Oliver Rowland has the Formula E title in sight. A fourth-place finish Sunday at the Tokyo E-Prix, Nissan’s home event, leaves the defending champion 14 points off the Drivers’ Championship lead with two races remaining in the Season 12 finale.
Saturday’s round was a damage-limitation exercise. Both Rowland and teammate Norman Nato missed the Duels in qualifying, starting 15th and 11th respectively in hot and humid conditions. Rowland gained eight positions through a well-timed Pit Boost stop and Attack Mode deployment to finish seventh. Nato ran inside the points early before a five-second penalty for minor contact, served during his Pit Boost stop, dropped him to 16th.
Sunday’s race, the first night event held in Tokyo, was a different story. Free Practice 3 was cancelled due to adverse weather, so both drivers went straight from overnight setup work into qualifying with no chance to validate the changes. Both made it through to the Duels anyway, with Rowland starting eighth and Nato sixth on a wet circuit.
Rowland activated Attack Mode early, moved into the podium positions as the track dried, and led for several laps before a late red flag compacted the field. He held his position on the final lap to finish fourth. Nato struggled for grip in the opening half but used his final Attack Mode to climb seven positions in six minutes, crossing the line sixth. A clean double points finish for Nissan at the worst time to have anything less.
The championship arithmetic is straightforward and uncomfortable for everyone else in the fight. Rowland won the Season 11 title with two races in hand after seven podiums, four victories, and three pole positions. He arrives at London’s double-header round needing to close 14 points on the current leader over two races, which is achievable but leaves no margin for the kind of qualifying trouble that plagued Nissan in Saturday’s opener.
Formula E’s GEN3 era concludes in London on August 14–16. Both the Drivers’ and Teams’ World Championship titles will be decided over those two races, and Nissan’s interest is obvious on both fronts after a weekend that kept Rowland in mathematical contention without delivering the result that would have made the math easier.
Rowland had 14 points of work to do going into Tokyo. He leaves with exactly 14 points of work still to do. London will answer whether that math holds.
Source: Nissan. Images courtesy of Nissan.
