NISSAN JUST THE JOB FOR BRIT OLIVER

OLIVER ROWLAND made the brave decision to become unemployed to end his Formula E nightmare.

But less than a year later, he is back fighting for the world championship.

The Barnsley racer found himself stuck in a rut at Mahindra with the team struggling to progress last year.

Rowland (above) decided it was best to walk from the team – and put his Formula E career at risk. But just a few months later a call came from his former team Nissan.

Now with three consecutive podiums – including one which came from a stunning last-corner doubleovertake in Sao Paulo – Rowland heads into this weekend’s Misano E-prix double-header in Italy as Formula E’s one to watch again.

The 31-year-old said: “I have a young family, I have mouths to feed.

“It was a risk, but I had come to the point in my career where I wasn’t content to be where I was.

“I felt from a personal perspective, I wasn’t happy and I didn’t want to carry on like that.

“There can be money from this or that but if you’re not happy in life, why should you carry on?

“I had to make a decision to stay there and finish my contract, or leave.

“It was a tough decision to make because I didn’t have anything else to go into, but I look back now and it was definitely the right call.

“From the moment I left to finding something else, there was probably a month, but it felt like a long, long month and I lost a lot of sleep.

“I was always in touch here at Nissan and from both sides we agree we probably shouldn’t have split in the first place.”

Rowland spent his time off working with the junior karting team he owns.

Despite being back in world championship racing, he is still kept on his toes by eager mums and dads as he helps their children to progress.

But now his focus is primarily on ensuring that Nissan’s season has not peaked too early.

Rowland said: “The target was to get a couple of podiums throughout the season but already to have two poles and three podiums is positive.

“We know we have good stuff coming next year, so we really have to build a strong unit to be ready.

“You go out every race wanting to win and it is reassuring to get the podiums we have, but this is Formula E and the results go up and down, that is inevitable.

“The target now has to be to win a race, so let’s go after that.”