Why Bird can bounce back after a tough 2021-22 Formula E season

A broken hand ended a Formula E convention that stretches back as far as the championship’s first ever year, and brought an early conclusion to a season completely unblessed by good fortune.

In every season, Sam Bird has claimed at least one victory, beginning with the Season 1 visit to Putrajaya, winning 10 more times since then. Three of those victories have been forthcoming in New York City, with Bird winning back-to-back races in the Big Apple during 2016-17. And, after moving from the Envision Virgin Racing squad to Jaguar for 2020-21, the Briton continued in the same vein with two wins that year.

The streak ended this season as Bird endured a tumultuous time in 2022. Even after kicking off the year with a solid fourth place at Diriyah, his season never gathered momentum as Jaguar generally struggled throughout the weekends in Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Despite team-mate Mitch Evans running away with proceedings in Rome, Bird was unable to hit the same heights; he managed fifth in race one and a retirement in the second after a clash with Nick Cassidy while running sixth.

Monaco lasted mere corners before Bird was taken out on the opening lap, by which time his season was already irreparably damaged. Berlin was a struggle for Jaguar, and although Bird started to build up a run of points-scoring results on the road to London, a win was still elusive. And in his home city, Bird had to put up with more misfortune: a lap one crash in race one and a broken hand in race two, although he still gritted his teeth and dragged his car to eighth. But it put him on the treatment table for Seoul and had to miss out on the trip as Norman Nato covered for him.

Bird spoke to Autosport about his season ahead of the London round, but many of his reflections remain just as relevant as he didn’t exactly enjoy a sudden upturn in form. Leaned against one of the Jaguar packing crates in the pitlane, Bird explained that much of his misfortune over 2021-22 was down to lacking the final slither of time in qualifying. It’s precluded him from joining the duels phase on a regular basis and, from there, a driver’s weekend can snowball – particularly in the cut-and-thrust of the midfield action.

“It's just about finding that tenth, half a tenth,” Bird says. “I've been working very hard in order to do that. The team are doing a super job. The team haven't lost faith or trust in me, which is great. And I haven't lost faith in them, it’s a super team. And we keep pushing. I proved again, in New York, that Sam Bird is still an extremely quick racing driver.

“And okay, my quali performances this year haven't been great, but it is in there, because I wouldn't have topped free practice three [in NYC] if it wasn't. After the [London] weekend, I might be able to speak more openly and freely. But you know, there are things that I'm working on within myself in order to extract more performance. And I know that the team can give me a good car.”

Bird took his first Formula E victory at the Season 1 visit to Putrajaya, winning 10 more times since then

Photo by: FIA Formula E

But a tough year hasn’t dampened Bird’s enthusiasm for racing in Formula E. Until he’d missed out on the Seoul finale, only he and Lucas di Grassi had competed in every race within the all-electric championship; now, only di Grassi’s 100-percent record in 100 races remains. Assuming Bird’s recovery all goes to plan over the off-season, he’ll be the joint-next centurion alongside Sebastien Buemi and Jean-Eric Vergne in the second race of 2022-23.

For Bird, Formula E came at the right time in his career; after competing for the Formula Renault 3.5 title against eventual winner Robin Frijns and the late Jules Bianchi, Bird went back to GP2 but missed out on the spoils there. Backed by Mercedes until that point, Bird’s Formula 1 aspirations hit an impasse, and he was all set to cut racing out of his life and start a new career as a personal trainer. But Formula E came knocking and gave Bird a reason to pull his Nomex gloves on once again.

“I love the series. I love what it stands for. I love the competitive nature of this series. The teams are world class, the drivers are some of the best in the world. And it's awesome. If you're not in Formula 1, what better place to be? And I'm not saying that we're below F1 as well; I very much don't mean that like that.

“But Formula E is, in my opinion, pound for pound, one of if not the hardest championship to win in. Because anybody can win. And everybody can be up there. In all other series, there's very much a pecking order. Okay, there is a little bit of a pecking order here. But crikey, anybody can be up there.”

