Oliver Rowland was left surprised that he was able to climb up through the field on his way to secure his second podium of the season in Sao Paulo.
The Nissan driver capitalised on the fight between Jake Dennis and Pascal Wehrlein on the final corner of the final lap to jump from fifth to third.
Rowland admitted that the race was an extremely challenging event, but thanked his team for helping manage his battery temperatures, which helped him in his late surge through the pack.
“It was a crazy race, with lots to manage in terms of temperatures,” said Rowland “We did a good job on strategy, stayed patient and I’m really happy to claim our second podium of the season.
“We did well initially to get up to seventh, the car felt great and carried a lot of speed through the corners. I felt really happy that we would secure more points for the team on a track that did not suit me or the car.
“However, I got an opportunity to pass Jean-Eric Vergne and did, but I knew the battery was going to be an issue so we took action on that pretty quickly. It looked like Antonio Felix Da Costa was also struggling and I was able to pass him.
“Being in fifth felt like a dreamland. On the last lap, I saw the two drivers ahead battling really hard, which allowed me to catch up, and I just went for it at the final corner and grabbed the position on the run to the line, which was amazing for us.
“Looking forward to Tokyo now, our home race and we’ll be hoping for a similar result in front of the Japanese fans.”
Rowland’s teammate Sacha Fenestraz felt he could have achieved a points-scoring position in the race after he described the race as the best event in terms of his own energy management.
“It was one of the best events I’ve had in terms of energy and race management,” stated Fenestraz. “It was a shame not to score any points. I got squeezed at the start and lost a few places, without that, a top-10 finish was definitely possible.
“Experience is paying off a lot in Formula E right now, the guys at the front have been in the series for several years, so I have to analyse what they are doing differently and work towards that in the coming races.
“The positive sign is that we are competitive so we need to keep pushing and improving. I’m really excited for Tokyo, so hoping for a better result in front of our fans there.”
