Oliver Rowland may have missed out on points in the Monaco E-Prix, but the British racer says he was ‘really proud’ of his Mahindra Racing team for the way they came to the principality with a strong car after a difficult opening few races of the season.
Rowland was in contention for the points in Monaco, but a late race crash with Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team’s André Lotterer put paid to his chances and left him with only four points to his name across the first six races of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.
Heading into the Berlin E-Prix double header, Rowland says he hopes the form and progress shown by Mahindra can continue into the two races at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, with an appearance in the Qualifying duels amongst his aim for the weekend.
“Despite not getting a result in Monaco, I actually left feeling really proud of my team and what they had achieved in the two weeks since Rome,” said Rowland. “After Monaco, we did the same again – heads down and working hard – so hopefully we can move forward in the same way again this weekend.
“I won in Berlin back in 2020, after taking pole position, so I’ll be arriving this weekend aiming for more success. I’ve just missed out on the Duels in the last two events so getting through is a main goal of mine.”
“Hopefully we can continue to build on our momentum from Monaco” – Alexander Sims
Team-mate Alexander Sims had his best result of the season in Monaco with eleventh place, and the British racer is aiming for his first top ten finish of the year this weekend in Berlin.
Sims has not had the best of times during the 2021-22 season, retiring from three of the opening six races with mechanical issues and other dramas, but he hopes the performance he had in Monaco and the progress Mahindra have been making can help him score his first points of the campaign.
“Berlin is an interesting place with unique characteristics – bumpiness, abrasiveness – so it will be everyone’s main goal to get the tyre working for the one lap in qualifying,” said Sims. “The lower than usual temperatures we are expecting this week should help in that respect but until we arrive it’s difficult to know.
“I’ve been fairly successful here in the past and have had some good racing so hopefully we can continue to build on our momentum from Monaco and get some good results.”
