Oliver Rowland, the defending Formula E world champion, has revealed that he now learns from F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad, the driver he has mentored since a young age. Rowland, 34, is aiming to become only the second driver in history to successfully defend the FE title at the season-ending London E-Prix this weekend.
A Two-Way Relationship
Rowland, who has attended every F1 race that hasn't clashed with the FE calendar, said: "Sometimes I learn stuff off Arvid. Maybe I'll offer advice based on my experience and he might do something differently, and it might open my brain to new ideas. I think we've known each other long enough now that he has a huge amount of respect for me as a driver."
He added: "But it's not just that, it's the experience of how to deal with situations, with engineers, with relationships and teams and exactly how to do that. Picking and choosing your best opportunities is where I think I bring a lot of value as much as pure driving details."
Title Fight and Finale at ExCeL
Rowland heads into the weekend fourth in the standings, 14 points behind leader Jake Dennis, with eight drivers still in title contention. This weekend marks the final E-Prix at the ExCeL Centre, as the series moves to Brands Hatch next summer with the new Gen4 cars.
Reflecting on his motivation after winning last year, Rowland said: "Whenever I put my helmet on, you can't not have the want to win. I don't feel unmotivated in any way, shape or form."
Staying Focused
He acknowledged the challenges of off-track training, saying: "I think you could argue that maybe the more tedious jobs away from the circuit - running, training, gym - can become a little bit more difficult, but I put that more down to age rather than success."
"I feel like once you win one, there's never that question anymore of will I ever? I haven't necessarily felt like I've had a target on my back. Of course, there comes some expectation with the team. I've just been trying to focus race by race, to be honest, on maximising our position, maximising our performance."
