Norman Nato-Andretti Formula E Team
Norman Nato-Andretti Formula E Team
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00:00Alright, we're here with Norman Natto, obviously with Andretti Formula E team, here at the
00:05Portland E-Prix for Formula E this weekend.
00:07Norman, it's been an interesting 2024 season for you.
00:12It's kind of been an up-and-down season, things may have not gone your way for you in certain
00:16races.
00:17Can you just touch base here on 2024, and has it been frustrating just to not find that
00:21consistency maybe, or just kind of getting so unlucky?
00:24Yeah, no, it's exactly what we said, like honestly it's been up and down, like in some
00:27races we were looking really good, like Misano, even Berlin Race 1, where we were up on energy
00:33like 3 or 4 percent or more, so we were on the list, at least, for podium, and just making
00:39my way through the park I just got a puncture actually, two times, so it's caused a lot
00:44of points.
00:45But otherwise I was expecting in the first season I would say that yeah, for sure we've
00:48lost some big points in some moments of the season, also some moments of the season did
00:53some mistakes, but as everyone in Formula E I would say honestly, this year especially
00:58it's been really tough to race, and it's about details, and yeah, so I would say that in
01:07Shanghai for some reason suddenly everything went my way, we didn't have the feeling we
01:11did something too different, but it's a bit the same with Nissan last year, where at the
01:16beginning of the season we were kind of struggling a bit, and suddenly everything kind of went
01:21our direction, and suddenly you find some consistency, so yeah, let's see what we can
01:26do this weekend, season is not finished.
01:27Yeah, something that Jake said in the media center that was kind of interesting was that
01:32now that he's kind of out of the points championship chase, he can kind of be a little bit more
01:36aggressive and take some chances maybe that you might not take when you're in that championship
01:41hunt, do you kind of feel the same way, is that kind of maybe a team strategy, or just
01:45you know, kind of maybe something that, you know, do you kind of feel the same way for
01:48the weekend?
01:49Our strategy is to score points at the end, as much as possible, because we're fighting
01:54for top three in the team championship, and that's the main goal, honestly in my position
01:57if I finish P10 or P6 or whatever, the drivers championship, it's not the main goal at the
02:03moment, it's really like for Jake and myself, like one of the targets we had at the beginning
02:06of the season is at least to finish top three in team championships, so that's the focus
02:10we have at the moment.
02:12Just talking about this race, obviously it's a pretty special one for the Andretti name,
02:16it's the home race, there's only two teams in Formula E that are calling this their home
02:19race, which is Andretti and DS Penske, so what does that, I think, do for you guys as
02:25drivers knowing that this is a big race for the team and for some of the higher ups like
02:29Michael who's here this weekend as well, I imagine it may not put a huge pressure, but
02:36it definitely probably is something that you guys definitely want to deliver for the team
02:40at their home track.
02:41Honestly, like the job in the car will be exactly the same, the preparation as well,
02:45it's more in the media and like on a marketing day where for sure it's a bit more busy, and
02:50it's quite enjoyable to be at a home race, like for yourself or even for the team it's
02:57always something nice, we have a bit of a different livery as well for this weekend
03:01and of course, like I mean, if we do well this weekend and stand on the podium, it will
03:06be amazing, but at the end, honestly, like we're not adding more pressure or trying to
03:11do things differently because it's our home race, every race is important, and as I said,
03:17so far it's four races to go, and we're going to fight to try to finish in this top three,
03:24so at the end it's really good, as I said, to be like in America, it's a place I always
03:29enjoy racing there, but the job we have to deliver at the end stays the same.
03:36Porsche's had a really strong run this year and obviously last year, especially with Jake
03:39winning the title, so, and it's really felt like a battle between Porsche and Jaguar really,
03:44especially in the last half of the season, Antonio, Felix Da Costa's won a few races,
03:49you guys have still been battling as well for points and battling for podium finishes
03:54as well, so, I mean, just to have that performance behind you guys and battling against Jaguar,
04:02although you guys are out of the championship chase, I imagine it's definitely nice to know
04:07that you guys are one of the top, it's definitely probably, it gives you guys some confidence
04:11as drivers when you guys are behind the car, knowing that you have that performance.
