Sam Bird

Sam Jamie Bird (born 9 January 1987) is a British professional racing driver who last raced in Formula E. He won the LMP2 title at the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, and was runner-up at the 2013 GP2 Series and the LMGTE Pro class at the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. Bird has also claimed 12 wins in Formula E, with a best season result of third in 2017–18.

Bird's final season in Formula E came in the form of 18th place in the standings, with 31 points. This was the 2024-25 season, being his last due to McLaren's exit from Formula E to pursue their entrance to the World Endurance Championship for 2027.

Bird's all time Formula E stats are complied of 141 race starts, 12 wins, 27 podiums and six pole positions. Bird has a total of 916 championship points, 12 fastest laps and 318 laps led. These accolades come after 11 seasons of the Formula E championship. Bird was elected to the Motor Sports Association Race Elite Scheme in April 2007, along with five other drivers in various British series and also participated in a series of aerodynamic tests with the AT&T Williams F1 Team.

2008 Bird moved to Manor Motorsport in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2008 and had a testing year, finishing eleventh in the championship with 23 points – 16 of which came from second places during Saturday races at Catalunya and Le Mans. He only picked up points from three other races. For 2009, he joined McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Alexander Sims, 2008 Mücke Motorsport driver Christian Vietoris and 2008 Formula BMW Europe runner-up Marco Wittmann at Mücke Motorsport. He earned his first pole position and fastest laps, but failed to win a race en route to eighth in the championship.

GP2 Series Bird missed the final round of the F3 Euroseries season to join up with the ART Grand Prix team for a GP2 Asia Series test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. He raced in the 2009–10 season for the team, where he finished seventh in the series, with a second place in the final round.

2010 Bird contested the 2010 GP2 Series with ART, having long coveted a drive with the French team. He was fast but frequently unlucky, losing several potential results due to technical issues, engine failures and collisions for which he was not at fault. However, he managed to claim his maiden win in the series at the first race at Monza, as well as claiming his third fastest lap of the season.

2011 For 2011, Bird moved to the iSport International team alongside Marcus Ericsson. His GP2 Asia campaign resulted in three retirements from the first four races but, after a strong start to the main series season, he was second in the Drivers' Championship - with the same number of points as leader Romain Grosjean. After this point, Bird gradually slipped back in the standings and finished sixth overall at the end of the season.

2013 Bird competed for the new Motopark-run Russian Time squad in 2013 and enjoyed a hugely successful season. He took five wins on the way to second place in the championship, having taken the championship fight right down to the last weekend. Bird's performances, alongside teammate Tom Dillmann, secured Russian Time first place in the GP2 Series constructors' championship.

Formula Renault 3.5

Between his last two seasons in the GP2 series, Bird competed in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 season. He won two races and took five further podium positions to head into the final round at Catalunya in a three-way battle for the title with Robin Frijns and Jules Bianchi. He lost out on the title by just ten points and ended up finishing third in the championship.

Formula One On 16 November 2010, Bird took part in the young drivers test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, driving for Mercedes GP.

Formula E

Bird (pictured at the 2018 Paris ePrix) had spent six seasons in the Virgin team before moving to Jaguar for the 2020–21 season.

DS/Envision Virgin Racing (2014–2020) 2014–15 season

In the 2014–15 Formula E season, Bird began driving for Richard Branson's Virgin Racing alongside Jaime Alguersuari. He claimed third place in the first race, the Beijing ePrix, before dominating the second race of the season in Putrajaya to claim victory from second on the grid. At the following race in Punta del Este, he did not manage to qualify and so started from 18th place and soon retired from the race after a crash in the early stages. Bird bounced back by scoring points in Buenos Aires and Miami. However, the 2015 Long Beach ePrix was another race to forget for Bird: after starting 11th, he suffered a suspension failure on lap 11 and retired from the race. Bird managed to avoid the massive first-lap collision at the 2015 Monaco ePrix and went from his qualifying position of 12th to finish fourth. The final round of the season was the 2015 London ePrix, where Bird started from fourth and went on to cross the line second at his home ePrix. Race winner Stéphane Sarrazin received a 49-second penalty and so Bird was handed the win making him the first-ever Formula E driver to win their home race. He finished the season with 103 points and secured 5th place in the championship.

