Nissan confirms Rowland and Nato will return next season

Nissan will retain its driver line-up of Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato for Season 12 of Formula E, the team confirmed on Thursday.

The news follows a season where Nissan finished third in the teams’ championship – its best result since the Japanese brand took full control of the team after four seasons of it being run by French open-wheel outfit DAMS.

It marks the first time since the first three seasons of the Nissan program – 2018-19 through to 2020-21, when the team was known as Nissan e.dams and had Rowland and Sebastien Buemi as its drivers – that the team has had continuation with its driver pairing.

“Following a very successful season, we’ve decided to maintain our driver line-up for Season 12,” said Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of Nissan Formula E Team. “We’re keen to consolidate our operations as we look to further improve on the work carried out both on and off-track since we took full control of our operations in the sport.

“I am sure that the stability and consistency that we’ve built with both Oli and Norman will help us continue our remarkable progression and fight for all three championships again next season.”

Rowland will be embarking on his sixth campaign with Nissan in 2025-26. After making his Formula E debut with Nissan in its first season, he returned in 2023 following a season and a half with Mahindra and finished fourth, before taking the title this season.

“I’m thrilled to sign with Nissan Formula E Team on a multi-year deal, in what will be my sixth season with the squad,” he said. “What we’ve managed to achieve following my return in 2023-24 has been remarkable. Since I came to Formula E, the team has felt like my home, and I have a high level of trust with them as well as plenty of support.

“The aim for Season 12 is to replicate and improve on what we did last campaign, but we know how hard we need to work in the off-season to achieve the best results possible.”

Nato first raced for Nissan in 2022-23, the first year of GEN3, and returned to the team this season after a single campaign away driving for Andretti. He finished 20th this year after missing both Berlin races due to a clash with the World Endurance Championship. He also had a race victory in Miami taken away from him due to an Attack Mode penalty.

“I’m delighted to continue with Nissan Formula E Team for another season as it was always the target to extend my stay here,” said the Frenchman. “It’ll be my third campaign with the team and my second consecutive one, which gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.

“I still have plenty of areas to improve on, but I’m not starting from scratch this year so I can use factors I’ve learned in Season 11 to help me in the future. I’m sure Oli will perform at a very high level again and I’m positive that together we can fight for the teams’ championship.