Oliver Rowland believes that his second place finish at the Monaco E-Prix marked his "first good race" in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship to date.
Rowland started the ninth race of the season from third on the grid despite taking pole position, with a three-place grid penalty following a collision with Alexander Sims in Paris demoting the driver to the second row.
Securing a strong start, Rowland maintained third on the opening lap of the E-Prix, however, inherited second place from Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein after the German racer made a mistake into Turn 1, dropping to fourth only nine minutes into the 45-minute + 1 lap affair.
While Rowland held second, race leader Jean-Eric Vergne ran off into the distance before the trailing Briton caught up to the first-placed Frenchman in the closing stages, ultimately failing to overtake the reigning champion in the run to the chequered flag to finish in the runner-up spot.
Taking second place, Rowland's result in Monaco marked his second podium of the season while the driver described the race as his best in the series to date, highlighting the E-Prix as a positive learning experience, improving his understanding of fully-electric racing:
"You come here and you already know it’s very difficult to overtake, so you come here with a target to maximise qualifying and I think that’s what we did," said Rowland.
"To be honest, to finish second with a three-place penalty is amazing, but I think that more than anything I think I’m happy with the race performance.
"I think it was probably my first good race and especially surprising as it’s quite a big energy saving track, where I tend to struggle a lot.
"I felt I made a good step in my driving and understanding of the energy management. So, all in all, I’m very positive."
By taking second, Rowland improved his standing in the Drivers' Championship, with the 26-year-old propelling himself into eighth with 59 points, 28 points adrift of Vergne who snatched the lead in the title battle from Envision Virgin Racing's Robin Frijns.
In the Teams' Standings, Nissan e.dams occupies fifth, with Rowland and team-mate Sebastien Buemi collectively scoring 99 points in the first nine races this season, with the French team trailing leaders DS Techeetah by 74 points with four races remaining.
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