Hazard, a star football player for Real Madrid C.F. and a Nissan global brand ambassador since 2018, took the wheel of the Nissan LEAF e+ under the expert tutelage of Nissan e.dams driver Rowland.
The Yorkshireman - and Barnsley F.C. fan - showed the multiple title-winning Belgian the full power of the official UEFA Champions League Trophy carrier, the LEAF NISMO RC, capable of accelerating to 100 kph from a standing start in a ludicrous 3.4 seconds.
Hazard, 29, plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Real Madrid and captains Belgium’s national football team – currently FIFA’s highest-ranked team worldwide. Having seen what Nissan's cutting-edge electric line-up has to offer in his role as an ambassador for the Japanese giant, Hazard was keen to sample its electric mobility offering as soon as he could.
His wish was granted as he drove his brand new, zero-emission Nissan LEAF e+ from the Caetano Reicomsa Nissan dealership in Madrid directly to the track, where he met up with Rowland. IMAGE ID: /Spacesuit-Media-Shivraj-Gohil-187112 Rowland passed on his nous and know-how to Hazard, before teaching him how to handle the track-only LEAF NISMO RC.
“I knew that electric vehicles can be fun to drive on the street – but wow, what a track experience!” Hazard said after the session. “I particularly enjoyed driving the Nissan LEAF NISMO RC. I love performance cars, and the instant acceleration this car produces is incredible.”
Rowland added: “I’m a huge football fan, so it was a real thrill for me to meet one of the world’s best players. Eden did very well, and seeing the excitement on his face was priceless.”
Nissan joined the Formula E fold last season in full manufactuer trim as Nissan e.dams.
The aim: showcasing the excitement and performance of Nissan’s zero-emission EV technology to racing fans across the globe and allow the company to gain know-how and data to improve its electric road cars via world-class competition. IMAGE ID: /Spacesuit-Media-Shivraj-Gohil-187217 “Eden Hazard is a true high-performance athlete, and we jumped at the chance to give him firsthand experience with our latest EV technology,” said Tommaso Volpe, Nissan’s Global Motorsport Director.
“There’s nothing like seat time to gain a true understanding of Nissan’s electric vehicles and what they’re capable of.”