Nissan retain Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato for 2025-26 season

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Nissan confirmed an unchanged line-up of Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato heading into the upcoming 2025-26 Formula E season, with both drivers set to see out the Gen3 Evo era for the Japanese manufacturer.

Nissan will continue into 2026 with an unchanged line-up } Credit: Nissan

The decision comes hot on the heels of Nissan's best-ever Formula E campaign, with the Japanese manufacturer coming off a season that saw them finish third in the championship standings, behind a rampant Jaguar and eventual champions Porsche.

Oliver Rowland will continue at the team on a multi-year contract, heading into his sixth season with Nissan, off the back of his most successful season with the team. The Briton comes fresh off a maiden Formula E championship win, sealed at the Berlin E-Prix weekend with two races before the season came to a close.

Rowland grabbed four victories in his most decorated campaign, even holding a lead of over 70 points to the grid during the middle stages of the season. The Briton, who scored victories in Mexico City, Jeddah, Monaco and at Nissan's home event in Tokyo, saw his form tail off as the season wore on, despite holding on to win the title.

Rowland won the Drivers title' in Season 11 for Nissan | Credit: Anna Knaak

“I’m thrilled to sign with Nissan Formula E Team on a multi-year deal, in what will be my sixth season with the squad," says Rowland. "What we’ve managed to achieve following my return in 2023/24 has been remarkable.

"Since I came to Formula E, the team has felt like my home, and I have a high level of trust with them as well as plenty of support. The aim for Season 12 is to replicate and improve on what we did last campaign, but we know how hard we need to work in the off-season to achieve the best results possible.”

The Nissan man will not just see out 2026 with the team, but herald a new era of the Gen4 Formula E cars that are set to take to the grid in 2027, with the Japanese manufacturer one of the first to commit to the upcoming era of Formula E.

It was a completely different campaign for teammate Norman Nato, who accumulated 21 points on his way to 20th in the standings in Season 11. The Frenchman, returning to the Nissan outfit, replaced former teammate Sacha Fenestraz to partner Rowland heading into 2025, forming what marked a strong line-up of drivers returning to Nissan.

Nato scored 21 points in a completely lop-sided season to teammate Rowland | Credit: Ryan Fleming

While Nato had scored a podium at Rome on his return to the championship with Nissan, on his way to tenth in the standings in Season 9, he wouldn't be able to add to the tally of podiums. A brace of sixth-position finishes in Miami and Shanghai were the highs of his 2024 season, although pole at Miami marked as the sole moment Nato finished at the top in a session in 2025.

Despite his struggles and poor luck, Nissan have opted to provide Nato another year in their stable, in a bid to help him grow, and hoping a second successive campaign with the team unlocks more pace and silverware, as they chase after a maiden constructors' championship with the team.

“I’m delighted to continue with Nissan Formula E Team for another season as it was always the target to extend my stay here," Nato said. "It’ll be my third campaign with the team and my second consecutive one, which gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.

"I still have plenty of areas to improve on, but I’m not starting from scratch this year so I can use factors I’ve learned in Season 11 to help me in the future. I’m sure Oli (Rowland) will perform at a very high level again and I’m positive that together we can fight for the Teams’ World Championship.”

Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe too spoke on the news, mentioning the stability and confidence from maintaining the same driver line-up as important factors in chasing further success.

“Following a very successful season, we’ve decided to maintain our driver line-up for Season 12.

"We’re keen to consolidate our operations as we look to further improve on the work carried out both on and off-track since we took full control of our operations in the sport. I am sure that the stability and consistency that we’ve built with both Oli and Norman will help us continue our remarkable progression and fight for all three championships again next season.”

Nissan become the first team to confirm their driver line-up for Season 12, amid a grid that is set to see plenty of changes before Formula E's upcoming campaign kicks off in December 2025.