The Nissan Formula E Team certainly endured a weekend to forget at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix, after both Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz retired early on in the sixth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
After showing such sublime pace in Cape Town, Nissan “believed we could have had a strong race” in São Paulo, something which certainly didn’t happen. Nato retired on the opening lap at Turn Three after launching into the air following contact with Jake Hughes, before his Nissan slammed back onto the ground, causing substantial damage. Fenestraz’s race was over just a handful of laps later after he clipped a barrier whilst trying to avoid an incident, damaging his wishbone and radiator.
It was certainly frustrating for Team Principal Tommaso Volpe, who admitted after the race that São Paulo “showed some of our weaknesses”. Due to their point-less result, Nissan remain in ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, with work to do ahead of Berlin next month.
“We’re frustrated with the result this weekend as we believed we could have had a strong race,” said Volpe. “Our pace looked good in practice, unfortunately we missed out on the Duels in qualifying in a really tight session, before the incidents and subsequent retirements for both Norman and Sacha meant our day finished early. Now we have to analyze the work we’ve done over the last six races to prepare for the double header in Berlin.
“There’s been a lot of positives this season, but this race showed some of our weaknesses, so it’s clear where we have to focus. Our target is still to be competitive and challenge at the front and we’ll look to bounce back next month.”
