NEOM McLaren reserve driver Taylor Barnard said he was told he was replacing Sam Bird just 20 minutes before getting into the car for FP2 ahead of yesterday’s Monaco E-Prix.
The Norwich youngster replaced Bird after the British veteran fractured his left hand after a brush with the wall in FP1, ruling him out of the remainder of the weekend. The incident led to Barnard becoming, at 19 years and 331 days old, the youngest driver to start a race in the history of the FIA Formula E championship.
When asked if the team ensured him there was no pressure upon him to perform well at short notice, Barnard explained there was more pressure perhaps from himself.
“Of course the team say ‘no pressure’ and there’s no expectations, but I want to push myself and get good results,” he said.
“The car in free practice and qualifying was a bit tough, but the race was a lot better than expected, and I was quite good on energy which I didn’t expect either, but as I said before, it was just a case of staying out of trouble and keeping the car in one piece that was the key to scoring a good result.”
Given the schedule of the Monaco E-Prix weekend being a packed one, with every session comprised into a timeframe of less than eight hours, Barnard revealed his call-up was very late, but added that he is always aware of such an eventuality.
“It was around 20 minutes before FP2, so I had to put my suit on and get in the car.
“Being in this role, you have to be ready to be in the car at any point.”
It is one thing for a driver to have to make his debut with 20 minutes before being in his car, but doing so at the most prestigious street circuit of them all may have been somewhat daunting to Barnard, but his experience of racing there previously was helpful.
“I raced here last year, so it’s not a surprise, but racing here with different cars and different drivers was quite hard.”
In a press conference alongside McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown, Team Principal Ian James confirmed that the extent of Bird’s injury and recovery time will not be clear until he has returned from Monaco and sought medical advice in Britain.
