Oliver Rowland led the way on final day of FIA Formula E pre-season test in Valencia, as Jenson Button firmed his retirement call.
Formula E’s testing came to an end in Valencia, and it was both Nissan drivers who went quickest this morning and this afternoon respectively. Reigning champion Oliver Rowland ended the final session of pre-season testing quickest for Nissan, setting a 1m21.498s lap of the circuit Ricardo Tormo. The time wasn’t enough to be the best of the week, but was just 0.005s off Edoardo Mortara’s Mahindra lap set on Tuesday.
Nissan topped both sessions on Thursday, with Norman Nato best of the rest this morning. It is a promising sign for the Japanese manufacturer, as they look to continue their strong run of form from the 2024/25 campaign. Mahindra have also looked quick all week, with Mortara holding the fastest time of the entire test. His team-mate Nyck de Vries has also been high on the time sheets as the two drivers aim to bring the team back to the top step in Season 12.
Taylor Barnard of DS PENSKE was second in the afternoon session, with Mortara once again finding himself near the front of the pack. Nato was fourth, with de Vries fifth once the chequered flag was flown. Jake Dennis ended the day sixth for Andretti with fellow Porsche-powertrain users Pascal Wehrlein in seventh and Dan Ticktum (CUPRA KIRO) in eighth. Sebatien Buemi was ninth for Envision Racing with Nick Cassidy in 10th in his new Citroën Racing machine.
Result: https://x.com/formulaesource/status/1983852429738402255
EARLIER TODAY
This morning it was Norman Nato who was quickest on track, setting a 1m21.502s. Much like yesterday, the first three hour session was impacted by rain overnight meaning it took a little while for the track to dry and lap times to fall. Nato was joined in the top three by both Mahindra Racing drivers Nyck de Vries and Edoardo Mortara, with Jake Dennis (Andretti) and Dan Ticktum rounding out the top five.
Result: https://x.com/formulaesource/status/1983930883707998334
Day 1: https://t.co/FaOHfxhi7R
Day 2: https://t.co/XkbAMksMFQ
Day 3: https://t.co/FHuMAdwgRR
Jenson Button (to BBC) –
“I’ve really enjoyed my time with Jota in WEC but my life has got way too busy and it’s not fair on the team or on myself to go into 2026 and think that I’m going to have enough time for it. My kids are four and six and you’re away for a week and you miss so much, you don’t get this time back. I feel like I’ve missed a lot the last couple of years, which has been fine because I knew that would happen, but I’m not willing to do that again for another season.
I’ve got classic cars I love to race and for me that’s exciting because it’s mine – a car that I own – and I love the mechanical aspect. It’s very different to the cars I race in WEC and F1, you’re really connected to it which I love, having to heel and toe, getting the gear shift just right, no aero, it’s all mechanical.”
[The story is as per press release]
