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Rowland to replace Lynn at Mahindra for 2022 Formula E season

Formula E race winner Oliver Rowland will join Mahindra Racing in 2022 following his exit from Nissan e.dams, replacing Alex Lynn at the Indian outfit.

Oliver Rowland, Nissan e.Dams, on the grid

Oliver Rowland, Nissan e.Dams, on the grid

Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Rowland will partner Alexander Sims in an all-British driver line-up at Mahindra, with the latter having been retained by the squad for a second season following his switch from BMW Andretti in 2021.

The announcement means the 29-year-old will return to the team with which he made his Formula E debut back in 2015 at Punta del Este, where he deputised for an injured Nick Heidfeld alongside Bruno Senna.

Following his one-off Formula E appearance, Rowland went on to achieve plenty of success on Formula 1’s junior ladder, finishing third to Charles Leclerc and Artem Markelov in the 2017 Formula 2 season.

It wasn’t until the end of 2018 before Rowland returned to the FE grid, when a late Formula 1 call-up for Alex Albon opened up a vacancy at Nissan alongside incumbent Sebastien Buemi.

During his three seasons with the Japanese manufacturer, Rowland established himself as one of the fastest qualifiers in the field, scoring four pole positions during that period. He also scored five podiums driving for Nissan, including a maiden victory in Berlin last year.

The decision to join Mahindra follows Nissan’s slump from second to 10th in the championship this season, with its belated introduction of a new powertrain in Monaco failing to deliver on the gains it had been hoping for.

Rowland’s vacant seat at Nissan will be taken over by Maximilian Gunther, who scored three victories during his spell with BMW Andretti. 

“I’m very excited to be joining Mahindra Racing for Season 8," said Rowland. "Moving to a new team there will of course be a transition but I think that, with the combination of my experience in Formula E and the team’s results last season, we have the potential to achieve some great things together.

Oliver Rowland, Dilbagh Gill, Mahindra Racing CEO and Team Principal

Oliver Rowland, Dilbagh Gill, Mahindra Racing CEO and Team Principal

Photo by: Mahindra Racing

"I’m really happy to have Alexander as my teammate and look forward to working with him on extracting the most from the car and getting some strong results for the team.”

Sims scored the outfit’s first podium of the season in Rome and was on course for another rostrum result in Valencia before a late safety car appearance brought upon a farcical ending to the race. He ended the season 19th in the championship, seven spots behind Lynn.

“I’ve enjoyed working with everyone at the team this season and we’ve learned a lot as the year progressed and have secured some strong results," said Sims.

"There’s the potential to achieve more in Season 8 and we’ll be working hard to apply the learnings from this season into the next. I’m really looking forward to working with Oliver who’s clearly very fast and a great racer."

Lynn ended a two-year win drought for Mahindra in 2021 with an impressive victory in the second London E-Prix at the indoor/outdoor ExCeL circuit. That lifted Mahindra to ninth in the final standings, just five points behind the next-highest placed Porsche team.

“We are very happy to welcome Oliver back to the Mahindra Racing family. After starting out his Formula E career with us in 2015, he has a proven record in the series as a strong qualifier and a strong racer," said team principal Dilbagh Gill.

"I believe we have one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid and am delighted that Alexander will be racing with the team for another year.

"We would like to thank Alex Lynn for his contribution to the team over the last season and a half – we have made some unforgettable memories together and he will always have a special place in Mahindra Racing’s history books.”

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