Following a chaotic season opener at the São Paulo E-Prix, NEOM McLaren leads the championship standings. The drivers Taylor Barnard and Sam Bird brought home a 3-4 finish.
A tough start
Surprisingly both McLaren couldn’t make it into the qualifying duels and started in P16 and P17. During the race, both drivers profited from chaos ahead and found themselves in third and fourth position after Pascal Wehrlein’s heavy crash.
Barnard, who is new to Formula E was ahead of his teammate Bird, who was told to not fight the rookie. In the end, both Britons finished in their positions.
“(The) race was absolutely crazy”, Barnard said after the race. “Sam and I were at the back at one point, so to finish third and fourth for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team is fantastic – especially in my first race as a full-time driver in the championship.
A great debut
“To secure my first podium – I am speechless. A huge thank you to the team for the great strategy that helped us cross the line where we did. A strong way to start the season, and hopefully lots more of these results to come.”
Sam Bird said: “What a rollercoaster of a day it’s been for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team. I’m pleased to say that the result was a good one for us as a team, with Taylor getting his first-ever Formula E podium. I’m delighted for him, he’s worked very hard in the off-season and he thoroughly deserved it.
A great double finish for McLaren
“I finished in P4 – we played it smart. I didn’t want to put him under any unnecessary pressure and wanted him to get that podium. We’ve brought home a great haul of points for the team and we leave Brazil in a good position in both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships.
”The season is just beginning, but it’s always nice to get points on the board early.”
Mitch Evans won the season opener ant São Paulo after starting last. Next to McLaren rookie Barnard, he was joined by Porsche’s António Félix da Costa.
“At the end of a particularly chaotic start to Season 11, we’re very pleased to have brought home not only a podium, with Taylor becoming the youngest-ever podium finisher with his P3, but also Sam’s P4 finish – a good haul of points for the team. The drivers managed the chaos with a maturity and composure which is to be applauded”, team principal Ian James said.
“Having said that, as a team, we’ve experienced a weekend that was not to the level of operational excellence that we expect of ourselves. Therefore, we’re going to be working hard to ensure that we take the learnings from this event so that we don’t have the same issues going into Mexico.
“It’s clear that the package as a whole has good potential, but it’s also clear that at the start of the GEN3 Evo era, this racing is close as ever, and the competition is going to be fierce. Bring it on.”