"I love the series. I love what it stands for. I love the competitive nature of this series" Sam Bird

Taking Formula E’s race format to the next level has been the new qualifying system, which has created more meritocratic grid orders rewarding the fastest teams and drivers. Bird had his part to play in the design of the new format, with it borne from some of his suggestions in how to create better-quality grids as the much-maligned superpole format arguably added too much variance.

“The qualifying format is...genius!,” Bird laughs. “I should have TM'd it, shouldn't I? I think Formula E should be paying me, definitely. I think it's great. And I think it's created good racing as well. Like, instead of chaotic racing, we still have a couple of races that are a bit crazy. But now it's just good. It's like high-end, top-quality motorsport, which is great for a motorsport fan.

“Maybe it's not as fun for somebody who has never watched a motorsport race before and just wants a bit of carnage. But there's still a little bit of that. But it's mainly now gone to just good tactics, good racing, and world-class drivers going wheel-to-wheel.”

Formula E now stands on the precipice of the Gen3 era that will span the next four seasons

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Formula E has evolved much over Bird’s time in the championship, and now stands on the precipice of the Gen3 era that will span the next four seasons. The new car has already left its impression on Bird, who waxes lyrical about the improved speeds despite not yet running in anger.

Asked to compare how far Formula E has come since the Gen1 days of 2014-15, Bird explains that the original generation of car was incredibly basic compared to the all-wheel-regen, 350kW machinery that will populate the world’s cities next season.

“It's not even comparable, it’s far advanced from what we had before. Alejandro [Agag] and Jean Todt at the time, going back all those years, came up with a concept for Formula E and made a car super quickly, they needed a car out there, they employed Williams to do the battery, and said ‘right, let's get a car out there’. Everybody had the same kit. There were no manufacturers, they were just teams, we all went racing. And it was great, and it got Formula E on the map. But it was a very basic car.

“Through the first iteration of the Gen1 car manufacturers became involved, the Gen1 car became quicker, which was great. It was a great starting block for Formula E. Gen2 came along with a big step in performance. Slightly bigger cost, slightly heavier car, but double the range, pretty much more power. And it looks very futuristic. Now, four years later, we're now speaking about Gen3 and a massive boost in performance, in power. All four wheel regen, loads of other bits and bobs that are quite trick, there's talks of other things happening within the race that could be really exciting.

“Formula E is breaking boundaries, and we seem to be getting quicker, faster, more efficient, as the years go on, which is what you want from a technology race and what we need to showcase the planet that electric mobility is improving at an alarming rate.

“[The Gen3 car] is a lot quicker in a straight line. The first thing I thought was ‘wow, this is now a quick car’. But I drove it for one day, so it's not fair on me to judge its performance based on one day, because it's very early preliminary running. We're working with a new tyre manufacturer in Hankook. They've come on board, and we need to work closely with them to ensure that we set our car up as best we can. As you can imagine, it’s early days, you're not testing the car to its absolute potential and limits. But what I would say is, she's quick.”

If Bird can translate his palpable excitement over the new car into performance next season, then he once again has a very real shot at contending for wins. 2021-22 was, undoubtedly, a year where everything went a little bit wrong for Bird, compounded by his fractured hand at the end of the season.

Bird took his best result of the 2021-22 campaign at the season opener in Diriyah, finishing fourth

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

But 2022-23 will be in every sense a fresh start, and his spirit remains undampened. That Jaguar remains the only team on the grid next season to retain continuity with driver line-ups means that the Big Cat’s full resource will be expended on getting the most out of the new car, rather than getting drivers up to speed.

"Formula E is breaking boundaries, and we seem to be getting quicker, faster, more efficient, as the years go on" Sam Bird

That’s not to say it won’t be a challenge; Bird still has one of the toughest drivers to beat as his team-mate for next season, while Envision will run Jaguar machinery next year as well to dial up the competition. But if Bird can shake off his 2021-22 hoodoo, he’ll be back on form and looking to begin Formula E’s new era in the best way possible. And, as a phenomenal ambassador for the championship and one of its stalwarts, that outcome would suit everyone.

2022-23 will be in every sense a fresh start for Bird

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images