Formula E

Oliver Rowland delivers Monaco masterclass to win FE race 2

Motorsport Technology
5 months ago
4 min read

Oliver Rowland, the defending Formula E champion, delivered a masterclass of tactical driving to win race 2 of the Monaco ePrix.

Rowland, who started a tricky eighth on the grid, made early headway before timing his Attack Mode to perfection, taking the lead into Nouvelle Chicane with five laps remaining.


It meant that the British Nissan driver led home Edoardo Mortara and Felipe Drugovich to the chequered flag.

A penalty to Mortara meant that it was Antonio Felix da Costa who took the final place on the podium.

“It’s been nearly a year since I stood at the top of the podium,” Rowland is quoted on the official Formula E website.

“It was a crazy race, some drivers decided to do some different stuff, I kept a high pace.

“It was really difficult to keep disciplined, I knew we had to keep higher in energy targets, but staying disciplined and staying out of trouble was key for us.

“You never know if there is a safety car; it’ll bring the targets up. I was pretty confident in what I was doing and the team kept me really informed. I was confident.”

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – MAY 17: Dan Ticktum in action (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images)

As was the case with Saturday’s race 1, the stewards had something to say come the end of the race.

Mortara’s opening lap collision with Antonio Felix da Costa demoted him to fifth.

The beneficiary was Drugovich, promoted to second ahead of Da Costa at the finish.


“This is such a great thing to do here at this track, I love this place,” commented Drugovich.

“I think every time I have been here I have had a podium, so happy to keep that going. What a place to get my first podium in Formula E so I’m really really happy.

“Big thanks to the team that could cope with me for the first few rounds when I was not even close the podium and now we are doing big things so thanks to them.”

For Jaguar Racing’s António Félix da Costa, third place represented a welcome return to the podium.

“I don’t know whether to be happy or angry with the amount of times I’ve been hit from behind this season and races taken from us, and I could not believe it, on lap one, and people were just still taking it easy, I thought,” commented Da Costa afterwards.

“I got hit from behind, and I spun out and went all the way to the back, but with a good strategy from the team and taking a lot of risks, as you can see from my car, I was able to make it back to the front.

“I need to review it, but I think the full course yellow came out at a good time for me, that first one, and just managing energy to the end.


“Congrats to these guys, amazing race, I am happy to be on the podium today with these guys after that one.”

It all means, after Rowland’s first win of the season, Mitch Evans takes over the lead of the championship by 19 points from Rowland with Mortara a further six points adrift.

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