Three race weekends left in the GEN3 era, and Nissan is arriving in Shanghai with a championship to defend and a handicap to manage. Oliver Rowland leads the Drivers’ Championship fight heading into Rounds 12 and 13 of the 2025/26 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Norman Nato starts Saturday’s Pit Boost race from the back after stewards penalized him for gearbox damage he collected in Sanya, an incident the team says was not his doing.
The Shanghai International Circuit hosts Formula E for the third time. Nissan has scored points in three of the four races held at the venue, with Rowland picking up a top-five on his way to last season’s title and Nato also on the board from the series’ most recent visit. Good history. Not good enough to offset a grid drop, but useful context as the team resets from a Sanya weekend where, according to team principal Tommaso Volpe, strong strategy went unrewarded by on-track incidents.
The circuit itself rewards different priorities than most Formula E venues. The modified layout runs 3.051 kilometers over 12 turns, opening with a pair of progressively tightening corners before releasing through the rolling complex at Turns 3 and 4. Heavy braking zones at Turns 6 and 10 are where overtaking actually happens, and the wide track surface opens opportunities that tighter street circuits close off. That matters for Nato on Saturday: a grid penalty at a circuit where passing is genuinely possible is not the same death sentence it would be in a Monaco-style queue. Reserve and development driver Sam Bird notes Turn 1, Turn 6, and the final chicane entry as the primary overtaking windows, and flags energy management as the variable that will separate finishers from point-scorers.
Rowland is explicit about his approach. He has not stood on the podium at Shanghai, and he wants to fix that before the GEN3 era closes. He also won the Season 11 Drivers’ title with Nissan after seven podiums, four wins, and three pole positions, finishing the job with two races still to run. Repeating requires leaving China with strong points from both races, and the double-header format helps: 58 available points across Saturday and Sunday, before fastest lap and pole bonuses factor in, before a single rival scores anything.
Nissan currently sits fifth in the Teams’ standings on 120 points. The Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships will both be resolved in the final three weekends, making Shanghai critical for both titles. Volpe framed Nato’s penalty plainly: frustrating, unavoidable, adapt and collect points. Nato said his focus is maximizing Saturday’s result and treating it as a learning platform for Sunday, where no penalty applies.
The weekend schedule runs Free Practice 1 on Friday at 16:00 local time (UTC+8), with qualifying and races on Saturday and Sunday starting at 10:40 and 15:05 respectively. Dongfeng Nissan, the brand’s Chinese joint venture, continues as a prominent partner for both Shanghai races, running fan activations and guest programs showcasing Nissan’s EV lineup in one of its most important markets.
After Shanghai, three rounds remain and then the GEN3 era ends. Rowland has a title to defend and a podium drought at this circuit to break. Both problems could be solved by Sunday afternoon.
Source: Nissan. Images courtesy of Nissan.
