Rowland left counting cost of Shanghai call
Oliver Rowland has admitted he went against his own instinct before the second race of Formula Eās Shanghai double-header, revealing that his āgut feelingā was to choose a dry set-up before ultimately committing to a wet configuration.
The decision proved costly on a weekend that swung sharply with the weather. Nissan showed flashes of pace across the Shanghai E-Prix, but its performance varied from session to session as conditions changed. Rowlandās opening race brought little reward, as he started and finished 13th, before a far stronger Sunday qualifying in the wet put him fourth on the grid for race two.
That platform, however, did not convert into a major result. Rowland slipped to eighth, banking four points but losing ground in the championship as Pascal Wehrlein moved to the top of the standings. The outcome formed part of a dramatic Shanghai weekend in which strategy and conditions reshaped the competitive order, with more on the wider race picture available in our Shanghai E-Prix talking points.
Dry line punishes wet set-up choice
Rowland, like Wehrlein, opted for a full wet set-up for the race. That decision initially looked understandable given the conditions, but it became a major handicap once a dry line emerged late on.
Drivers who had gambled from further back with dry set-ups suddenly came alive. Lucas di Grassi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Joel Eriksson were among those able to surge through the field and reach the podium, underlining how quickly the balance of the race had shifted.
Reflecting on Nissanās inconsistent weekend, Rowland told RacingNews365: āFP2 was good, qualifying was bad, the race on Saturday in the dry was good, and then we were bad in the rain.ā
He added: āSunday morning we were probably better than expected in the wet, which was a good job by the team. Then we went with a full wet set-up for the race, but it just didnāt work, and other people took a punt.ā
āI should have followed it upā
Rowland also suggested energy use may have played a role in how the race unfolded, saying some rivals were āover-consumingā and could have faced trouble without the full-course yellow. Still, he accepted that eighth was a salvage result rather than the outcome that had been possible.
The most striking admission came when he was asked whether he had considered a dry set-up. Rowland replied: āIt was my gut feeling because I knew the quantity of rain, and I should have followed it up, to be honest. But itās easy to say in hindsight.ā
Shanghai dropped Rowland to third in the standings, 27 points behind Wehrlein. On a weekend defined by fine margins, one set-up call may have turned a potential victory into damage limitation.
