remained. Barcelona announce loan signing of Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford 'He knows that she is good for him and she is one of the few people in the world he knows has got his best interests at heart. She is very sensible and helps keep him grounded.' Rashford said of his move: 'I'm very excited. It's a club where dreams come true. 'It feels like I'm at home and it's a big factor in my choice to come here. It's a family club and people are comfortable here.' Rashford, who flew out yesterday with his new teammates for his new club's Far East pre-season tour, and Lucia have been friends for at least a decade. They met at Ashton on Mersey School in Manchester where both were pupils. He was sent there as a teenage United academy player. They were dating when he made his first team debut in February 2016 in a UEFA Europa League match against FC Midtjylland. 7 Lucia takes snap of her man during photoshoot at the Camp Nou Credit: x 7 Lucia lends Marcus a hand by checking his shirt 7 Rashford during Barca's phone box stunt Credit: Facebook. He scored twice in the 5-1 victory at Old Trafford. They split in 2021 after Covid put a strain on their relationship but reconciled the following year. In February 2022, they were seen at the world premiere of Amazon Prime documentary 'Rooney' at HOME cinema in Manchester. Three months later, he proposed to Lucia after a romantic meal at celebrity restaurant Catch LA in West Hollywood, California. He got down on one knee and handed her a £250,000 engagement ring, posting a picture on Instagram of them kissing. Behind them was a large heart made from white flowers. Beneath the picture was the date and a love heart emoji. Lucia, who graduated with first class honours in Advertising and Brand Management, was a regular in the stands at Old Trafford. But in June 2023, sources said Rashford and the former Manchester Metropolitan University student had split after he was seen with a model outside a hotel in Miami. 7 Sources said Rashford and Lucia had split in June 2023 Credit: Getty She was later identified as personal trainer Courtney Caldwell. In November 2023, Rashford and Lucia were seen having dinner at a restaurant in Manchester. He was briefly linked to model and former Love Island contestant Grace Jackson last year, but the relationship ended in December. Back in Spain, meanwhile, Rashford is expected to be on 15 per cent less than the £315,000-a-week he was paid at Man United. He spent the second half of last season at Aston Villa after Amorim made it plain he would not be part of his plans for United's future. Barcelona almost signed Rashford in January, a move the star said he wanted to go through. After the deal was finally signed on Wednesday, club president Joan Laporta said: 'We are very happy because a player of great quality is coming, at a great age. 'We have him as strong as a rock. He came in very motivated.'
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'I'm part of British royal family after Queen's secret marriage and love child'
Queen Victoria had a secret lovechild with her manservant, a new documentary claims. Here a woman, who believes she's a descendent of the royal, speaks out Queen Victoria and John Brown were not only secretly married, they had a love child, a new documentary will claim. Historian Dr Fern Riddell believes she has found proof that the monarch and her manservant were deeply in love – and that the Queen gave birth to her tenth child, a girl called Mary-Anne, whose father was John. "I believe Victoria and John were madly in love. I believe I've found evidence that they got married, and I really do believe there's a strong possibility they may have had a child together," she says. TV lawyer Rob Rinder, who appears in the documentary to cast his sceptical eye over her findings, says: "Big claims. If you're right, that changes our understanding of history." In her new book, Victoria's Secret, Riddell reveals that she has located a direct descendent of Mary-Anne _ Angela Webb, who lives in Minnesota, USA. John Brown was her grandfather's great uncle and she grew up knowing all the stories about her family coming from an illegitimate branch of British royalty – but never thinking it could be proved. She shows off a basket of heirlooms in the Channel 4 programme and explains: "They were originally Queen Victoria and John Brown's and have made their way to me. There are books, there's jewellery, there's documents. "This brooch was commissioned by Queen Victoria. It says March 29, 1896. It does have a lock of hair in the back as well. "This is a handwritten note from Victoria. It has the royal seal. It says to place a wreath and flowers in dear John Brown's room on his bed on the 27th, which would have been the anniversary of his passing." Angela says the story she grew up with is that John Brown was far more than a close companion of Queen Victoria's. She says: "We were told there was a romantic relationship, that there was a long boat journey and there was a baby, Mary-Anne, that was Queen Victoria's and John