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Defending ABB FIA Formula E World Champion Oliver Rowland has got his 2025/26 campaign off to a strong start, after achieving his second podium of the season at the 2026 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix, but the path to the podium was far from simple for the Nissan driver.
REPORT: Nick Cassidy secures Citroën's first Formula E win in Mexico City
Rowland qualified for the E-Prix in eighth, having made it through to the Duels but ultimately missing out to eventual polesitter Sebastien Buemi in the quarter-final stage. After having a good start to the race, by Lap 17 Rowland was looking best placed on energy - 2-4% up on the rest of the field as he went for his first ATTACK MODE activation.
It was ultimately bad timing, though. A Full Course Yellow was required with Nyck de Vries’ Mahindra needing recovery - leaving Rowland's ATTACK MODE ticking to zero under caution, as Jaguar's Antonio Felix da Costa avoided Taylor Barnard and swerved in-front of the Brit, sending him onto the grass at the hairpin.
“It started to get quite slow at the front,” Rowland explained. “I decided to jump into the Attack Mode and just do two minutes because I thought if I do a really good two minutes I can maybe get to the front, and I’d be at the front with more energy with only two minutes lost to the others.
“But then there was a crash and the Full Course Yellow came out, so my plan was kind of out the window and then it was a case of should I wait until the end? But I thought everybody would and then I might not be able to overtake, so I decided to get in and go for it.”
Still in the mix as the race reached its conclusion, and with the top 10 all having taken ATTACK MODE, Rowland made it past Nico Mueller and Jake Dennis in one swoop at Turn 1 on Lap 35 only for Dennis to return the favour half a lap later. The top five were within only half a second through the stadium section on Lap 36 and Rowland took the opportunity to squeeze back past Dennis’ Andretti to claim the final podium spot.
“It was fun, but weird,” he said. “Because I thought my race was finished, I took the ATTACK MODE and ended up in the grass, completely off the track, dropped back five places and thought ‘I’m done’... so credit to the guys who did a good job with the car, we tried something a little bit different and I think it worked out.”
Rowland sits third in the championship, six points behind current leader (and Mexico City race winner) Nick Cassidy.
SCHEDULE: Where, when and how to watch or stream the 2026 Miami E-Prix, Round 3
After an action-packed start to Season 12, you haven't got long to wait until ABB Formula E returns to your screen, and this time, we're returning to The Magic City: Miami. We'll be visiting the Hard Rock Stadium for a trip around the Miami International Autodrome. US teams Andretti, CUPRA KIRO and DS PENSKE will be looking to put on a show for their home fans on Saturday 31 January 2026.
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