2015–16 season

At the first race of the season in Beijing, Bird only managed to finish seventh. In the next race in Putrajaya, Bird took second place after Renault had a mechanical failure and the two Dragon cars of Loic Duval and Jerome d'Ambrosio had suspension failure while running second and third respectively. In the next race at Punta del Este, Bird finished second just behind Sebastien Buemi; in Buenos Aires, Bird won after fending off Buemi who started 18th and last. Further sixth places finishes were achieved in Mexico, Long Beach and Paris, before an 11th place finish in Berlin after contact in the race. At the first race of the double-season finale in London, Bird finished seventh. In next the next race, he was forced to retire due to a throttle failure. Bird eventually finished the season in fourth place with 88 points, after being overtaken by Nicolas Prost in the championship after he won the double-header in London.

2016–17 season

Bird started his season with a 13th place finish in Hong Kong after leading the race and losing more than a minute during the pit-stop sequence. He bounced back from that result by finishing second in the following round at Marrakesh, after which Bird stated that "being on the podium [was] like a victory". Following a collision with Jérôme d'Ambrosio on the final lap in Buenos Aires, the Brit returned to the podium with a solid drive in the Mexico City ePrix. At Monaco, Bird damaged his car's suspension after hitting the barriers in the early stages of the race - he was still able to set the fastest lap in his second car. Following three races in which he only managed to collect a total of thirteen points, Bird became the first ever driver to win two back-to-back races in New York City. He would score two further top-five finishes at the races in Montreal and finished fourth in the drivers' standings, five positions ahead of teammate José María López.

2017–18 season

At the season opener in Hong Kong, Bird started from second on the grid after having nearly spun his car at the hairpin on his flying lap. During the race, he passed Jean-Éric Vergne for the lead but crashed in the pitlane when coming in for his stop and hit a mechanic. Subsequently, he was given a drive-through penalty but ultimately still came out in the race lead and went on to win and take the lead in the driver's championship for the first time in his Formula E career. Bird was given a ten-place grid penalty for the incident and started the second race from thirteenth. He would finish in fifth, following the post-race disqualification of Daniel Abt, and retain his lead of the championship. Bird would go on to finish in third place in the championship with 143 points, just one point off second place finisher Lucas di Grassi.

2018–19 season

Bird's first podium finish of the season came in the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix, finishing in third after taking pole position. In 2019, he became the first Formula E driver to win a race in every Formula E season, after winning the 2019 Santiago ePrix. Ultimately, Bird finished the season in ninth place, amassing a total of 85 points over the season.

2019–20 season

Bird won the opening race of the season, the 2019 Diriyah ePrix, for Envision Virgin Racing. Unfortunately, his race ended in the second round after a collision with Mitch Evans. In Santiago, Bird stormed from 16th to tenth, achieving the fastest lap of the race. In the 2020 Mexico City ePrix, he crashed out of second place in the dying stages of the race. In Marrakesh, he finished tenth again after starting 14th. The rest of the season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Bird announced that he was leaving Virgin to join Jaguar Racing. The season 6 finale was held at Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, between the fifth and 13 August. Bird finished the first race in third and the second race in sixth. He finished the next three races in 13th, 11th, and 20th after being caught in a pile-up on the first lap. In his last race for Virgin, Bird finished fifth after starting 14th and taking the fastest lap. He finished the season ranked tenth in the standings with 63 points.

Jaguar Racing (2020–2023) 2020–21 season During the summer of 2020, Bird announced that he would be driving for the Jaguar Racing team in the 2020–21 Formula E season. In the second race of the campaign, Bird continued his streak of being the only driver to win a race in every season of Formula E, winning the second round of the Diriyah ePrix. A second place at the following race in Rome meant he took over from Nyck de Vries as championship leader ahead of former teammate Robin Frijns. After six DNFs (did not finish) and one DSQ (disqualification) during the season, he still managed to finish with 87 points in an impressive sixth place in the championship.

2021–22 season

Throughout the season, Bird struggled with consistency and after five races had only achieved points in Diriyah and Rome. Other points finishes came in Berlin, Jakarta, Marrakesh, and New York. However, he never managed to achieve a finish higher than fourth. Bird had to miss both rounds of the Seoul ePrix after sustaining a broken hand during the London ePrix. His place was taken by Jaguar reserve driver Norman Nato. This was the first time in his Formula E career that Bird had failed to score either a win or a podium. He finished the season 13th with 51 points.

