Formula E: Rowland gives Nissan magnificent win in Mexico City

The Nissan Formula E Team took an excellent win in Round 2 of the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, thanks to several late overtakes from Oliver Rowland to ensure its maiden GEN3 Evo success in Mexico City.

Changeable weather conditions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez throughout practice threw the entire field a curveball, but in qualifying Porsche started its racing year with a 1-2 qualifying lock-out.

Rowland made his way into the top-three by Turn 1 on the second lap and pulled off a stunning last corner overtake to move up another place as the race approached the halfway stage.

Dropping back and saving his Attack Mode until later compared to his fellow competitors, he managed to utilize the remainder of his extra power on the late Safety Car restart, moving from fourth to first in less than a minute to wrap up a remarkable victory in Mexico.

Throughout the race Porsche cars held five of the top ten slots. At times, four Porsche 99X Electric were leading the field even.

Da Costa, Wehrlein and Jake Dennis of the Porsche customer team Andretti Formula E exchanged places for the lead for the majority of the race.

Ultimately, they finished second, third and fourth after succumbing to Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, who retained an Attack Mode advantage after a race restart following a safety car period.

The two cars of DS PENSKE followed Dennis across the line with Jean-Éric Vergne in fifth and Maximillian Günther in sixth. Maserati MSG Racing’s Stoffel Vandoorne followed in seventh, ahead of Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries in eighth. Nico Mueller of Andretti Formula E and São Paulo podium finisher Taylor Barnard, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, rounded out the top 10.

Formula E’s first visit to the Saudi Arabian Peninsula of Jeddah is next on the Season 11 schedule, with a double-header under the lights on 14-15 February.

Top-3 Quotes

Oliver Rowland, No.22, Nissan Formula E Team
“We’ve come here, we’ve done a solid job in qualifying and we were there in the race to pick up the pieces with a little bit of luck. I had fun out there and the podium was incredible. When I took ATTACK MODE, in half a lap I noticed already how much I gained on Jake [Dennis]. I think my strategy at that point would have been to get to these guys and then consolidate a podium, so when I got the chance to go for it I just went for it.”

António Félix da Costa, No.13, TAG Heuer Porsche
“This is insane – the best fans of the whole season, thank you! I’m happy with two podiums in a row, but it looks like it was a weekend for P2. I’m a little bit disappointed but it’s a long season. I came here with the mentality to score some good points and we did just that, so I’m happy with this. It needs to be said that it’s the first time I’ve been on the podium with my teammate since I joined this team, so this is for everyone back home, they work long long hours, thank you guys for providing us with such a strong package. The championship lead at this moment means nothing: I know the mentality I need to have this year – it’s there, we’re doing a good job, and we’re going to try and keep this up.”

Pascal Wehrlein, No.1, TAG Heuer Porsche
“First of all, it’s great that we have so many fans here, it’s one of my favorite races. I don’t think this race went to plan. We were looking strong on energy, leading almost half of the race initially, but somehow it went out of our hands. It is what it is, I’m sure we’ll learn something from it.”

Mexico City Race Results