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The key mindset that led Oliver Rowland and Nissan to the Formula E title
The key mindset that led Oliver Rowland and Nissan to the Formula E title

Yahoo

time17-07-2025

  • Automotive
  • Yahoo

The key mindset that led Oliver Rowland and Nissan to the Formula E title

'I might sound really stupid – my shoulders feel lighter. My whole body feels lighter, my head feels lighter.' You'd forgive Oliver Rowland for feeling this way, with the Briton winning Nissan's very first Formula E world title after his championship lead dwindled of late – but always remained substantial. This was unprecedented success for a manufacturer whose team was born as Renault amid the inception of the championship back in 2014. Since Nissan started taking over the outfit in 2018, it had claimed just four race wins in six years – three of them courtesy of Rowland – before the 32-year-old took another four this season alone. Their stories are deeply intertwined; in the team's first campaign as Nissan Rowland got a surprise, career-defining call for a full-season debut after Alex Albon inflicted a last-minute defection on the squad to join Toro Rosso in Formula 1. Rowland was there for three seasons before moving across to Mahindra, an outfit he left halfway through the 2023 campaign because he 'wasn't really enjoying himself', at a team that was 'very unlikely to bring him the results he was looking for'. Returning to Nissan has paid off handsomely, even though the makeup of the squad had changed significantly since his first stint there, and key to those results are team members' willingness to accept criticism and their drive to improve, Rowland said. Rowland clinched the Formula E title this year in his eighth season of the championship, with a previous best finish of fourth 'I've worked with teams in the past that can be a little bit defensive and not open-minded, whereas [at Nissan] I feel like I can say anything and it's never taken in a personal way; it's always taken like, 'how can we be better?'' Rowland explains. 'Honestly, I think that comes from [late DAMS cofounder] Jean-Paul Driot, who instilled that mentality in a lot of his team who were at DAMS. 'That's what I absolutely love about my team. Nothing is ever personal; you can be as hard, strong and negative about something, and we always turn it into a positive and make it better.' 'My target for every race this year has just been to make the duels [the top eight drivers in qualifying] and then finish in the top six in the race. That's never changed since day one of this season' Oliver Rowland Rowland too has been on a journey of development as a driver ever since his full-time Formula E debut six years and a half ago, and said he was 'really, really fortunate to have some amazing team-mates'. He joined Formula E victory record co-holder Sebastien Buemi during his first three seasons, branding him the team-mate he learned the most from – both 'on the driving and the technical side', particularly regarding feedback. But succeeding in Formula E was also about having the right mindset, Rowland says: 'From a maturity perspective, it's just understanding. When I was young, it was all about being fast and winning everything, and if you weren't winning you might as well not be there. And sometimes, especially in Formula E with the calibre of drivers, you cannot expect to win every weekend. So some weekends the best result might be to finish fifth, sometimes it might be eighth, sometimes it might be first.' Rowland learned a lot from his former Nissan team-mate and 2015/16 series champion, Buemi That's something Rowland diligently put into practice this season as, despite four wins and three second-place finishes, his only goal was consistency – something which seeing a sports psychologist for a few years helped him settle for. 'My target for every race this year has just been to make the duels [the top eight drivers in qualifying] and then finish in the top six in the race. That's never changed since day one of this season,' says Rowland. And it makes sense in a topsy-turvy series like Formula E. Rowland is on nine top-six finishes in 14 races so far, with Taylor Barnard and Jean-Eric Vergne next up on seven; in any season, such consistency will make a driver a title contender. But it was also about managing the pressure, as the self-described 'doubting guy' built up a seemingly unassailable 86-point lead over the first 10 races of the season, which was down to 50 after the first Berlin round. 