Oliver Rowland was happy with his first race of the Formula E season and believes he will improve on his seventh-placed finish as the series continues in 2019.
The 26-year-old from Penistone was the fastest of the five British drivers as the competition for electric cars began its fifth season in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week.
Rowland, who moved up seven places after qualifying in 14th, picked up six points and his sixth-placed Nissan e.dams team-mate Sebastien Buemi collected eight so the team is fourth in the constructors’ championship.
Rowland – who only joined the team two weeks before the first race – was pleased with his debut.
He said: “At the start, it was pretty hectic, and a lot was going on, but I had good pace all the way through the race, and I’m happy to come home seventh.
“I’ve done a lot of preparation in the simulator, but the racing is the hardest part because you have people fighting every lap, lunging at you all the time.
“Once I get some more racing miles under my belt, it will start to feel more natural, and I can concentrate on the small details that are going to make us better.
“It was a crazy day with the weather, and nobody knew what to expect, but the whole team did a great job.”
Jean-Paul Driot, the Nissan e.dams team principal, said: “Oliver has shown during practice that, very soon, he will be ready to compete for top qualifying positions. We are happy with today’s race.
“We are starting season five with a lot of new parameters, with a newcar and a new powertrain that we have developed with Nissan. It’s nice to have both cars in the points straight away.We will start developments to improve the car for the upcoming races.”
Rowland sees his future in the electric car and admits his boyhood desire to compete in Formula One is now beginning to fade. He said: “Formula One is so difficult to get into unless you have a huge budget as an individual.
“I don’t want to spend loads of money on it just to be at the back of the grid. Of course it would be fantastic to be involved with, but I honestly think Formula E is catching up with it. That is where I see myself competing over the next few years.”
Formula E now moves on next month to Marakesh in Morroco on January 12 and Santiago in Chile a fortnight later. All the races will be shown live on the BBC website and red button as well as on BT Sport.
