Rowland replaces Albon at Nissan for 2018/19 FE season

Oliver Rowland will drive for the Nissan e.dams in season five of the Formula E Championship, having been announced as Formula 1-bound Alexander Albon's replacement. 

Rowland joins season two champion Sebastien Buemi at Nissan for the upcoming 2018/19 campaign, which gets underway on December 15 with the inaugural Ad Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia. 

It follows the news earlier this week that 2018 Formula 2 frontrunner Albon - who signed a deal to race for Nissan in 2018/19 - had been freed from his contract in order to join Toro Rosso for the 2019 F1 season. 

The 26-year-old Briton emerged as the favourite to replace Albon after he stepped in to take part in the final day of pre-season testing at Valencia when Albon failed to turn a wheel on the opening day amid ongoing discussions with Toro Rosso.

Rowland, who carried out a young driver and development role with the Williams F1 team throughout 2018, will return to the all-electric series after making his Formula E debut at the 2015 Punta del Este E-Prix as stand-in for injured Mahindra driver Nick Heidfield.

“The Formula E championship features some of the best drivers in the world, and it’s an honor to be selected by Nissan e.dams to represent them in season five,” Rowland said at Nissan's official launch event in Japan.

"To be able to work alongside Sebastien is also an incredible opportunity. I’m looking forward to challenging myself against the best of the best in Formula E.”

Nissan's global head of brand and marketing Roel de Vries added: “Formula E and the NISMO Festival are great opportunities to show racing fans and customers the power and performance of our electric cars.

“This experienced team will bring the excitement of Nissan Intelligent Mobility to life.”

Nissan has also named 2017 Japanese F3 champion Mitsunori Takaboshi as its official test and reserve driver for season five, while 2011 Nissan GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough will take up a simulator and development role.