Rowland reveals mindset switch from a ‘championship perspective’

Oliver Rowland has revealed that his mindset has changed ahead of this weekend’s Monaco E-Prix, with the Nissan driver accepting that after his phenomenal recent run he is a title contender.

The Nissan driver heads to the iconic Circuit de Monaco not wanting to make any bold predictions, as he admits that it typically bites him “on the arse”.

Ahead of the season and his return to Nissan, Rowland was never considered as a likely championship contender; however, after two pole positions, a victory and a further three podiums across the last five races, he cannot be ruled out.

Rowland sits third in the drivers’ championship and is nine points adrift of Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis. What works in the British driver’s favour is that the Nissan powertrain was exceptional in Monaco last season.

It was a Nissan powertrain one-two-three on the grid in 2023, and with the package now having exceptional race pace, Rowland recognises that he has a very strong chance of a famous Monaco win.

“I’ve always found throughout my career, whenever I would expect to be good at something or somewhere, that it always kind of bites me a little bit on the arse,” Rowland told RacingNews365.

“So I try to avoid hyping myself up, let’s say, but you can’t deny that the package was fast last year over one-lap, and you can’t avoid the fact that this year we’re in much better shape in the races and we’re competitive.

“So I think there’s every chance of standing on the top step. But from a championship perspective, I think now we have to think in a slightly different way. If we can go there and be in the top five, it’s a good result.

‘Quietly confident’

Rowland conceding that accepting a top five in the coming races as a positive result in the championship fight highlights the impeccable job both himself and Nissan have done.

He has thrown himself into title contention and is a favourite to win this Saturday. If he were to win, the hope would be that it happens in the race, rather than several hours afterwards as was the case in Misano.

Nevertheless, he knows a big result is on the table in Monaco but that Nissan must ensure first of all that the “basics” are all done to the highest standard.

“If we can score a podium again, that’s mega,” added Rowland. “And of course, you have to have the ducks aligned to win. And for me, you know, you have to have a little bit of luck to be in the right place at the right time.

“And you have to have everything kind of working towards you in terms of the slipstream position and it’s not always in your hands, but I would say there’s a good chance going there that we can fight for the win and stand on top of the podium.

“But like I said before, we kind of have to make sure the basics are done well. But yeah, I’m quietly confident that we can be there or thereabouts.