'I had such a big advantage that it was a case of my mind telling me 'don't bottle it', like we'd seen last year with Nick [Cassidy] who had quite a big lead with four races to go and lost it all,' he adds, referring to Cassidy holding a 25-point lead but ending up third in the standings after a nightmare couple of double-headers. 'That was on the back of my mind a lot of the time. Everybody was basically saying it was a case of when I was going to win, not if, but in my head it was not like that at all.' With all the emphasis on mindset so far, technological progress at Nissan still played a key role, with engineers having moved from Japan to France to help develop the car – which showed its strength in the races with its efficiency. Rowland stood on the podium in seven of the opening nine races in the 2024/25 campaign, which included four wins Although Rowland was a frontrunner last season, he still labelled that previous campaign a 'building year' for the team. 'I managed to do all the development of this year's car throughout the tail end of last year – so selecting parts, having influence on what direction we wanted to go in was something that I was heavily involved in, and I think that helped me build a car that suited me and that performed well,' Rowland explains. 'Then this year it was just a case of trying to put together the best possible championship that I could.' Of course, fourth in the teams' standings doesn't do justice to Nissan's campaign – Norman Nato has collected just 19 points, with Rowland insisting the Frenchman has been 'incredibly unfortunate'. 'I actually owe a little bit to Arvid [Lindblad], because we got this guy in to work with Arvid and I listened in on the calls and had input. I realised how much value was in there for me as well, and trying to explain things to him at such a young age' Oliver Rowland In a rare highlight, Nato grabbed pole position and took the chequered flag first in Miami, only to receive a 10-second penalty for not completing his six minutes of attack mode, which dropped him down to sixth. Rowland also attributes his improved mindset to the work he has done with longtime protege Arvid Lindblad who, as a young karter, Rowland took under his wing. Lindblad is now a Red Bull junior and a frontrunner in the Formula 2 championship – and the best-placed driver to potentially join Racing Bulls for F1 2026. 'I actually owe a little bit to Arvid, because we got this guy in to work with Arvid and I listened in on the calls and had input,' Rowland says. 'I realised how much value was in there for me as well, and trying to explain things to him at such a young age.' Rowland has worked a lot with F1 hopeful, Lindblad The Englishman has not raced in any other series ever since he joined Formula E back in late 2018, and has insisted that this arrangement suits him perfectly, especially given his status as a father – with his young daughter having famously announced his world title on the team radio. 'I really believe that being focused on Formula E is very important to be successful, [not having] too many distractions and too many switching,' Rowland concludes. 'I see Norman's schedule as I've seen with Buemi in the past. These guys don't spend much time at home. I have a family that I want to be present for. 'I also have Arvid in Formula 2, who I'm investing a lot of my time in, and I want that to be a success. I'm already doing 10 of the 14 Formula 2 races, so if you add the 10 onto the Formula E schedule, I'm already incredibly busy and I just feel like [taking on another racing programme] wouldn't work. The balance that I have at the moment is really nice and something that I don't really want to change.' And Rowland's relative lack of notoriety, particularly compared to F1 drivers, is ideal to him. 'I can still get around hotels and travel without being stopped everywhere. So I'm very happy with where my life's at at the moment.' Perhaps he'll still get to sign a few more autographs following his latest, biggest success. Rowland will head to the 2024-25 finale in London as a Formula E champion for the first time To read more articles visit our website.

