Formula E: Nick Cassidy sees Nissan as favourites for season 11 thanks to "major change to the powertrain"

With the development of new powertrains for the eleventh Formula E season, the balance of power could shift - the pre-season test at the Circuito del Jarama was too unrepresentative to make any clear predictions. Instead of manufacturers Jaguar and Porsche, who have won all four world championship titles in the first two Gen3 years, Nissan could have hit the jackpot. At least that's what Nick Cassidy believes.

Nissan was immediately competitive when it entered Formula E for the 2018/19 season. However, as the special twin motor was banned by the FIA at the end of the season, the Japanese manufacturer had to develop a completely new concept and initially lagged behind the competition. Results improved in the Gen3 era, but the team continued to play no real role in the world championship battle. Instead, Jaguar and Porsche were able to impress and almost dominate.

Whether Jaguar's new powertrain is more of an evolution or a revolution? "Good question, but I'm keeping the answer to myself at the moment," Nick Cassidy grins meaningfully in response to the question from e-Formula.news. "To be completely honest: Our new car hasn't got off to a particularly good start. We still have a lot of work to do."

However, he has identified a secret favourite after the manufacturers Jaguar and Nissan had sometimes tested together in Varano (Italy) and Mallorca (Spain) in recent months: "Nissan easily left us behind in the test. For me, they are now the reference car and the reference team. They have taken a very big step forward."

Cassidy: "We are aware that we are behind"

"I think it's a stroke of luck that we tested together with Nissan," said the New Zealander. "We tested together for two or three days, in Italy and also in Spain before (the race weekend in) London. So we could see that we have a lot of work to do."

However, the direct comparison with the competition has helped the Jaguar team, as he admits: "We have improved considerably in the last four to six weeks. I have worked very hard with the team to ensure that the further developments come. But we are aware that we are lagging behind. We must therefore continue to work until Sao Paulo to close this gap."

Looking at the timesheets from the test week in Madrid, Jaguar has already achieved this. In the final results, the team champion was a good three tenths of a second faster than Taylor Barnard in the fastest (customer) Nissan.

Rowland: "We've made pretty good progress"

"I think we've made pretty good progress on some of the weak points from last year where we were restricted by homologation," said Nissan driver Oliver Rowland at the microphone of e-Formula.news. The reason for this is a heavily revised Nissan powertrain for the Gen3 Evo car.

"According to rumours from the paddock, there are no major changes for most teams in terms of the design (of the powertrain)," Rowland continued. "But there is one for us, and it's quite a big one. At the moment, we're seeing good results, especially in the race and in terms of efficiency."

Whether Nissan can live up to its role as the secret favourite in the coming season will only become clear from 7 December at the season opener in Sao Paulo.