Nissan Formula E Team had a tough double-header in Portland, missing out on points in both Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Caio Collet, the team’s reserve and simulator driver, made his Formula E debut in place of the ill Oliver Rowland. The 22-year-old Brazilian showed his ability straight away, taking a solid seventh in Group B, starting his maiden E-Prix in 14th, narrowly ahead of teammate Sacha Fenestraz in 16th.
In the first race of the weekend, Fenestraz ran as high as second, eventually falling back after taking his second Attack Mode. The Franco-Argentine would finish 15th, with Collet 18th, bringing the squad’s run of ten consecutive points-scores to an end.
During today’s event, the duo battled hard in a chaotic race without reward. Starting 22nd and 14th respectively, Collet put the experience of his first Formula E race weekend to good use to hold his own in several battles, clinching 16th, while Fenestraz ended up in 18th.
Season 10 comes to an end next month, when the series visits London for Rounds 15 and 16 on 20-21 July.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “Obviously it’s frustrating to come away from Portland without scoring points. The car had potential and the team did a good job, but we just didn’t quite put everything together.
In the first race, our strategy was working well with Sacha and he was doing a good job, but unfortunately he lost a lot of positions after taking his second Attack Mode. And then today was another difficult one. On Caio’s side, he had a strong debut. He showed his pace straight away by taking seventh in his group in qualifying, and he had two strong races. His finishing positions don’t show that, but he managed the efficiency well and adjusted quickly to the demands of a race weekend.
“Overall it was a tough weekend and it was also a shame not to have Oli with us. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back in London next month.”
Sacha Fenestraz, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “This weekend we had a good opportunity to score strong points. Yesterday our potential was limited by my incident in FP2, which meant I had to use cold tyres for qualifying. Our strategy was good and I found myself fighting at the front, but lost a lot of places late on in the race. Today was a difficult one to take, obviously we had higher expectations but we’ll look to put that right and finish the season strongly in London.”
Caio Collet, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “It was a great experience for me this weekend and I enjoyed working with the team and my time on track. Race 1 was tough, the car felt good but it was difficult to understand where and how to use the energy to overtake. It’s a steep learning curve, but today I was more comfortable in the car, despite a frustrating qualifying. Our strategy was good and I did better on energy. I think we could have been on the edge of the points without the contact and pit stop, but it’s been an amazing weekend personally anyway. I understand more how the race weekends work, and this experience will definitely help me in the simulator. Thanks to the whole team and also my best wishes to Oli!”