Child seriously injured and two others hurt in crash on A1(M) near Letchworth
Child seriously injured and two others hurt in crash on A1(M) near Letchworth

ITV News

time04-06-2025

  • General
  • ITV News

Child seriously injured and two others hurt in crash on A1(M) near Letchworth

A child has been seriously injured and two others hurt after a crash on a busy motorway. Emergency services were called around 4pm on Tuesday, after a black DS 4 and a grey Toyota Yaris were involved in a crash on the northbound carriageway near junction 9 for Letchworth, in Hertfordshire. One child, who was a passenger in the DS 4, sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital. Two further occupants of the car, along with the driver of the Toyota, sustained minor injuries. Sergeant Luke Morley, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit, said: 'Our enquiries are continuing, and I am urging anyone with information to please come forward. 'Did you witness what happened, or have any further information to assist the investigation? "If you have dash cam footage in relation to the collision, please upload this via DAMS. 'Finally, I would like to thank members of the public that stopped and provided first aid until emergency services arrived, and for their co-operation while road closures were in place.'

Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash
Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash

Yahoo

time25-05-2025

  • Automotive
  • Yahoo

Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash

Jak Crawford secured his second win of the Formula 2 season after a crash eliminated seven drivers from the feature race in Monaco on Sunday. Polesitter Alex Dunne and Victor Martins were involved in a first-lap collision that resulted in a red flag with several cars stuck behind the incident at the opening corner. The crash occurred after ART Grand Prix driver Martins attempted to overtake Dunne's Rodin Motorsport car coming into the first corner, with the ensuing contact resulting in Dunne pinning Martins' vehicle to the barrier. In addition to Irishman Dunne and France's Martins, Richard Verschoor, Gabriele Mini, Ritomo Miyata, Josep Maria Marti and Max Esterson were all removed from the race following the incident. Following a 50-minute delay, a crash later in the race involving Dino Beganovic at Casino Square resulted in a second red flag. At the end of a chaotic and disrupted race, DAMS Lucas Oil driver Crawford followed up last week's sprint win at Imola. "Oh my gosh. That was the race of my dreams," said 20-year-old American Crawford. "Avoiding the crash at the start was just the first bit. Around the safety car and trying to get into the pit. "Oh my god! It was the craziest thing ever. I'm so lucky, the pace was good too. It was an incredible day." Leonardo Fornaroli finished second, but while Arvid Lindblad crossed in third, his five-second time penalty Sebastian promoted Montoya to the podium. Luke Browning, who finished fourth ahead of Lindblad, moves top of the championship standings on 70 points, three clear of Dunne who led entering Sunday's race. The Formula 2 season continues with the sixth round in Barcelona next week.

Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash
Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash

BBC News

time25-05-2025

  • Automotive
  • BBC News

Dunne among seven drivers eliminated after Monaco crash

Jak Crawford secured his second win of the Formula 2 season after a crash eliminated seven drivers from the feature race in Monaco on Sunday. Polesitter Alex Dunne and Victor Martins were involved in a first-lap collision that resulted in a red flag with several cars stuck behind the incident at the opening corner. The crash occurred after ART Grand Prix driver Martins attempted to overtake Dunne's Rodin Motorsport car coming into the first corner, with the ensuing contact resulting in Dunne pinning Martins' vehicle to the addition to Irishman Dunne and France's Martins, Richard Verschoor, Gabriele Mini, Ritomo Miyata, Josep Maria Marti and Max Esterson were all removed from the race following the incident. Following a 50-minute delay, a crash later in the race involving Dino Beganovic at Casino Square resulted in a second red the end of a chaotic and disrupted race, DAMS Lucas Oil driver Crawford followed up last week's sprint win at Imola. "Oh my gosh. That was the race of my dreams," said 20-year-old American Crawford. "Avoiding the crash at the start was just the first bit. Around the safety car and trying to get into the pit."Oh my god! It was the craziest thing ever. I'm so lucky, the pace was good too. It was an incredible day."Leonardo Fornaroli finished second, but while Arvid Lindblad crossed in third, his five-second time penalty Sebastian promoted Montoya to the Browning, who finished fourth ahead of Lindblad, moves top of the championship standings on 70 points, three clear of Dunne who led entering Sunday's race. The Formula 2 season continues with the sixth round in Barcelona next week.

Kush Maini Wins F2 Monaco Sprint Race, Becomes First Indian To Claim Title
Kush Maini Wins F2 Monaco Sprint Race, Becomes First Indian To Claim Title

NDTV

time25-05-2025

  • Automotive
  • NDTV

Kush Maini Wins F2 Monaco Sprint Race, Becomes First Indian To Claim Title

Indian motorsport witnessed a historic moment as Kush Maini became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 race at the Monaco Grand Prix. The 25-year-old converted pole position into a win at the reverse-grid Sprint Race. Driving for DAMS Lucas Oil, he covered the iconic streets of Monte Carlo to mark his maiden F2 victory along with his first podium finish of the season. To achieve this, the BWT Alpine F1 driver held his composure across 30 laps in a nerve-wrecking competition. While Maini's performance during the race drew praise, he stood at the top of the podium singing the Indian national anthem as Monaco's iconic street circuit became a witness to the moment. "P1 and first Indian to win at Monaco. It's a great honour and a dream come true, really. We keep believing," said Kush Maini, while showing gratitude for DAMS. In the pit lane, Indian business tycoon Gautam Singhania was spotted celebrating with the 24-year-old, highlighting the ongoing support from JK Racing and TVS Racing, which are the two organizations that have backed Maini since his early racing career. Currently serving as a reserve driver for the BWT Alpine F1 Team, Maini's impressive victory at Monaco has boosted his visibility. It has also sparked renewed conversations about the possibility of securing a full-time Formula 1 seat in the near future. This marks Maini's second victory in the F2 sprint, finishing 3.705 seconds ahead of Mini. It is also his inaugural win with his new team, DAMS. With this victory, Maini advances to P13 in the championship, trailing the leader, Alexander Dunne, by 54 points.

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