Norman Nato set to leave Nissan at the end of the season

Norman Nato’s three-year stint with the Nissan Formula E team looks set to end when the 2025/26 season comes to a close in London next month, with the team preparing to hand his seat to a rookie as it transitions into the Gen 4 era.

According to paddock reports out of the Tokyo ePrix, Nato has been informed that there will be no race seat available to him at Nissan for the 2026/27 campaign, the squad’s first in Formula E’s new Gen 4 regulation set. The news comes despite the Frenchman producing one of his stronger weekends of the season in Tokyo, where he crossed the line in sixth on Sunday.

It caps an underwhelming campaign by results, with a fifth place at the second Berlin round in May standing as his best outcome, even though he has often shown good pace before strategy calls or incidents from rivals cost him further points.

Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe was non-committal when asked about Nato’s future after the Tokyo weekend, saying only that no decision had yet been made and that a call would come soon.

Nato’s situation is complicated by his commitments in the World Endurance Championship with Cadillac Hertz Team Jota, where he is contracted for 2027. Speaking in Tokyo, he acknowledged that fitting a Formula E campaign around an expanding WEC calendar was becoming increasingly difficult, noting that clashing weekends are already a lot to manage and that four would be too many. He said he was not ready to make a decision immediately, given his position affords him a bit more time to weigh his options, while stressing that he would like to continue in Formula E if a workable path exists.

Beyond the WEC, Nato is also said to be weighing an IMSA programme alongside his Jota commitments for next year.

Victor Martins is the frontrunner to replace him

Nissan is understood to be closing in on a deal with Victor Martins, currently a Williams F1 Development driver and an Alpine WEC racer, to partner reigning champion Oliver Rowland from the start of Gen 4. Martins, an F2 race winner, has already completed a Gen 4 test at Navarra and logged simulator time with Nissan, having previously run for the team in Gen 3 machinery. He is expected to be confirmed shortly after the season concludes in two weeks’ time.

So what is next for Nato?

A return to Jaguar, where Nato deputised for an injured Sam Bird at the 2022 Seoul ePrix and later did simulator work, has also been floated as a fallback option in a reserve and development capacity. Jaguar team principal Ian James praised Nato’s experience and racecraft, as well as his ability to work constructively with engineers, calling that combination a major asset for any team on the grid.

Whether Nato continues in any capacity in Formula E or whether his time in the Championship comes to an end, a final decision from all parties is expected to firm up once the season wraps up in London.