The Formula E off-season proved to be a busy time for Andretti Global as the American outfit underwent a rebrand and launched a new livery. Meanwhile, Jake Dennis swapped his #27 for the coveted #1 plate – the Briton’s prerogative as reigning champion.
There was also a new driver signing for the team ahead of the upcoming season, which gets underway in Mexico City on 13 January. Andre Lotterer was replaced by former Nissan driver Norman Nato after a dismal 2022-23 campaign in which the three-time Le Mans winner scored points on only five occasions and failed to reach the podium.
While a replacement for Lotterer came as no surprise to anyone, as the German elected to call time on his single-seater career and focus his attentions on Porsche's LMDh programme, Nato’s name was certainly not at the top of the list for many. Especially with the likes of 2020-21 champion Nyck de Vries back on the market after his brief foray into Formula 1.
This season will mark only Nato’s third full campaign in the all-electric championship, during which time the 31-year-old has driven for three different teams, but perhaps more significantly, used three different powertrains as well. It puts the Frenchman in something of a unique position on the Formula E grid, as even with only 33 race starts under his belt (far less than the outright record of 115 currently held by Lucas di Grassi) Nato has more knowledge than most at his disposal.
It’s an obvious appeal for the likes of customer team Andretti but, also poses potential problems of having to adapt to a new system – in this case, Porsche’s powertrain. Nato is all too aware of the challenge he faces at the start of this season.
“The tricky part for joining a new team is when the manufacturer of the powertrain is different, from Nissan to Porsche for example, everything is so different,” Nato tells Autosport.
“All the software, all the steering wheel is different, so this is the tricky part. I have to forget everything I’ve learned at Nissan and just adapt to everything which is new and different. I would say set-up-wise it is a bit different, but this adaptation would be pretty quick.
“It’s more the fact you have to adapt to all the new software, also the communication with my engineer and working as well with a new team. Everything is different and all these things for now are not natural, and it takes you more energy, some more focus that you’re not spending on only driving.”
It’s a process Nato has had to go through several times during his Formula E tenure and has meant that often he struggles to hit the ground running during a campaign, something which is evident in his results. A closer look at the stats, though, reveals an interesting trend towards the end of a campaign and reveals a driver that given enough time and the right environment could be a potent asset for Andretti.
Nato’s maiden campaign with Venturi (powered by Mercedes) in 2020-21 was a tough baptism of fire, as he finished in the points only four times across 15 races. But two of those came in the Berlin season finale, including his so far sole Formula E victory.
"It will take a bit of time for me at the beginning to adapt, but hopefully as soon as possible I will be on the podium and target number one is to score points for the team to win the teams’ championship" Norman Nato
Only two race outings followed the next season as he filled in for the injured Sam Bird at Jaguar in Seoul, finishing outside the points both times, before his most recent campaign with Nissan last term where once again the beginning of the season proved difficult.
“We paid the price at the beginning of the year by being a new team, we made some mistakes,” admits Nato, as Nissan split with DAMS and formed its own identity, while rookie team-mate Sacha Fenestraz showed outright pace but struggled with a lack of experience.
It meant Nato as the senior driver took on more responsibility outside the car, while on track he only scored two points finishes in the first 10 races. Come the second half of the year, though, Nato began to hit his stride and scored points in the final six races. This included a podium behind race winner and new team-mate Dennis in Rome, which helped the Japanese manufacturer beat customer team McLaren in the teams’ standings.
This strong run of form came at the right time and grabbed the attention of an Andretti team that was clear Lotterer would not be retained and on the lookout for a consistent points scorer to aid its teams’ championship credentials. As Nato describes, joining Andretti was “the perfect timing to work together” and at last puts him in a car capable of fighting towards the front, even if the team and Porsche powertrain lost its early season dominance to Jaguar during the course of last year.
With Nato finally at the wheel of a car capable of battling for Formula E wins on a regular basis, it means more focus than ever will be directed towards him, even if he admits to not feeling any greater burden.
“There’s no extra pressure in a way,” he says. “Every team you go to, you want to do your best. Right now, I know that I have a strong package, but it doesn’t mean that I will be on the podium every weekend.
“I’m aware that I have a car which is consistently in a position to fight for podiums and top five at least. It’s good pressure, you’re better being in this position than being in a car where you know that it’s going to be difficult.
“I know as well I’m coming to a team which has experience, Jake has experience as well. I’m next to one of the best drivers currently on the grid, so it’s also a good opportunity for me to show what I’m capable of but it doesn’t mean Jake is my target.
“The number one target at the end is to win the teams’ championship. It will take a bit of time for me at the beginning to adapt, but hopefully, as soon as possible, I will be on the podium and target number one is to score points for the team to win the teams’ championship.”
Nato also makes no secret of the fact that he is looking at the opportunity with Andretti as more than a one-year arrangement as has happened in the past, and which if given the chance for a second season with the team would allow him to build a solid foundation from which to build on.
“For me, it’s about getting up to speed as soon as possible and for sure having a long relationship with Andretti will permit me maybe to fight at some point for the drivers’ championship, which for sure is a target as well,” says Nato.
“We saw that with Mitch Evans for example, who for me is one of the strongest drivers on the grid, he’s been with Jaguar from the beginning. Same with Jake, he’s been with Andretti since the beginning in Formula E. For sure it’s an advantage to be for many years with the same team, the same people, building a relationship so that’s definitely the goal.”
