How 'junior racing hardship' is key for Barnard's Formula E success

Not every racing driver in this world can be Max Verstappen, the four-time Formula 1 world champion who was clearly destined for greatness from a very young age. There are some who have to work harder for it, perhaps going under the radar through the junior categories before realising their true potential once in a destination championship.

So look no further than Taylor Barnard. The 21-year-old quickly established himself as one of Formula E’s standout drivers when he made his full season debut with McLaren in the 2024-25 campaign, by scoring three podiums in the opening four races en route to fourth in the championship.

But it wasn’t always like that for the Norfolk-native, thus proving that junior success isn’t the be-all and end-all for budding racers; Autosport understands that there were even once doubts about how far Barnard could go as a professional driver.

His rise through the ranks may have been rapid - just one season in Formula 3 and Formula 2 where he finished no higher than 10th - but there was no title glory to go with it; his best result being twice runner-up of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, likewise with ADAC F4. 

It is those tough moments, however, that prepared Barnard perfectly for a career at the top of single-seater racing - claiming the key was “my hardship through my junior career”.

“Having to always push through the hard times, when it came easy, it was just amazing,” he says. “Obviously when things aren't going very well, it's very easy to get distracted and start thinking ‘oh this is terrible’.

It was a decent, but not spectacular, rise through the junior ranks for Barnard

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Instead of working it out, being in so many of those hard moments, instead of worrying about how bad they are, you turn it around and say, ‘okay, what can I actually do to fix this?’ So you become a bit of a... you just work harder, I guess.

“You work harder to get the result that you want, but then when you're in a good team and everything's given to you, you don't have to work for anything, it's just given to you. It made my life easier, that's for sure.”

Barnard spoke to Autosport at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico ahead of round two of the 2025-26 Formula E season, and it was impressive to observe how relaxed and confident he appeared in a world championship paddock, despite his tender age. 

"I didn't expect to come into the championship and get podiums and be fighting at the front from the beginning. So definitely, I'd say, it's a no brainer" Taylor Barnard

But this was an environment he is now familiar with, having made his debut at the 2024 Monaco E-Prix. This came as a last-minute call-up for McLaren’s Sam Bird, who broke his hand in opening practice, so as the team’s reserve driver Barnard stepped up to the plate until his elder counterpart returned.

That resulted in a three-race stint for Barnard, who immediately held his own: he kept it clean in Monaco despite little-to-no preparation, before scoring points in both Berlin races. Thus, he was on the radar of Formula E teams and quite the relief, frankly, because his debut in the all-electric series came after a point-less opening six races in F2.

It didn’t get much better for him in the Formula 1 feeder series either, as the seventh race, Imola, saw Barnard disqualified for a technical infringement and just four points finishes followed in the next 13 contests.

At 19y331d, Barnard became the youngest driver to ever start a Formula E race - and in doing so, found his true home

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

The highlight was obviously his victory in the Monaco sprint race, where the qualifying order was partially reversed meaning Barnard had pole, but he still pinpointed F2 as the “junior hardship” which stands out most to him. 

So it’s no surprise that he made the full-time jump to Formula E the moment he could, meaning he ended his F2 campaign with four rounds remaining, but what followed still certainly caught the Briton out by surprise. 

“If I look at how it's been as a whole in the championship, definitely,” says Barnard, when asked if his Formula E success has exceeded expectations. “I didn't expect to come into the championship and get podiums and be fighting at the front from the beginning. So definitely, I'd say, it's a no brainer.”

Even after such a stellar start to his full rookie campaign, where Barnard became the championship’s youngest podium sitter, he still managed to keep it going with two additional podiums after the opening four races, plus various more points finishes.

Such consistency is impressive for a youngster, but make no mistake, it’s not like those “hardships” that Barnard experienced through the junior categories suddenly disappeared the moment he reached the top. Far from it.

As bubbling in the background during his rookie campaign was McLaren’s decision to exit Formula E at the end of it to focus on its 2027 World Endurance Championship Hypercar programme.

Barnard was forced to find a new home for the 2025-26 season, following McLaren's shock Formula E exit

Photo by: DPPI

“Of course it's not great, not only to have my team leave but for Formula E to lose a brand like McLaren, it's obviously not a positive thing,” says Barnard. “But these things happen in life, so you’ve just got to move on and enjoy the next journey.”

That next journey is DS Penske, who Barnard has now contested two races for ahead of this weekend’s Miami E-Prix. The American outfit is a worthy home for Barnard at this stage, having finished inside the top five for the past three seasons with a few victories to boast about as well. 

It therefore sets Barnard up well to finally earn that maiden race win he so desires, but he is careful about placing high expectations so soon given the wholesale transition that comes with joining a new team. 

"McLaren was a completely English team, everyone was English and here it's not like that. There are a few English people of course, but it's definitely multilingual. The way that the engineers work, the way that the car operates, everything is just so different. I can't even compare" Taylor Barnard

“It was a massive step and I didn't expect such a big change,” the Briton says. “It's everything. Even everything down to that McLaren was a completely English team, everyone was English and here it's not like that.

“There are a few English people of course, but it's definitely multilingual. The way that the engineers work, the way that the car operates, everything is just so different. I can't even compare, it's just so different.”

After failing to score points in the Sao Paulo opener, even if he looked set for a good haul at one stage, he impressively bounced back with a front-row start in Mexico before ultimately finishing fourth. 

Although Barnard thinks it’ll be a case of working through the year, the top results are already starting to arrive. That’s only a positive and even if he’s in no rush - Barnard still hopes to be in Formula E in five years - once that first win arrives then next on the bucket list will be the title. 

With the introduction of Gen4 next season, anything is possible.

Formula E will introduce its new Gen4 car next season