Norman Nato discussed exclusively with Pit Debrief his strongest Nissan performance of the Formula E 2024-2025 season ahead of the Monaco E-Prix. He scored his first ever Formula E pole position in the latest race held in Miami, and even won on track the round. However, the French driver was penalised for not using up all the allotted attack modes. He still managed to score his first seasonal points with Nissan.
Will it prompt a change?
Asked by Pit Debrief if in his opinion this strong race could become a turning point in his 2024-2025 season, Nato ultimately denied, while also shining a light on the strength of all his performances so far.
“Yeah, Miami for sure was a bit more highlighted because, like, I crossed the line winning the race. But so far it seems, performance-wise, quite a really very strong beginning of the season.”
“If you look at Sao Paulo, I make it to the duels, I took the lead and got a drive-through and come back from P last to P6 with fastest lap and got another penalty.”
“So, yeah, I will say for sure Miami, it was by, compared to the other races, the best one. But honestly, like, in the beginning of the season, we were quite strong performance-wise.”
Unfortunate races but strong performances
Nato has been consistently turning in great drives with Nissan throughout Season 11 of Formula E, however the American round was the only time he was able to convert his potential into results.
“There’s just a few things that cost us, like, a lot of points. And yeah, as always in sport, we only notice the pure performance, if you win or do a podium. But honestly, Miami, for me was not a turning point just because, as I said, since race one I’m fast.”
“I expect to be fast as well again this weekend and for the rest of the season. Some up and down, like everyone in Formula E, but yeah.
Varying performances have been a constant for most of the drivers on the Formula E grid, including not only Nato himself, but also his teammate and championship leader Oliver Rowland.
“Just like, Oliver [Rowland] had a really strong beginning of the season where he managed to score points. And as you can see, in Miami, for some reason, he couldn’t. So it’s Formula E, it’s like a miracle.”
A new race weekend ahead
Nato then expanded on his expectations for the Monaco E-Prix with Nissan in Formula E. The 32 years old driver will be fighting for the eight time for a podium in the streets of the principality considering all the championships he has taken part in, and hopes that he will manage to achieve another impressive points haul in the upcoming double header.
“Just enjoying. Honestly, it’s going to be like the eight time I do Monaco, all categories combined with F2, World Series, even go-kart actually. It’s always a track that has been pretty comfortable.”
“The only one so far which didn’t go well in race, it’s Formula E. So I hope this weekend I can finally like add it to the list of podiums that I did in the past in the other series. And I’m just really happy to be in Monaco.”
