Nissan confirms Sacha Fenestraz & signing of Oliver Rowland for 2024 Formula E season

The Nissan Formula E team will feature driver duo Sacha Fenestraz and Oliver Rowland in the upcoming 2023/24 season, the Japanese manufacturer confirmed on Wednesday morning. While Fenestraz will get a second full season, while Rowland, after his early exit from Mahindra, is returning to his former employer, with whom he was once successful in Formula E.

"It's a bit of a homecoming for me, back to the place I started my Formula E journey and somewhere I had a lot of success," Rowland said. The Brit first joined Nissan in 2018 when the Japanese manufacturer entered Formula E with e.dams. He drove for Nissan between seasons 5 and 7, taking five pole positions and five podiums in that time, including a win at the 2020 Berlin E-Prix - his only victory in the electric series to date.

"The team has been on a great trajectory over the last year, with performances improving," said the Briton, looking forward to his Formula E comeback after half a season out. "I'm confident Sacha and I will make a strong pairing, he showed incredible speed in his first season. I'm looking forward to getting back to work, ready to go and can't wait to see what we can do as a team."

Guess who's back! ?

The one and only @OliverRowland1 is officially back in the hot seat for Nissan.

He will be racing alongside our very own @SachaFenestraz in Season 10.

Thank you @NormanNato for an unforgettable season. You will be greatly missed by the whole team. ❤️... pic.twitter.com/f9mhciRvjT

- Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) August 30, 2023

At the same time, the Rowland transfer means the end of Norman Nato at Nissan, who impressed (too late) with strong performances towards the end of the season. "We also want to wholeheartedly thank Norman Nato for all his hard work and efforts throughout Season 9," says Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe. "Without him and his strong performance during the final few races of the year, we wouldn't have been able to achieve our final position in the teams' standings. It has been a pleasure to work with Norman, and we wish him all the best for his future career."

Fenestraz confirmed after strong debut season with Nissan

Aside Rowland, youngster Sacha Fenestraz will get another chance. The 24-year-old impressed during his first full Formula E season, in particular in qualifying: In his fifth race for Nissan in Cape Town, he took pole position and set the fastest Formula E lap in history by then. He also secured the fastest race lap in Monaco and regularly battled at the front of the field. In the end, he finished 16th in the World Championship with 32 points.

"I'm extremely excited to continue my journey with Nissan Formula E Team," says Fenestraz. "I'll attack this season with a new approach as it will be my second year in the championship, so we're aiming to hit the ground running immediately. I'm also very happy to welcome Oli back to the team. He knows most of the crew so I'm sure he will settle in really quickly and we can work well together to help the team move forwards."

Team principal Volpe is convinced of his new driver line-up: "We're very happy to welcome Oliver back, we know his talent and experience and we’re sure he will contribute significantly to the future success of the team. He will complete a strong pairing with Sacha, who proved his raw talent since he joined."

Season 10 will be the longest Formula E championship to date: 17 races are planned, including the first-ever Tokyo E-Prix in Japan on 30 March 2024 - the home race for Nissan. Pre-season testing will take place in Valencia from 23-27 October, before the first round of the championship is held in Mexico City on 13 January 2024.

Overview: Formula E transfers & rumours for the 2024 season

bold = officially confirmed