Rowland: "Indian magic" behind strong home FE result for Mahindra

Mahindra’s Oliver Rowland joked “Indian magic” was behind his impressive run to sixth in the Hyderabad E-Prix as he bagged his first points finish of the 2023 Formula E season.

Oliver Rowland, Mahindra Racing

Rowland had finished no higher than 13th in the three races prior to Hyderabad after a challenging start to the year, with a lack of efficiency of the Mahindra powertrain hurting his chances of breaking inside the top 10.

But Rowland went on to enjoy his most fruitful outing of FE’s Gen3 so far on Mahindra’s home turf last Saturday, running inside the top 10 throughout the race and climbing as high as fourth before finishing fifth on the road.

A five-second penalty for a track infringement left him down in sixth, but it still marked only the second points finish of the season for Mahindra after both Rowland and Lucas di Grassi drew a blank in the Saudi Arabia double-header last month.

While the Jaguar implosion that also eliminated two other cars from contention played into Rowland’s hands, he was also pleasantly surprised with just how efficient the powertrain was during high daytime temperatures in the southern Indian city.

“Honestly, the first three races have been extremely difficult races for me,” the British driver told Autosport.

“I've had very little feeling of the car and also our energy management hasn't been very good.

“So today [Saturday] was unbelievable. I was wondering with 10 laps to go if we got something wrong and we are one lap less [on remaining energy].

“[But] the car was mega, the pace was good. I don't know, maybe it's a bit of Indian magic.”

Rowland tried an ambitious move for third position with just three laps remaining in the race, the British driver attempting a pass around the outside of Envision’s Sebastien Buemi heading into the hairpin.

Oliver Rowland, Mahindra Racing

Oliver Rowland, Mahindra Racing

Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan

But the 30-year-old instead got pushed wide and ended up conceding a position to Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, who eventually claimed the final spot on the podium after Buemi was penalised for exceeding the maximum allotted power.

Read Also:

Rowland admitted that his chances of pulling an overtake were slim, but he had to take the gamble as the penalty he had received for exceeding track limits was going to drop him down the order anyway.

“I knew I had five seconds, so I was going to risk to try and get past,” he explained.

“I knew it was the wrong thing when I tried because the track was so dirty. I kind of thought I had to try, I knew in my mind it was the wrong choice but I had to try.”

Rowland’s team-mate di Grassi qualified a distant 19th out of 22 drivers in Hyderabad due to a “wrong” tyre strategy, leaving him with a mountain to climb in the 33-lap race.

Di Grassi did manage to jump inside the top 10 during the race but was eventually classified in 14th place, with his charge compromised by the same five-second penalty as Rowland for repeatedly infringing track limits at Turn 1/2.

shares
comments

Related video

Track limits a bone of contention in Hyderabad Formula E weekend

Hyderabad FE winner Vergne needed "[Boeing] 777 wings" to hold Cassidy off

How a "complete reset" helped Dennis deliver Andretti's Formula E title

How a "complete reset" helped Dennis deliver Andretti's Formula E title

Plus
Plus
Formula E
London ePrix II
Stefan Mackley

How a "complete reset" helped Dennis deliver Andretti's Formula E title How a "complete reset" helped Dennis deliver Andretti's Formula E title

How Dennis navigated Formula E finale chaos to be crowned champion at home

How Dennis navigated Formula E finale chaos to be crowned champion at home

Plus
Plus
Formula E
London ePrix II
Stefan Mackley

How Dennis navigated Formula E finale chaos to be crowned champion at home How Dennis navigated Formula E finale chaos to be crowned champion at home

How Dennis conquered Rome to lay siege to the Formula E title

How Dennis conquered Rome to lay siege to the Formula E title

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Rome ePrix II
Stefan Mackley

How Dennis conquered Rome to lay siege to the Formula E title How Dennis conquered Rome to lay siege to the Formula E title

How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner

How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Portland
Jamie Klein

How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner How Cassidy emerged triumphant from "mayhem" in Portland FE slow-burner

How Wehrlein turned the tables to move back ahead in Formula E title tussle

How Wehrlein turned the tables to move back ahead in Formula E title tussle

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Jakarta ePrix II
Rachit Thukral

How Wehrlein turned the tables to move back ahead in Formula E title tussle How Wehrlein turned the tables to move back ahead in Formula E title tussle

How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel

How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Monaco ePrix
Stefan Mackley

How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel

How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure

How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Berlin ePrix
Stefan Mackley

How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure

How Evans pounced for Jaguar in a Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match

How Evans pounced for Jaguar in a Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match

Plus
Plus
Formula E
Sao Paulo ePrix
Stefan Mackley

How Evans pounced for Jaguar in a Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match How Evans pounced for Jaguar in a Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match

Subscribe