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They say the second album’s the toughest one, and while there were difficult moments during our sophomore Formula E season, there was also a lot to be proud of.

The NEOM McLaren Formula E Team not only found the podium again, but this time went a step higher by securing our first win, as well as smashing our points haul from last year.

Team Principal of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team and Managing Director of NEOM McLaren Electric Racing, Ian James, admits that “there’s work to be done” but came away from the season pleased with the progress the group made.

“Looking at it objectively, we have made progress,” he says, reflecting on the season. “We scored more points than we did in the entirety of last season quite early on, by the time we got to Shanghai, so it shows that we have made some progress.

“So there have been things to celebrate, but I think our aspirations are to put ourselves in the hunt for the Championship, and we're a way away from that if we're honest.”

Jake departs, having played a key role in our development

It was announced last week that Jake would be departing the team, but he does so having played a key role in our first two seasons in Formula E. Not only was the British racer pivotal in the setup of our team, bringing his experience from Mercedes-EQ as their Reserve and Development Driver, but he also brought on-track success with four pole positions and a podium.

For all of his qualities on track, it was his mental resilience and efforts behind the scenes that stood out the most for Ian.

“His qualifying has always been very strong, and he's continued to show that this season,” says Ian. “He's a very mature driver, somebody that is able to compartmentalise things that are going on around him.

“Has he been frustrated at times with issues that we've had in Qualifying or the race? He has, but at the same time, he's able to really get that frustration out of his system very quickly and then get back to the job at hand. That shows the level of professionalism that he has as a driver.

“He’s developed massively during his time here. He quickly established himself as one of Formula E’s quickest drivers around one lap, but his race craft has come on massively in these last two years. That culminated in his excellent podium finish in Shanghai, on a big weekend for the McLaren Racing, given our Formula 1 team were racing in Monaco and our IndyCar team were racing in the Indy 500 – those series’ premier events. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t bring extra pressure.”

Replacing Jake will be no easy task, but the search for Sam Bird’s new teammate has already begun. Like when Sam joined NEOM McLaren in the summer of 2023, personality will be as big a factor as speed in our decision-making process, with our second driver needing to fit into the team’s carefully cultivated culture.

“Jake will be missed massively, not just on track for his performances, but also in terms of how he fitted in with this team behind the scenes and the role he played in our development," Ian says.

Sam’s experience takes the team to the next level

Adding to Jake’s podium, Sam Bird achieved NEOM McLaren’s first Formula E win in São Paulo, the fourth round of the season. Ian had said the event would be the first proper test of our progress, so not only did it check the box of achieving a race victory, it came with an extra layer of satisfaction, too.

“I think it did,” he agrees. “It was a classic Formula E race – it had a little bit of everything in terms of not only the importance of Qualifying, but that track encourages overtaking as well, so we knew we couldn't rely on that Qualifying position. It was really nice to be able to get everything together and score that first win.”

With a sublime last-lap pass on Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, Sam’s win didn’t just signal McLaren’s true arrival in Formula E, but became one of the most popular moments of the entire season.

“Sam did it in some real style as well, which is fantastic,” Ian adds with a smile. “It's been one of the most replayed moments on social media over the course of the season, so I think we can be rightly proud of that.”

But while a win is rightfully the headline achievement for the team, the benefits of Sam’s arrival this year have reached beyond adding to the trophy cabinet. After mixed fortunes last year, Ian says that Sam has improved the team’s race performance across the board, helping to convert strong Qualifying results into race results the team can be proud of, too.

“I think our understanding of the GEN3 style of racing has come on leaps and bounds,” he says. “This season, the drivers have been a significant factor in some of that development as well, especially Sam coming into the team with a fresh pair of eyes.

“I think he's really given a positive new perspective, especially in terms of how we approach the races themselves,” he adds. “Qualifying has always been a strong point for the team, where we lacked was really converting a strong Qualifying into strong race results.”

The super-sub

Sam’s season brought the highest of highs, but also the lowest of lows, with injury ruling him out of three races. Stepping into the void was our Reserve and Development Driver Taylor Barnard.

He might've only been 19 at the time, but Taylor showed maturity well beyond his years after a last-minute call-up in Monaco, before going on to deliver back-to-back points finishes in Berlin – a track Ian acknowledges is “probably one of our weakest”.

“I think that for him to come in and show the maturity that he did, but also the understanding of what it takes to prevail in Formula E, was seriously impressive,” Ian points out. “Yes, he's done a lot of the development work behind the scenes with us - he's been our Reserve and Development Driver for a little while now - but then to actually get thrown in the deep end, into a car to battle and hold your own against some of the most experienced and aggressive drivers in Formula E shouldn't be underestimated. He did a phenomenal job.”

Taylor's cameo appearance didn't just highlight his own strengths, but the team's too, with the entire group rallying to get Taylor up to speed and maintain the team's high expectations.

“It showed the strength and the depth of the team that we were able to put Taylor in at such short notice – literally 20 minutes to get ready and get in the car,” Ian recalls. “He performed admirably in that sense, the team instructions we put in place, the process procedures, it didn't destabilise, despite the shock of having Sam out for that race and then for the two races subsequent to that as well. That was absolutely crucial.”

Evolving for our third attempt

Next year, Formula E will wipe the slate clean with the introduction of the new GEN3 Evo car. The new car and the fresh start provides the team with the ideal opportunity to build upon our progress from the last two years and make that next step.

“What we now need to do is make sure that we combine that with the operational excellence that we strive to achieve,” Ian says of what’s to come. “We know that we're going to be hitting the reset button with a totally new package. So that really is our opportunity to get ourselves back in contention again.”

The team will continue our relationship with our powertrain supplier Nissan, and the early signs are that there will be a step forward.

“The relationship continues to be really collaborative and very strong,” Ian says. “They've been very open with us about the approach that they're taking to the GEN3 Evo package. From what we saw on paper quite some time ago, we felt that if they could meet the targets that they set themselves, then they put themselves and us in a very strong position. And from what we've seen on the test results so far, it's looking good.”

However, he admits nobody else will be standing still either, and that the changes to the car – headlined by the introduction of a front drivetrain in traction for the very first time – will add further challenges.

“I don't expect any of the others –  be that Porsche, Jaguar, Stellantis – to rest on their laurels,” he concedes. “Everybody's going to take a big step forward, we have to expect that.

“We now need to work hard to make sure that that's us, that we do a better job than the competition and are able to capitalise on that. That's what makes it so exciting, and that's what also makes the team behind the development push things as hard as they can. It's then a balance of risk versus reward in terms of how far you can push the envelope.”

NEOM McLaren will be back in action later this year, with pre-season testing and the debut of the GEN3 Evo car taking place in Valencia in November before Round 1 of the 2024/25 season in São Paulo on 7 December.