2022–23 season

The 2023 season brought about a new set of regulations and the debut of the Gen 3 car, with Bird confident he turn around his fortune after a difficult 2022 season. He did, however, have a rude awakening as software problems hampered his preparations in practice for the Mexico City ePrix and he only qualified 21st. His race was not much better as it ended prematurely on lap 6 with a driveshaft failure. Stronger performances eventually occurred with podiums in Diriyah, São Paulo, Berlin and Rome. He consistently faltered as the season moved on and once again failed to secure a win for the second season. He finished eighth in the standings with 95 points. Bird left Jaguar after spending three seasons with the team at the end of the season.

McLaren (2024–2025) 2023–24 season

In August 2023, McLaren announced the signing of Bird as René Rast's replacement and partnered Jake Hughes for the season. He got McLaren's maiden Formula E victory at the São Paulo ePrix. At the Monaco ePrix, Bird was ruled out of the weekend after suffering a hand injury following a crash during the first free practice. He was replaced by McLaren reserve and development driver Taylor Barnard.

2024–25 season Bird stayed with McLaren for the 2024–25 season, alongside Taylor Barnard who replaces Maserati-bound Jake Hughes. Bird departed from McLaren at the end of the season as the team exited Formula E.

Nissan reserve (2025–) Having failed to secure a seat, Bird would move to Nissan to serve as the reserve and development driver during the 2025–26 season.

Endurance racing World Endurance Championship

In 2014, Bird made two guest appearances for the Ferrari AF Corse team. The first was at his home race in Britain for the 6 hours of Silverstone where he came third in the GTE Amateur class. His second appearance was at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bird took pole position in the GTE Am class, second overall of all GT cars. He ran in the first stint of the race, holding the GTE Am lead until he collided with a pair of front-running LMP1 cars (the No. 3 Audi and a Toyota) in wet conditions on the Mulsanne Straight.

Personal life From six years old, Bird attended Milbourne Lodge School until thirteen. He was educated at Charterhouse School until GCSE level, after which he attended Millfield School in Somerset. Bird is a keen football fan and an avid supporter of Manchester United F.C.

Racing record

Racing career summary Season Series Team name Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2004 Formula BMW UK Carlin Motorsport 20 0 0 0 0 22 14th 2005 Formula BMW UK Fortec Motorsport 20 6 9 3 12 218 2nd Formula BMW World Final 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 4th 2006 Formula Renault UK Fortec Motorsport 20 4 7 5 7 373 4th 2007 British Formula 3 International Series Carlin Motorsport 22 2 0 1 10 180 4th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 27th 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series Manor Motorsport 20 0 0 0 2 23 11th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series Mücke Motorsport 18 0 1 2 4 40 8th Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 8th British Formula 3 International Series Fortec Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC† Macau Grand Prix ART Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 1 N/A 3rd 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series ART Grand Prix 8 0 0 1 1 12 7th 2010 GP2 Series ART Grand Prix 20 1 1 4 5 48 5th 2011 GP2 Asia Series iSport International 4 0 0 0 0 2 12th GP2 Series 18 0 1 1 3 45 6th 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series ISR Racing 17 2 1 0 7 177 3rd Formula One Mercedes AMG Petronas Test driver 2013 GP2 Series Russian Time 22 5 2 3 6 181 2nd2014 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am AF Corse 2 0 2 1 1 17 16th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Am 1 0 1 0 0 N/A DNF United SportsCar Championship - PC Starworks Motorsport 4 0 0 0 1 29 40th 2014–15 Formula E Virgin Racing 11 2 0 2 3 103 5th 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 G-Drive Racing 8 4 4 1 7 178 1st 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 1 0 0 N/A 3rd 2015–16 Formula E DS Virgin Racing 10 1 3 0 2 88 4th 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 9 2 2 1 5 134 2nd 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF 2016–17 Formula E DS Virgin Racing 12 2 1 2 4 122 4th 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 8 2 4 1 4 139 5th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Scuderia Corsa 1 0 0 0 0 15 74th 2017–18 Formula E DS Virgin Racing 12 2 0 1 6 143 3rd 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Scuderia Corsa 1 0 0 0 0 26 51st 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 9th 2018–19 Formula E Envision Virgin Racing 13 1 1 0 2 85 9th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 8 0 0 1 1 54.5 12th 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF Intercontinental GT Challenge 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2019–20 Formula E Envision Virgin Racing 11 1 0 1 2 63 10th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 0 47th 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC 2020–21 Formula E Jaguar Racing 15 2 1 0 3 87 6th 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro AF Corse 1 0 1 1 0 3 25th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th 2021–22 Formula E Jaguar TCS Racing 14 0 0 1 0 51 13th 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro Riley Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th 2022–23 Formula E Jaguar TCS Racing 14 0 0 2 4 95 8th 2023–24 Formula E NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 13 1 0 1 1 48 13th 2024–25 Formula E NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 16 0 0 2 0 31 18th 2025–26 Formula E Nissan Formula E Team Reserve driver † As Bird was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. Season still in progress.

