How brilliant Bird survived the heat to end Formula E win drought in Sao Paulo

The seven-week gap between the previous Formula E event in Diriyah and last weekend’s Sao Paulo E-Prix was a frustrating and unnecessary gap for drivers, teams and fans of the championship to endure. Yet the nearly two-month break paled in comparison to the wait that finally ended when the chequered flag flew in Brazil as Sam Bird at last returned to the top step of the podium, having previously done so almost three years ago in New York in July 2021.  

Since that win in America, the Briton’s abilities and commitment to racing came under severe scrutiny as a three-year partnership with Jaguar ultimately came to an end last season following lacklustre results. 

Offered a lifeline by McLaren for 2024 and reinvigorated, the new partnership bore fruit at just the fourth time of asking as victory in Brazil also signified the British manufacturer’s first in the all-electric championship having only entered last season. Arguably more impressive than Bird’s return to winning ways was the manner in which he claimed victory, with a daring and risky last-lap pass around the outside that showed the Briton at his very best. 

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The 37-year-old started from a season-best fifth on the grid, arguably the perfect spot from which to implement a race-winning challenge as the infamous peloton style of racing of sitting behind in the slipstream to save energy was expected to return. Having held position over the opening lap, Bird hit the front as early as lap four as those ahead took their first Attack Modes. It quickly became apparent that, unlike other races this season, the activations would not be done at the earliest opportunity by everyone. 

Bird, however, did take both Attack Modes in quick succession, on lap five when he retained the lead and again on lap seven as he dropped to fourth. The latter activation in particular proved crucial as just moments later the first of two safety cars was deployed to retrieve debris, notably Norman Nato’s front wing after contact with Lucas di Grassi at Turn 1, for which the Andretti driver was handed a five-second penalty. 

Circulating at a slower pace allowed Bird to essentially use the extra six minutes of power at a reduced rate, while he was also the only driver from the leading group to have used both activations. It meant that by the time a second safety car period was deployed on lap 16 after championship leader Nick Cassidy crashed out of the race, Bird found himself at the head of the field. 

With energy management not as critical over the final 14 laps – the race extended by three laps to 34 due to the caution periods – track position became critical as Bird looked to defend from the chasing pack, which was headed by his former team-mate Mitch Evans. 

Evans and Bird engaged in a tactical battle in the latter stages of the E-Prix

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

With six laps remaining Bird allowed the Jaguar driver into the lead on the approach to the Turn 4 chicane without a fight and shadowed Evans over the following laps in a bid to conserve enough energy for a final push. 

Despite Bird being warned by his race engineer to seek cool air as his McLaren began to overheat, it was Evans in front whose car was suffering more as the top two gradually pulled away from the pack behind. 

Evans was forced to defend into Turn 1 for the final two laps and, having rebuffed Bird at the most likely overtaking spot on the circuit, it looked like the Kiwi would take back-to-back wins in Brazil to put his title challenge back on track. Instead, Bird braved the outside line through the quick left kink of Turn 10, completing the move at the penultimate corner to take the 12th win of his Formula E career. 

“I think this one is one of the more special wins because of what I’ve had to go through to get back to this [winning press conference] chair,” said Bird. “This one definitely feels very special, also the fact that it’s the first for McLaren. 

"A few laps to go I thought it was going to be for us again, but I started getting some temperature warnings quite quickly and then it escalated on the last lap" Mitch Evans

“We had some goals at the beginning of the year about scoring some podiums and I would be lying to you by saying that I thought that we could definitely win a race this early. It would have been a dream, I didn’t imagine it, but we’ve managed it. That doesn’t mean to say that we’ve made it and we need to rest, there’s still a lot of work to do but to score our first win feels really special.” 

Ahead of the weekend, Evans had claimed he needed “a big result soon”, having failed to make it onto the podium in the opening three races as small errors or car issues masked his promising outright pace. The same venue 12 months ago had proved to be the catalyst for his title fightback as he went on to take four wins from that point in the season. Posting the fastest time in FP1 signified what was to come this year, even if a front driveshaft failure in FP2 restricted running. Having qualified fourth, Evans never fell outside the top five and, after activating his final Attack Mode as late as lap 13, he found himself behind Bird during the second safety car period. 

