"I could make the most of the slipstream" - Oliver Rowland extends championship lead with Jeddah win

Nissan driver Oliver Rowland is the man of the moment in Formula E. After his victory in Mexico City, he also put in a top performance in Jeddah and took home a full 43 points from Saudi Arabia thanks to second place on Friday and the race win on Saturday.

Rowland once again laid the foundation in qualifying, where he narrowly lost out to McLaren driver Taylor Barnard in the final. However, second place on the grid was the ideal starting point for the Briton, who, unlike in Friday's race, did not initially lead the field.

"The key was in the beginning, obviously," said Oliver Rowland after the race. "I dropped back to third, which I was quite happy with that I could make the most of the efficient slipstream. So I was able to build up a couple of per cent (of energy advantage). That allowed me to just be more aggressive, break the tow from the others, they used energy to try to catch up. It was pretty much the perfect start to be honest."

"I went to the front and managed my race"

However, there was already a tricky scene on the first lap that could have had a major impact on Rowland's race if things had gone slightly differently. "I had a little bit of contact with Günther in the chicane," he explains. "He was overly aggressive from the outside and I got stuck on him. But that's the point why I went to the front. Because I said, being third or fourth, people just starting to get aggressive, so I got out of trouble and went to the front and managed my race."

'DOMINATION, BABY!' @OliverRowland1 wins the #JeddahEPrix in spectacular fashion, opening a 5.8s gap to P2 ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/FyRvEumWIq

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 15, 2025

Even though he now has a clear lead in the world championship - 17 points over Barnard and as many as 29 points over Antonio Felix da Costa in third place - the Nissan driver does not want to think too much about the championship just yet: "We literally focus race by race, just coming and trying to do the best job we can and score the points."

However, the next race will not take place for a few weeks: On 12 April, the racing series will start in Miami for the first time in ten years. The fifth race of the 2024/25 season will take place at Homestead-Miami Speedway.