04:14Yeah, for sure, but on the other hand, it's not an easy season for anyone, clearly compared
04:19to last year, especially in qualifying, it's been a bit more difficult for some reason,
04:23and the level in this championship is so high that you cannot predict anything, and again,
04:29yeah, we don't know what we're going to perform or we're going to perform this weekend,
04:36I would say that qualifying is not really something we're focusing on at the moment,
04:39because it's the kind of race where you can start at the back and see finish on the podium,
04:43so for sure we're going to try to deliver a good job in qualifying, but if not, it's
04:47not the end of the world, and at the end, we need to score points, and that's the main
04:52focus we have for now.
04:54What has been the biggest takeaway for you in the first season with Andretti, you know,
04:57just kind of with the team and getting used to the team, obviously by now you're probably
05:02pretty well informed with everybody, but what has it just been like, you know, in
05:06that first season, just kind of learning the car and just kind of, you know, getting things
05:10down pat with the team?
05:11Everything is going so quick, like I remember when I arrived at the beginning, it's a short
05:15amount of time to kind of get into a new team, a new car, so yeah, for sure I pay the price
05:22in some occasions this season of being new to the team compared to some of the drivers,
05:28but the performance has always been there, I would say.
05:31The most frustrating thing has been, yeah, like a few races where we look really strong,
05:35honestly, like having two punctures almost, like when you can't do much, like when someone
05:39is hitting you from the back, that's what it is.
05:43Some seasons, honestly, where nothing happens to you, or like just a little, and some seasons
05:48where it's the opposite, and honestly, a lot happens, but that's why I was really pleased
05:53in Shanghai to finally like try to change the dynamic, and I really hope like this weekend
05:59we can follow this trend.
06:00Yeah, it's, it's, you kind of mentioned with a lot, I mean, the incidents, it really, I
06:04mean, Formula E has always been an aggressive sport, right, but it really feels like the
06:08aggressiveness has just jumped up a level, I mean, you definitely got to keep your head
06:13on the swivel when you're out there on the track, it's definitely, it can be, get a little
06:16chaotic at certain circuits.
06:18Yeah, but the margin is just so small that if you're trying to be safe, you have no chance
06:23to go to the top ten.
06:24Exactly.
06:25You have to take risks in any occasion, and the problem is that sometimes you have to
06:27accept that, yeah, you're going to do a mistake, or it's not going to go your way, and in the
06:31other hand, like sometimes, like for some reason, it goes your way by not doing anything
06:36so special, and you have to accept it, it's the same in life, and it's the same in motorsport,
06:41so that's what it is, as I say, honestly, this year, like, in qualifying, it's, this
06:45is not luck, we've been lacking some pace, and it's clearly something we try to focus
06:49and improve, but in race, as you say, like, it's, right now, it's really aggressive races,
06:56and we have to deal with it, so, yeah, you need a bit, like, a bit more luck than what
06:59you had in the past, I would say, to make it through, and yeah, some confidence as well,
07:04like, you know, like to bring a dynamic as well, a positive dynamic where you try consistently
07:09to be in points and not only targeting for the win or top three, something which we're
07:13trying to build, and that's what bring you points at the end.
07:18With this race, you know, you had a really strong finish last year, finished in the top
07:21ten, you come back here, we saw last year this, again, chaotic race, energy saving was
07:26huge, it was arguably one of the biggest peloton races of the season, seems like it's going
07:31to be like that this weekend as well, and now you got two races added on top of it,
07:35so, I mean, yeah, how are you just feeling overall about the weekend, and obviously coming
07:40off of last year, I mean, what have you learned about the track and such?
