The future of Taylor Barnard was most certainly one of Formula E‘s biggest off-season anomalies. That speculation is now over.
The British driver has been a revelation in the all-electric championship since his debut in Season 10, as a replacement for the injured Sam Bird at the Monaco and Berlin E-Prix weekends.
It earned him a full-time seat alongside the veteran for Season 11, and after McLaren’s underwhelming stint in the championship came to an end, there was a stampede for his services.
Rejecting McLaren’s offers of retaining him through other series – per Motorsport Week‘s understanding – Barnard opted for DS Penske, a one-season union which came to an end upon the French manufacturer’s withdrawal at the end of last season.
The campaign was, for the most part, a disappointing one, as Barnard was frequently unable to make the most of his burgeoning talents as the Franco-American squad failed to deliver.
But it all came good with a maiden victory at the final race, fittingly in front of a home crowd in London. But, despite the joy, uncertainty was now descending, as Penske struggled to find a match for a new entry.
Fortescue, the championship’s Pit Boost provider, delivered a speedy relief from Penske’s troubles and, with Jaguar powertrains, will enter Formula E under the Fortescue Zero Racing name.
The question was: who would drive for the team?
Barnard has indeed been, in effect, retained, as the team has announced he will be one of the two drivers to tackle what could be a difficult first season for the Kidlington-based squad.
In a statement, Barnard said: “I’m incredibly excited to join Fortescue Zero Racing and be part of building something from the ground up.
“This is a new team with a huge amount of ambition, and I want to help turn that ambition into results on the track.”
Barnard added: “Fortescue Zero has a strong history of developing high-performance electric technology, and I’m looking forward to working with the team and helping push that technology further and faster than ever before.
“We know there is a lot of hard work ahead, but that is exactly what makes this opportunity so exciting. I can’t wait to get started.”
Fortescue’s Team Principal, Jim Wright, said: “Taylor is exactly the kind of driver a new team wants to build around. He has already shown that he has the speed, discipline and race-craft to compete at the front of Formula E.
“Barnard is young, hungry and has a huge amount of potential. Just as importantly, he understands how to work with engineers and extract every bit of performance and efficiency from the car.
“We are building a new team with serious ambitions. Taylor is the first piece of that picture, and we are excited to see what we can achieve together.”
READ MORE – Opel takes the covers off debut Formula E challenger
Discussion about this post