Oliver Rowland has been announced by Nissan e.dams to race in the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship with the Japanese squad, replacing F1-bound Alexander Albon for the manufacturer squad.
Rowland will join 2015-16 Formula E Champion Sebastien Buemi for the start of the fifth season of the series and the first season of the new rules for Formula E, with the introduction of the Gen-2 cars in the upcoming campaign.
Nissan e.dams announced their driver line-up during an official team launch at Nissan Crossing in Tokyo, with the launch also featuring the debut of the all-new Nissan Leaf NISMO RC; which has been made using racing technology for the road. This adheres to Nissan’s policy of helping to integrate automobility on the road and motorsport on the track to help each other in tandem.
It is hoped that Rowland will help Nissan on their journey to achieving success in Formula E, with Rowland’s only previous experience in the series coming at the 2015 Punta Del Este ePrix for Mahindra Racing, where he finished thirteenth, standing in for an injured Nick Heidfeld.
But he has impressed with good performances for in the junior formulae, with a strong Formula 2 campaign last year for DAMS where he finished third to only Charles Leclerc and Artem Markelov. Therefore, Rowland has a good relationship with the French team and will aim to build upon that throughout the season.
The British driver is delighted to be racing in Formula E, speaking at the launch, he said, “The Formula E championship features some of the best drivers in the world and it is an honour to be selected by Nissan e.dams to represent them in season five.
“This is a fantastic new era for the championship with Nissan making its debut, the new “Gen2 Formula E car on track for the first time and some incredible new venues.
“To be able to work alongside Sebastien is also an incredible opportunity. I’m looking forward to challenging myself against the best of the best in Formula E.”