Complete Formula BMW UK results key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2004 Carlin Motorsport THR1 THR2 BRH11 BRH12 SIL1 SIL2 OUL1 OUL2 MON1 MON2 CRO1 CRO2 KNO1 KNO2 BRH21 BRH22 ROC1 ROC2 DON1 DON2 14th 22 2005 Fortec Motorsport DON1 DON2 THR1 THR2 ROC1 ROC2 BRH11 BRH12 OUL1 OUL2 CRO1 CRO2 MON1 MON2 KNO1 KNO2 SIL1 SIL2 BRH21 BRH22 2nd 218

Complete Formula Renault UK results key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2006 Fortec Motorsports BRH11 BRH12 OUL1 OUL2 THR1 THR2 KNO1 KNO2 CRO1 CRO2 DON1 DON2 SNE1 SNE2 DON1 DON2 BRH21 BRH22 SIL1 SIL2 4th 373

Complete British Formula Three Championship results key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2008 Manor Motorsport Dallara F308/036 Mercedes HOC1 HOC2 MUG1 MUG2 PAU1 PAU2 NOR1 NOR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 BRH1 BRH2 CAT1 CAT2 BUG1 BUG2 HOC1 HOC2 11th 23 2009 Mücke Motorsport Dallara F308/042 Mercedes HOC1 HOC2 LAU1 LAU2 NOR1 NOR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 OSC1 OSC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 BRH1 BRH2 CAT1 CAT2 DIJ1 DIJ2 HOC1 HOC2 8th 40

Complete GP2 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points 2010 ART Grand Prix CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR VALFEA VALSPR SILFEA SILSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR YMCFEA YMCSPR 5th 48 2011 iSport International ISTFEA ISTSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR VALFEA VALSPR SILFEA SILSPR NÜRFEA NÜRSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR 6th 45 2013 Russian Time SEPFEA SEPSPR BHRFEA BHRSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR SILFEA SILSPR NÜRFEA NÜRSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR MRNFEA MRNSPR YMCFEA YMCSPR 2nd 181

Complete GP2 Asia Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points 2012 ISR ALC1 ALC2 MON1 SPA1 SPA2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MSC1 MSC2 SIL1 SIL2 HUN1 HUN2 LEC1 LEC2 CAT1 CAT2 3rd 177

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2014 AF Corse Stephen Wyatt Michele Rugolo Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 GTEAm 22 DNF DNF 2015 G-Drive Racing Roman Rusinov Julien Canal Ligier JS P2-Nissan LMP2 358 10th 3rd 2016 AF Corse Andrea Bertolini Davide Rigon Ferrari 488 GTE GTEPro 143 DNF DNF 2017 AF Corse Davide Rigon Miguel Molina Ferrari 488 GTE GTEPro 339 21st 5th 2018 AF Corse Davide Rigon Miguel Molina Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEPro 338 24th 9th 2019 AF Corse Davide Rigon Miguel Molina Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEPro 140 DNF DNF 2020 AF Corse Davide Rigon Miguel Molina Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEPro 340 NC NC 2021 AF Corse Daniel Serra Miguel Molina Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEPro 331 37th 5th 2022 Riley Motorsports Felipe Fraga Shane van Gisbergen Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTEPro 347 32nd 5th

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula E results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.