07:45First of all, I'm driving a new car here compared to last year, so that's why I have no expectation
07:49at the moment, for sure, what I want is to continue, like, in Shanghai Train, when qualifying,
07:55we went to the jewels, like, in both qualifying, both days, we did a good result on day two,
08:00so we just want to keep going, but again, like, to tell you what we're going to be,
08:06of course we all want to win and finish on the podium at the end, but this, at this stage,
08:09honestly, at this level, like, you have no, nothing can tell you that, yeah, we are in
08:16a good position to do it, for sure, as an Andretti team, like, we are one of the strongest,
08:21but we show in some occasions as well that we've been struggling, or the same for Jaguar
08:24team or some other team, which, one of the top, so, so far, like, we're just trying to
08:29prepare, we're going to have FP1 this evening, and see what happens.
08:33I got to ask you this, so Robert Wickens is obviously testing a car today, and you have
08:36a sports car background, you race for team Jota, and you've been pretty successful this
08:41season with them, but to see Robert jumping into this car, and getting an opportunity,
08:46what does that say about Formula E, and just kind of its continuing, continuing want to
08:52just evolve and develop as a series as well?
08:55Well, it's just nice to see Robert, first of all, like, in a car, he keep fighting,
09:00and it's just so nice to see him, and to, and he also remind us, like, how lucky we
09:05are to be in this position, and to do what we love, so that's for me the most important,
09:10I would say, and seeing Robert, like, being able to drive this kind of car, and to just
09:15enjoy it at the end, it's a good lesson for us to, you know, it's true that because sometimes
09:21we are just focusing on performance, and you see drivers complaining, or even teams complaining,
09:26and when you see Robert actually doing what he's doing, it's just a good lesson for all
09:30of us, and sometimes, like, yeah, performance is important for sure, but let's enjoy as
09:34well what we're doing.
09:35One last question here for you, obviously Jake Dennis, defending champion here last
09:39year in 2023, working with him in year one, obviously the guy has had so much success
09:45in this series to be able to work with him, and kind of, you know, tag team with this
09:49venture here this season, I mean, what has it been like, and what have you, I mean, what
09:54have you guys been, how has that been, like, with that pairing and the relationship?
09:58Oh, we are getting along really well, I'm the kind of guy I'm really easy going to work
10:03with, unless, like, you're a bit fake, and I don't really like it, but it's not the case,
10:07honestly, like, with Jake so far, we didn't have a single issue on track together this
10:12year, in a few occasions, I tried to help him to fight for the championship, like in
10:17Tokyo, where I tried to open the attack mode for him to go for the podium, and it worked
10:22pretty well, and in the other end, when he can't help me as well, he's trying to do,
10:26so that's what you want as a team, and it's really important, especially in difficult
10:30moment back in Berlin, day one, where we both qualified at the back, and day two, we
10:35finished P1 and P4 in qualifying, so it was a really nice turnaround, and this kind of
10:39result and performance, it's just like a good team effort, like, we're all pushing the same
10:45way, and it's something which worked pretty well this year, I know it did.
10:48I know you guys are pretty busy, but have you gotten a chance to go play golf with Jake
10:52yet?
10:53I've been hearing, he was telling me, he was hyping him up, okay, okay, fair enough.
10:56I don't like golf, like, I would have liked to go, like, to just be with Jake.
11:00Yeah.
11:01Because, like, Jake and Doug, they are my friends, Sam as well, well, I mean, that's
11:05a good thing for me, like, we are, like, there's a good atmosphere between drivers, but, like,
11:09golf is not something I really enjoy, and I was in the simulator on Tuesday, so I couldn't
11:13make it.
11:14Fair enough, fair enough.
11:15Listen, they have the F1 drivers doing the golf tournament, where they drove, like, drove
11:20around in the golf carts, so maybe we can have you do something like that for Jake,
11:24but, Norman, thank you so much, man, appreciate it.
11:26Thank you.
11:27Good luck this weekend.
11:28Thank you.