Although initially more focused on defending from Pascal Wehrlein once racing resumed, the Kiwi gradually closed on Bird in front and took the lead with a handful of laps remaining. Evans admitted later that he believed victory was his but, on a day when ambient temperatures moved close to 40C, the heat played havoc throughout the field in the closing stages. High battery temperatures meant Evans suffered de-rating and began losing power at a crucial moment of the race, when he admitted he “felt like I was in a Gen1 car”. Despite covering the inside line into the final sequence of corners, Evans’s hobbled car essentially meant he was a sitting duck for Bird. 

Evans was unable to defend from Bird as the race reached its climax

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

“It’s bittersweet I would say,” said Evans. “A few laps to go I thought it was going to be for us again, but I started getting some temperature warnings quite quickly and then it escalated on the last lap. I had a huge de-rate on the last lap with the power. I think even if Sam didn’t overtake me [where he did] he probably would have got me to the start/finish line. A bit frustrating, I had lots of energy left, I was just trying to bring it home but just two corners shy.” 

Despite missing out on victory, the runner-up spot provided a much-needed result for Evans, especially during a race where team-mate and championship leader Cassidy failed to score. The Kiwi had hit the ground running with life at Jaguar this year, taking a hat-trick of podiums from the opening three races, including victory in Diriyah, and building a healthy 19-point lead in the standings. 

But, despite impressive practice pace, Cassidy just missed out on making it through to the qualifying duels by 0.011 seconds, which left him ninth on the grid. Progress in the race was slow and Cassidy had climbed only as high as fifth approaching the halfway point and, with both Attack Modes still to take in contrast to those around him, he was likely to fall back. In the end it mattered little as Cassidy’s race ended in the Turn 10 barrier after his front-wing, which was damaged earlier in the lap, became lodged under his right-front wheel through the quick left kink. 

“It wasn’t really going how I wanted, it wasn’t one of our best races,” he said. “I’ve got to look internally at myself for that, I’ve got to be better, so I’ll just try and improve.” 

Despite non-scoring, such had been Cassidy’s early season consistency that he still left Brazil with a four-point lead over Wehrlein, as the Porsche driver was unable to capitalise on his second pole of the year. 

The German had claimed top spot in qualifying but only just from Stoffel Vandoorne, the DS Penske driver having taken the accolade last year. It became apparent a year ago that leading and being unable to conserve energy like those in the slipstream behind was not the right strategy, given the peloton style of racing, and Wehrlein and Vandoorne duly took their first Attack Modes at the earliest opportunity. 

While Vandoorne would eventually slip down the order, Wehrlein stayed towards the front, where he was joined by team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa. After a disastrous start to the 2024 campaign that included no points, the Portuguese driver immediately began making inroads from eighth on the grid. He was fifth by the end of the opening lap and third one tour later before moving to the front when Wehrlein and Vandoorne took their Attack Modes.  

Overheating was a serious issue for those running the Porsche powertrain

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

But the Porsche powertrain users began to suffer more than others in the heat, with da Costa eventually slipping down to sixth by the flag, while Wehrlein fell behind reigning champion Jake Dennis in the closing stages. 

Dennis had risen from 10th and, with more energy than Bird and Evans ahead after moving into third, believed “the win was there” before he too dropped back as the Andretti driver began struggling with high battery temperatures that ultimately cost him a podium at the final corner. 

Just 20 points separate Bird from championship leader Cassidy

“He [Wehrlein] went for a gap and I was probably about 100bhp down at the end to the other guys, I was so slow down the straights,” said Dennis, who eventually finished fifth. “There’s obviously only so much you can do and they had such a speed advantage over you and they punished us.”  

As both took a tight line into the final corner, a lack of momentum on the exit allowed Oliver Rowland directly behind to get a switchback. The Briton reckoned that it “felt like Christmas” having moved into fifth with two laps remaining after starting 11th, before a superb bit of opportunistic driving handed the Nissan driver back-to-back podiums on the run to the line. 

Nissan also powers McLaren, meaning it was a good day for the Japanese manufacturer as the championship embarks on its maiden trip to Tokyo in less than two weeks’ time. With a huge weight lifted off Bird’s shoulders following his most recent Formula E victory and now just 20 points separating him from championship leader Cassidy, the title battle continues to remain wide open.   

Cassidy remains at the top of the standings, but Bird is closing the gap

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz