"Worst season of my career" - Sacha Fenestraz facing uncertain future after 2 Formula E years at Nissan

With 105 points, the difference between the two Nissan regular drivers ahead of the Formula E season finale in London is greater than for any other team. Oliver Rowland has his team-mate Sacha Fenestraz completely under control so far. A situation that is causing self-doubt for the Franco-Argentinian, whose Formula E career could potentially come to an end in just a few days.

Sacha Fenestraz has collected just 26 points in the 14 races of the 2024 season so far, putting him in 16th place in the overall standings. Team-mate Oliver Rowland, on the other hand, has 131 points - although the Briton has not raced at all in Portland and has therefore contested two fewer races.

The direct comparison is clear: Rowland performed better than his team-mate in every race. Only on Misano Sunday, when Rowland rolled out without power due to a software error on the last lap while leading, was Fenestraz able to enjoy a better position in the standings in fifth place. The trend in qualifying is also clearly in favour of Rowland, who leads the direct duel with 10:2, although he himself is only mediocre with an average starting position of 10.0.

"I've often asked myself what's actually going on," Fenestraz admits on The Race that the situation is really getting to him. "It would be easy to say it's this and that and then solve it. But in reality, I've already tried a lot of different things."

"I never give up, but..."

"I prepared for a day and a half longer than my team-mate," he continues. "I tried everything possible, but it just didn't work out. I don't give up, I never give up, but it's hard. I'm working on it. It's just not coming together."

"I think I've just lost confidence in myself," the Nissan driver continued. "I've lost faith in my talent. That makes a difference of a few tenths, because as soon as you drive without confidence, you doubt yourself and then it only gets worse. In this championship, where it's already so close, that doesn't help."

"It's definitely the worst season of my career so far," added Fenestraz. "I'm always self-critical, and that's my own assessment of my season. I'm trying to get out of the hole I'm in right now." Fenestraz's situation also has an impact on the teams' standings: Nissan occupies fifth position here, 27 points behind DS Penske in third place.

Volpe: "No decision made yet"

Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe also admits, however, that Fenestraz has been in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once this season. "Nobody has a crystal ball, but if Sacha had scored 25 points more in Berlin, he would be in the top 10 himself," the Italian told The Race, referring to the situation, when ex-team-mate Norman Nato pushed the Nissan driver into the wall. "That was just bad luck, so you should understand why I'm not just looking at the numbers."

However, Fenestraz is not firmly in the saddle at Nissan. "We haven't made a decision yet," Volpe continues, "but the plan from the beginning was for him to grow with us. At the moment, we have no reason to stop believing in it, but at the same time we have to wait and see how his performance develops in the final races."

Thanks to Rowland's successes in recent months, Volpe now sees his team in a good starting position on the driver market - very different from the past. "It's different to two years ago at the end of the Gen2 era," he says. "We are in a privileged position where the team is quite attractive from the driver's point of view. It is true that there is a lot of movement, but I am very relaxed. We will make the decision in due course and it will be the right decision for the team."