Rowland & Barnard outpace the competition: The e-Formula.news driver rating for the 2025 Jeddah E-Prix

Formula E made its debut in Jeddah last weekend, and the first two races on the circuit on the Red Sea coast were full of excitement right up to the last few metres! The young Taylor Barnard, who catapulted himself to second place in the drivers' standings, was the biggest surprise. Oliver Rowland, for his part, dominated the field on Saturday, while the air is getting thin for Norman Nato.

After each round of Formula E's season 11, our editors award points on a scale between 1 and 10 for all drivers. They are then sorted according to their average "rating score". The rating is based exclusively on driving performance, not the potential of the car or external circumstances.

Oliver Rowland | Nissan | 10.0

Oliver Rowland's weekend had few blemishes. In the second race, he drove away from the competition at the ideal moment and left no room for doubt. It was a similar story in the first race. His lead was enormous, but he was so fast that he ran out of energy in the final metres and only finished second. Nevertheless, his performance was so much better than the competition that none of our editors gave him anything other than top marks!

Taylor Barnard | Neom McLaren | 9.6

No one expected Taylor Barnard's brilliant performance. Before the first race in Jeddah, he was the worst qualifier of the season, but now he is the youngest pole-sitter in Formula E history! Barnard impressed with tough but fair manoeuvres and self-confidence, which had been lacking recently. With two podium finishes, he is now up in the drivers' standings. Sam Bird will have to stretch himself to keep up with his team-mate.

Jake Hughes | Maserati MSG Racing | 8.2

There are also three Brits on the podium in our driver rating. Jake Hughes had scored just one point for his new team before Jeddah. He finally found his rhythm again in Jeddah. He beat team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne in both races and was rewarded with his first podium finish in the Maserati. There was still some way to go to catch Rowland and Barnard, but Maserati and Hughes may have found the necessary foundation in Jeddah for further good results in season 11.

Flop of the E-Prix: Norman Nato | Nissan | 2.8

Norman Nato is one of only five drivers still without points this season. After four races, he is already 68 points behind his team-mate Rowland, who leads the championship standings! The Frenchman, on the other hand, has never scored 68 points in any of his previous full-time seasons in Formula E. The start of the season is once again proving to be Nato's biggest weakness. The question is whether Nissan will be patient enough for him to find his pace.

Nato's pace in Jeddah was not bad. He was always close to his team-mate in the front positions in all practice sessions. However, when it counted, nothing more came from him. Starting from 10th and 12th on the grid was already not ideal. But to drop even more places from there to finish 15th and 17th was far behind the expectations of his team principal Tommaso Volpe.