Brown's – and my family has descended from that baby." Dr Fern says that the secret Brown family archive that she has unearthed proves beyond all doubt that the pair were lovers – and had a baby girl who was given to John's brother Hugh to bring up with his wife Jessie. The couple, who were childless, then moved to New Zealand with the baby, and it helped to avoid a scandal. But later it's said that Queen Victoria begged them to return to Scotland with the child – and they did. In the film, Dr Fern says that the end of Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert had been an unhappy time. Victoria had struggled through her nine pregnancies and suffered from post-natal depression, plus symptoms including hallucinations that may have been mistaken for the madness that had afflicted King George. She says doctors had warned against any further pregnancies, meaning the couple would have had to practice celibacy. "So in her late 30s, she is told to no longer have a sexual connection with her husband. It's going to cause a real issue in their marriage for her." Dr Fern believes the Queen always had a strong sex drive. "She was sensual, she adored physical pleasure." One example of this is a young Victoria writing that she had been riding in the rain with Albert, who was wearing "tight white cashmere pantaloons" and noting that he had on "nothing under them", which she had also underlined. Fern says that she can understand why Victoria would have been drawn to John Brown at this time, because he was young and handsome and dashing. She explains: "When you look at this, you can see why Queen Victoria is irresistibly drawn to him." When her marriage to Albert becomes strained, the couple spent more time in Scotland at Balmoral, where John would have spent much time with Victoria. "This allows a space for a wounded Queen to indulge in a flirtation with a strong, sexy young man," Dr Fern says. There are many examples of love letters, unearthed from the Brown family archive, including one that the monarch wrote to John's brother Hugh in 1886, to let him know how she felt about his brother. It says: "I took and held his dear kind hand. I told him no one loved him more than I did. And he answered, nor you than me, no one loves you more." In one Christmas card she tells her lover: "My lips may give a message better of Christmas love than even my letter." And in case that wasn't clear enough, another says: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Rinder agrees this could only mean they had a "deep, meaningful and enduring" love affair. But the affair was hushed up, and so too was the pregnancy, Dr Fern believes, which happened when the Queen was in mourning over Prince Albert and out of public life. She finds evidence to suggest that Victoria and John were secretly married and declares: "I think there was a surprise baby, spirited away to New Zealand. Then, once Victoria and John had committed to one another, they decided to bring Hugh and Jessie and Mary-Anne home." Angela was "flabbergasted" when Dr Fern contacted her to ask questions about her ancestry. She believes she can "see myself" in pictures of Queen Victoria and is now keen to do a DNA test. She says: "I'd love to be able to prove that they had a really beautiful love story. I'd love to be able to say this was a legitimate part of John Brown's life - that he was her second greatest love." But the American admits: "If it's proven that I am a descendent of Queen Victoria, I'm not sure how I'll feel."
The National
25 minutes ago
- The National
Emma Raducanu reaches semi-final of Washington Open
The victory, on a day where both players had to battle high temperatures, means Raducanu will overtake Katie Boulter as British number one on Monday. After losing the opening game, Raducanu dropped serve in a long second game but managed to break straight back. Raducanu broke again to make it 4-3 courtesy of a scuffed dropped-volley effort by Sakkari, who fought back once more following another double fault by the Briton. After getting her nose in front again, Raducanu held her serve to take the opening set 6-4. The 22-year-old was looking to continue her impressive streak over the Greek player on her 30th birthday but Sakkari – who beat Boulter earlier in the competition – took a 4-2 lead in the second set. Temperatures of up to 36 degrees took their toll as a physio was called onto the court to check on the 2021 US Open winner. However, the break in play reinvigorated Raducanu and she won five successive games to book her slot in the final four in two hours and 10 minutes. 'I think my confidence has been building since Miami,' she told the WTA. 'The amount of work I'm doing behind the scenes, to have that in the locker and banked, you know you've done it, it takes a little pressure off the results. 'I'm really pleased today, I think Maria played a really good match and I think these conditions suit the jumpiness of her game and I'm really happy that I toughed it out.' Raducanu will face either Clara Tauson or Anna Kalinskaya for a place in the final.
