From reserve driver at Jaguar to permanent seat at Nissan: "Perfect timing"

Norman Nato made his debut in Formula E at Venturi in 2021 and managed an immediate victory as a rookie. However, that did not prove enough for a contract extension and so he sat on the sidelines in 2022, as a reserve driver for the Jaguar team. After a mandatory one-year sabbatical, he is back in electric class, this time with Nissan. GPblog.com spoke to Nato ahead of the first ePrix weekend about his return.

At Nissan, together with Sascha Fenstraz, he hopes to aim high this season. When GPblog asks why Formula E is such an interesting championship for Nato, he replies, "A championship like FE is attractive because of the drivers on the grid. You want to compete against the best drivers. This is my feeling that many of the drivers who are on the grid today could’ve made it to Formula 1, they didn’t make it for some reason. But it’s just incredible."

The 30-year-old driver wants to keep developing himself and a competitive high-level championship will ensure that. Nato says that in Formula E, you have to have the mentality to always keep pushing yourself and the team, looking to improve. Standing still is going backwards, after all. This does not apply to the drivers, by the way, but also to the teams. Everything and everyone has to deliver the maximum, otherwise you can drop a few places in the rankings in no time.

Period at Jaguar instructive

Although he only drove one race at Jaguar last year (he replaced the injured Sam Bird in the last weekend, ed.), he did gain a lot of experience that he will take with him to this season. “It’s been a good experience for me to spend a year with Jaguar. I like the introduction. To see something different in Formula E as well. It was a great experience for me to see something different with Jaguar. Really fortunate to be in a team with two really good drivers," Nato is referring to Sam Bird and Mitch Evans.

Because these top drivers were already under contract for 2023, there was no longer a place for Nato as a regular driver. The Frenchman did feel he had to look for a full-time seat to stay "in the picture". " I had been out for one year, was really important for me to come back, especially with a new era of the GEN3 car. It was the perfect timing with Nissan as we are trying to rebuild the team. A lot of new addition in terms of engineers. Perfect timing for us to both start a new chapter together."

Getting used to 2023 cars

Nato thinks it will take some time for Formula E drivers to fully master the new cars. "It’s tough. Gen 2 was not easy to drive. Right now even with energy management will be a surprise this weekend. Nobody is aware of what’s going to happen. We have some idea of what we’re going to do, but nobody is really sure. When you get a new car, like in Valencia you can do whatever you want. If you have an issue you can stop and go again. Now it is time to put everything together and get everything right. The car in terms of energy management will be tough. A long way for us to understand, and to put everything perfectly."

It's not just dealing with the software and tuning the car that is tricky, it will also take some getting used to for the drivers on the track. "Physically it’s tough, the steering wheel is really heavy. We’ve been pushing a lot in the gym! It’s going to be a bit of a surprise and a learning point. It will be a bit of a surprise and learning process. After Mexico, we will get more of an idea of the line to follow to improve."

The 24 Hours of Le Mans again

Despite his Formula E adventure taking up a lot of time, Nato also remains active in the WEC. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is on his programme, as it was every year between 2018 and 2022. "Yes, I am not planning to stop WEC or Le Mans. My plan is to do Le Mans every year. I will be in it again this year. This year with Nissan is important, two new drivers. I am going to have to spend a lot of time with the team so I think it’s not the best for the first year with the team. But we will do some races in endurance," he concludes his story.