"I was in the perfect position" - Oliver Rowland explains Nissan penalty debacle that cost him Formula E win

The Formula E race in Sao Paulo on Saturday was a huge mess. There were numerous accidents and also many penalties, with Nissan collecting the most penalties. Every driver in both the Nissan works team and the Nissan customer team McLaren received a drive-through penalty. The offence was of a technical nature: "Power overuse" This was particularly bitter for Oliver Rowland, who was the clear favourite for victory for a long time!

"Power overuse" means that too much power was briefly drawn from the battery. Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe has since confirmed to The Race what the problem was: "It was the control systems at the start. We will look into this urgently next week to ensure that there are no more penalties."

Rowland had the race in his hands

Rowland, who started the race from second place and performed at his best throughout the weekend, was the only Nissan driver not to receive a penalty after the start of the race. The reason for this was probably his front starting position, which meant that he did not reach the particular devastating speed mark before the first corner. The Briton won the start and then had the race under control.

He was able to save his attack mode for longer than the other drivers in the leading group. Rowland himself was confident of victory: "I was in the perfect position to pull away and almost finish the race with the second attack mode." However, there were problems with the activation: When Rowland still had almost four minutes of attack mode left on the clock, Jake Dennis brought out the red flag with his retirement, and Rowland lost his advantage.

On the restart, his chances of victory were finally destroyed. His start was good again and he reclaimed first place. However, he was a little too good: "When I accelerated for longer in the second start and battled with Antonio (Felix da Costa) until turn 1, I had the same problem as the other Nissans." He also received a penalty for "power overuse" and dropped back to last place.

For McLaren, the penalties become an advantage

Both Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird had already received and served their penalties in the first phase of the race. The two red flag periods gave them an energy advantage and they were able to save the attack mode for longer. In the end, it was even enough for Barnard to secure his first podium in third place, with Bird finishing directly behind him in fourth. With 27 points, McLaren now even leads the teams' standings!

Tackling the problem is of course also a top priority for McLaren. Team principal Ian James explains: "These things are incredibly complex and of course you want to get the best possible performance out of them, so you tend to push things to the limit. But we shouldn't end up in a situation like today." According to James, McLaren will do everything it can to help Nissan solve the problem.

Apart from the penalties, however, Nissan looks stronger than ever and the mood is optimistic. James is certain: "If we manage to solve the problem, the package delivered by Nissan looks strong!" We'll find out whether it's enough to win in Mexico. The second race of the season will take place there on 11 January 2025.