Formula E world champion Oliver Rowland wins Monaco Sunday: "It was a classic Rowland"

After an already eventful Saturday race, the Formula E World Championship went one better on Sunday in the Principality. In a strategic and thrilling race, reigning world champion Oliver Rowland secured victory in Monaco. It is the Nissan driver's second triumph on the legendary street circuit - and a historic success for the history books.

"It's every driver's dream to win in Monaco. It was really fantastic", said the Briton after the race. Rowland proved once again on Sunday why he is the reigning world champion. With a perfectly organised race, clever energy management and the necessary patience, he celebrated the eighth race win of his Formula E career. "I agree when people say it was a classic Rowland", he summarised. "I never imagined the race would be like this beforehand. It was a good race, but I don't think the competition would do it again like today."

This means Rowland is now back in the title fight to defend his world championship crown. There are now seven races left on the programme in the current Formula E season. However, the Briton was his usual pragmatic and slightly pessimistic self with regard to his title chances: "I still need a bit more pace for the title fight. I need to rely less on how I drive strategically. And of course I have to stay out of any drama."

However, just like Nyck de Vries the day before, Oliver Rowland will not shy away from the traditional victory celebration in Monaco: jumping into the pool. "Unfortunately my daughter Harper couldn't be there today. She will be sad, but she cannot always come along. Harper loves swimming, and daddy goes swimming now too!

A feast for statistics lovers

The success on the streets of Monte Carlo ends a drought of almost twelve months for Rowland: it is his first victory since his team's home race in Tokyo in 2025, exactly 364 days to the day after his dramatic success in Japan.

Together with Saturday's race, the Monaco weekend will be a feast for numbers fans. After Nyck de Vries won again the previous day for the first time in over four years, Rowland now followed suit in the all-time leaderboard of the Monaco E-Prix. With his second victory in the Principality, he is now the second most successful driver on the tradition-steeped circuit behind record winner Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing, three wins).

Drama surrounding team-mate Nato

While Rowland was celebrating at the front, the other side of the Nissan garage experienced a bitter race. Norman Nato, who put in a strong performance in the early stages, retired early. "Everything was going well until the crash, Oli and I worked well together", said the Frenchman when asked by e-Formula.news. "But in the end, the race was simply too short to say what would have been possible today."

The incident occurred when the Frenchman was pushed into the barriers after an impetuous attack by DS Penske driver Taylor Barnard. Nato had strong words for the young Briton's manoeuvre after the race: "Barnard was a bit cocky and everyone could see what happened next. I was on the outside, he was on the inside. He came from behind and tried to overtake. He just had too much speed and pushed me into the wall."

The man who caused the accident naturally saw the situation somewhat differently and defended himself: "I didn't do anything wrong with Nato. It was just a typical Formula E move where I was next to him. There was an accident and I got a penalty for it."

For Nato, however, the race was over immediately after the crash. "I don't know exactly what was broken, but the impact was pretty violent. That's why we had to park the car immediately", he explained and added with a view to Barnard's driving style: "Something like that can always happen. But maybe it was just a bit too much of a good thing for him today" The resulting damage thus prevented a possible double podium for the Japanese works team.

After a short break, the season continues in just under five weeks. Then the Sanya E-Prix is on the agenda.