Damien Smith
Sam Bird must have wondered whether he would ever win again in Formula E. Yet the series veteran heads to the electric single-seater series’ first visit to Tokyo this weekend riding a crest, following a fab victory snatched on the last lap in São Paulo from a former team-mate who left him deep in the shadows last term. Bird’s victory in Brazil ended a personal drought dating back nearly three years (to the New York round in 2021) and also marked a first in Formula E for McLaren. It was great to see him back where he belongs.
BIRD’S NEW WINGS
Bird cut a sad figure at times last year, when a combination of errors and a slump in form led to the end of his spell as a works Jaguar driver, in a season when team-mate Mitch Evans once again came close to winning the title. He was lucky to land a deal to join Nissan-powered McLaren for its second Formula E campaign, but as the 37-year-old pointed out in the wake of his win, it turns out that “there’s still life in the old dog yet”.
Bird is the second-oldest Formula E race winner, and his 12th victory in the category leaves him just one behind joint record holders Lucas di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi.
To make it sweeter, he pulled a peach of a move around the outside of Evans at the fast Turn 10 kink and then into Turn 11, seconds before crossing the finish line, having relinquished the lead to the Jaguar driver six laps earlier as energy management and rising temperatures came into play. As it turned out, the McLaren was in better shape than the Jaguar when it counted the most.
Just to complete a thrilling finish, fellow Brit Oliver Rowland undercut reigning champion Jake Dennis and Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein at the last corner to grab a second consecutive podium for the works Nissan team.
I will repeat what I said last year: at its best, on the street circuits for which it was devised, Formula E beats Formula 1 hands down when it comes to close racing.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Can Bird now win the Formula E title that he has chased for 10 years? That’s a lot to ask. He admitted that podiums had been his target at the start of 2024 and he hadn’t expected a win, but he now finds himself only 20 points off the top, sixth in the table coming into round five.
His replacement at Jaguar, Nick Cassidy, blotted his strong start to the season by crashing out in Brazil but still leads Wehrlein by four points – 57 plays 53 – w
