"I made a mistake" - Rowland squanders championship lead in Formula E title fight & receives penalty!

Oliver Rowland could have been crowned Formula E world champion on Saturday in Berlin. Despite a good starting position, this came to nothing. The Nissan driver made a serious mistake when lapping, which put him - and Stoffel Vandoorne - out of contention for the points. With an eye on the championship, Rowland now has "a few worries".

Rowland was fighting at the back of the top 10 on lap 33 when he ran into the Mahindra of debutant Felipe Drugovich. He misjudged under braking before turn 6 and slid into the Maserati of Stoffel Vandoorne. Both spun and dropped to the back of the field. Rowland's Nissan suffered damage to the front right-hand side, forcing him to pit and retire from the race.

"I got caught up in traffic with lapped drivers and made a mistake," admits Rowland in an interview with e-Formula.news right at the start. "Vandoorne took the outside lane, I took the inside lane. I was just trying to overtake Drugovich. Then I met Stoffel in the middle of the corner. It was my fault."

The stewards judged the situation the same way: Rowland not only lost Saturday's race, but also received a five-place grid penalty for Sunday. "Shit happens", was his brief reaction to the penalty. Nevertheless, he is insightful: "I probably could have been a bit calmer and more patient - something I'm not so good at."

Rowland retires from the race 😱

An upset to our Championship leaders title hopes for today! @Hankook_Sport #BerlinEPrix pic.twitter.com/PTviltMpnW

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 12, 2025

Vandoorne: "I know it wasn't on purpose"

It wasn't just Rowland's race that was ruined by his mistake. Vandoorne, who by his own admission could have been in contention for the top 5, was also pushed backwards and ultimately finished the race in twelfth place.

"We were pretty unlucky with the hit from Rowland, who spun us around", explained Vandoorne in an interview with e-Formula.news. "There was a lapped car with Drugovich and Oli overtook him on the wet line. He misjudged and missed the braking point in turn 6. I was already in the corner by then."

However, he does not blame the Brit: "I know it wasn't on purpose on his part - the track was just a bit wetter on the inside", said Vandoorne.

Rowland shows nerves in the title fight: "That's normal"

With his retirement, Rowland lost 19 points to his closest rival in the championship. Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) is now "only" 50 points behind him and could theoretically reduce the gap to 21 points with a win and another zero for Rowland, especially as the Nissan driver will start from 6th place at best on Sunday.

The title fight is suddenly a little more open again - with three races still to go. But one thing is also clear: if Rowland scores eight points more than Wehrlein on Sunday, he would be champion already. Does he have worries about the championship title now? "Yes, a few", he admits with a grin. "I think that is normal. We just have to concentrate on the basics now and smash it tomorrow."

The start of the second race in Berlin-Tempelhof is again at 4 pm. In contrast to Saturday, however, it is expected to remain dry.