Norman Nato returns to Formula E in Berlin this weekend with unfinished business. The Frenchman won here in 2021, charging from sixth on the grid to claim his maiden Formula E victory, and Berlin has held a special place in his heart ever since. But heading into Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2025/26 Formula E World Championship, Nato arrives with a point to prove.
A season that has promised much has delivered less than it should have, and he knows it. Pit Debrief sat down exclusively with the Nissan Formula E driver to find out what has gone wrong, what he expects from Berlin, and why he believes the championship is heading in exactly the right direction.
Strong in qualifying, struggling to convert
Ask Nato how his season has gone and he does not sugarcoat it. The pace has been there. The results have not always followed.
“In qualifying, it’s been a very good season so far. I think I’m second best qualifier. In the race, we missed a bit of opportunity on some days where we were looking very good. Some technical issues, some mistakes on my side, some being unlucky as well at some points.”
The frustration is not with the pace itself, but with what the team has failed to do with it. “The only problem is that the good days, we didn’t really maximise them. So that’s what we have to change for the second part of the season.”
He is clear-eyed about what that means in a championship as unforgiving as Formula E, where dropped points rarely come back. “It’s always points that you will never recover. So this is a bit frustrating. You have to accept in Formula E that consistency-wise, at some point during the season you’re going to have a bit of a downside. It happens to everyone.”
The work to address it is already underway. “We’ve been working on that to try to understand first why, and try to do things a little bit differently to score points, because that’s what we need to do.”
Back at a special circuit
Berlin carries obvious significance for Nato. His first Formula E win came here, and the atmosphere at Tempelhof is something he speaks about with genuine warmth.
“It’s actually a race that I won a few years ago now, so it’s obviously a special place for me. There’s always a lot of fans, which is super nice. It’s always very busy here. They are very passionate. So it’s always a cool place to race at.”
However, after a six-week break since the last round at Jarama, he acknowledges that getting back up to speed will take a moment. “After such a long break, honestly, everything would feel a little bit weird. I didn’t drive the car since Jarama. I’ve been doing some work in between, but to jump back in the car in a single-seater, it’s always nice.”
The conditions this weekend are also likely to play a major role. With high temperatures forecast, the physical and strategic demands of a Berlin double-header will be even greater than usual. “Temperature will be really hot this weekend, apparently. In terms of tyre degradation, battery temperature and so on, it will make it all very difficult in terms of strategy and management. More difficult than what it is normally already. So it’s going to be a busy weekend, but hopefully a good one.”
Formula E’s evolution and the Gen 4 hype
Nato has not yet had the chance to drive the newly revealed Gen 4 car, but he has heard plenty from those who have. The four-wheel drive system, in particular, appears to have made a significant impression on everyone who has sampled it.
“Technically, you can see, just lap time-wise, year after year, the improvement of the car. The four-wheel drive, it’s something which is very impressive to drive. And that’s something I heard about from others who tried the Gen 4. They said the four-wheel drive, full power, the car is very, very impressive.”
Beyond the technical development, Nato has noticed the championship growing in other ways too. The crowds are getting bigger, and the atmosphere at race venues is building. “Going to races, in the grandstand, everywhere we’re going now, it’s almost full. There was a race that was very impressive with a lot of people watching in the morning, in the day, when it was raining. It’s a really good job. And again, it’s just the beginning, because it’s still a pretty new championship, so it can only get better, and it’s taking the right direction.”
What fans do not see
The conversation closed with a question that Nato clearly enjoys answering. Asked what he wishes fans understood better about Formula E, he points immediately to the sheer volume of work that takes place behind the scenes and inside the cockpit.
“Probably all the management that we have to do in the car. The work of the driver during the race day, and the preparation behind it as well, which is much, much more than all the other categories. People sometimes don’t realise how much work, how much preparation and how many things in the car you have to manage, but also for the team to prepare. It’s a very high-level and tricky championship to make it and to be one of the best.”
Nato arrives in Berlin as a driver who knows this circuit, knows what he is capable of, and knows that the second half of the season represents his best opportunity to turn a promising campaign into a genuinely strong one. The pace has never been in question. Now it is time to make it count.
