ROWL WITH IT
Comeback ace Oliver is one to watch
OLIVER ROWLAND made the brave decision to go unemployed to end his Formula E nightmare.
But less than a year later, he is back in the driving seat – and 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 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, asking if he would be open to working with them again.
Now, after three consecutive podiums – including one that came from a stunning last-corner double-overtake in Sao Paulo – Rowland heads into this weekend’s Misano E-Prix doubleheader as Formula E’s one to watch.
“I have a young family, I have mouths to feed,” Rowland said. “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. I had many sleepless nights coming to that decision. 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 that 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’s 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: “I knew we were going to be competitive but to expect these podiums so quickly, no. The target was to get a couple of podiums throughout the season but to already 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 and that is the target.
“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.”
■ Formula E’s Misano E-Prix is live from 1pm today and tomorrow live on TNT Sports.