The perfect fairytale! Nissan’s Oliver Rowland crowned Formula E world champion in Berlin

Nissan’s Oliver Rowland crowned an incredible Formula E season at the weekend by becoming the 2024/25 World Champion, with two races left until the end of the season.

The British driver has had a year to remember, taking seven podiums including four victories, and battled through an intense race weekend in Berlin to secure the title.

Coming into the event with a 69-point lead in the standings, Rowland needed to keep the gap at 58 points or more by the end of the weekend to win the title in Germany.

However, the event got off to a tough start during Saturday’s Round 13 for both Rowland and Sérgio Sette Câmara, with the Brazilian making his debut for the team in place of Norman Nato (absent due to his World Endurance Championship commitments).

Difficult conditions

Following a cancelled FP2 and a shortened Qualifying due to inclement weather, Oliver Rowland started third but suffered race-ending contact in the latter stages of the event, which also saw him handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race.

Meanwhile, Sérgio Sette Câmara lined up in 19th and showed solid pace on his debut for the Japanese outfit despite facing very difficult conditions, recovering from an earlier incident and gaining four places to finish 15th.

In Sunday’s Round 14, Rowland initially qualified third, but started eighth on the grid due to the penalty. The Brit managed his energy excellently, making his way towards the front and crossing the line in fourth as his main title rival dropped out of the top 10.

Rowland’s finish extended his advantage to 59 points, confirming him as the 2024/25 World Champion. On the other side of the garage, after an unfortunate qualifying which saw a red flag at the beginning of his push lap, Sette Câmara lined up 21st. Despite more bad luck which saw a Safety Car called out during his first Attack Mode activation, the Brazilian delivered an impressive performance, gaining 12 places to end the race in ninth and score his first points for the Japanese outfit.

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of the Nissan Formula E Team, said: “It’s one of the most emotional weekends ever for me in motorsport and I’m so proud of how the team bounced back after Saturday to help Oli secure the Drivers’ Championship.

Amazing achievement

“The first race of the weekend was tough after the cancellation of FP2, especially for Sérgio on his debut for the team. However, we all stayed focused for Sunday to claim this amazing achievement. It’s very special to win the title with Oli, who started his Formula E journey with us as a rookie in our very first season, and today we’re World Champions together.

“Sérgio also delivered an excellent race and it’s great to see him score a top-10 finish in only his second race with us. It’s time to celebrate this victory and then we’ll look to fight until the very end to win the other two championships in London.”

Oliver Rowland said: “I’m very proud to win the Drivers’ World Championship with the Nissan Formula E Team – it’s going to take a while for it to sink in! After a tough day on Saturday, I approached the race thinking about limiting the potential damage to my lead, but that strategy almost never works in Formula E. In the end I trusted myself and focused on delivering the best possible performance, and it paid off.

“Since I came back, Nissan have created an environment which I can thrive in, and this is the perfect fairytale! The season isn’t over yet though – we still have two championships to fight for and our focus is fully on these for the season finale in London.”

Formula E’s Season 11 comes to a close at Rowland’s home race in London on July 25-27.