Only three drivers have participated in every race in the history of Formula E, and as a member of this exclusive group, Sam Bird has earned a reputation as one of the best drivers in the fully-electric championship.
Holding a total of nine victories, the Briton is the only driver in the series to have won at least one race in every season. With this in mind, the start to a new campaign should be routine for such an experienced and decorated driver.
But for Bird, Formula E’s seventh season is far from familiar because, for the first time in his electric motorsport career, the 33-year-old finds himself outside of the Envision Virgin fold as Jaguar Racing’s latest recruit.
With pre-season testing in Valencia fast approaching, Bird caught up with MotorsportWeek.com to discuss what has been an off-season of learning and development in preparation for what could be a season of success.
“It’s been very exciting working with a new team,” explained Bird. “I’ve genuinely loved getting my teeth stuck into a new programme with new people and it’s been great working with Mitch [Evans]. It’s always nice to work with somebody new.
“I’ve been very blessed to have had some amazing team-mates over my Formula E career. Robin [Frijns] was great, Alex Lynn was super, JEV [Jean-Eric Vergne] was great, but the level of feedback, intensity and speed that Mitch brings to Jaguar Racing is awesome.
“That’s why he’s at the front of the grid most of the time. I’m learning a lot from that. I think that we have a competitive package to take forward into Season 7 and I’m just excited to get going.”
In motorsport, drivers can often become synonymous with certain teams, and just as Ayrton Senna is associated with McLaren and Michael Schumacher Ferrari, Bird will be – for many – the driver to be associated with Envision Virgin Racing.
This is a result of his proven record with the team, having notched nine wins, five pole positions, five fastest laps and 10 further podiums in 69 appearances, but this success is now the legacy of a now former collaboration.
Season 7 is a landmark one for Formula E as its first as a World Championship, but it is also significant for Bird as he enters the next stage of his professional career – a move that holds the serious possibility of out-shining the past as he joins one of the series’ most promising teams.
“I think you’re never too old to still learn and I’m still evolving and improving as a driver,” continued Bird when outlining his decision to join Jaguar. “The timing was right. I just felt that in this stage of my career, I wanted to have a change and I felt that Jaguar was definitely the place to go.
“To be not only back with a manufacturer but the largest British manufacturer in the automotive industry was a really big thing for me. I’ve watched them grow from strength to strength since Season 3.
“Mitch has brought the team up and I’ve watched Jaguar grow from a team that, following a difficult first year, evolved to fight for podiums, poles and wins, and then fight for the championship last season. Pre-Berlin, Mitch and Antonio [Felix da Costa] were the guys to beat.
“I think that I’ve joined at exactly the right time. I’m excited to be involved, Mitch is teaching me things, the team are teaching me new things. I’m very excited to be a part of the programme and let’s hope that it can be as successful as I believe that it potentially can be.”
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