Saturday, 11 May 2024

Hear from NEOM McLaren Formula E Team drivers Taylor Barnard, Jake Hughes, and Team Principal Ian James after Round 9 in Berlin.

Free Practice 2	1:03.012	P19
Qualifying	1:02.926	P14
Race		P10

“Starting the day, FP2 was quite a positive session. My pace at 300kw was looking promising. Qualifying didn’t quite go as planned, as we got the tyre sequence a bit wrong. However, I was still the fastest Nissan-powered car, which was positive for my first double-header.

“The race was absolute chaos. Even though I had to come in for a pit stop and was far behind from the pack, I still managed to get a point. When I crossed the line, I wasn’t even sure what position I was in. I heard Laney [Stephen Lane, Principal, Race Engineer] open the radio and I heard cheering – so I knew that it was something good. There were a lot of lessons learnt and a lot to review this afternoon. Bring on tomorrow.”

Free Practice 2	1:02.888	P18
Qualifying	1:03.037	P18
Race		P15

“In terms of results, it was a difficult day. We didn’t quite have the pace today, which was clear to see with the four Nissan-powered cars. We need to try and address this going into tomorrow to put us further up the grid.

“That being said, I think we executed well in the race until an incident. It was initially a strong race for us based on where we started on the grid. We were looking good for a top five finish with the energy and position we were in.

“However, I was involved in an incident which was unavoidable for me and hurt my race. It was a disappointing day from that point of view. Looking at the positives, we had good energy, good strategy and we were on for a good result. All focus on tomorrow now.”

“The first race of this weekend’s double-header in Berlin has been action packed - although we as a team enjoyed certain aspects of the action more than others.

“As often with racing in the Gen3 era, Qualifying isn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all, but our positions in today’s Qualifying group didn’t put us in the best position for the race. We also feel that there was more to achieve, had we managed to put everything together when it mattered.

“The race itself was chaotic - although made for a great spectacle. The fact that Taylor managed to score his first Formula E World Championship point, even after having to pit after picking up a puncture, is testament to his talent and calmness under significant pressure. For Jake, he made good progress and was on track to finish well into the points had it not been for an incident which forced him to pit for a new front wing.

“Although the track here in Berlin may not play to the strengths of the package we have, we have seen today that we should be able to position ourselves to take advantage of any opportunities that arise. Bring on Sunday’s E-Prix!”

Championship Standings

NEOM McLaren Formula E Team: P7 (64 points)

Sam Bird: P9 (38 points)

Jake Hughes: P12 (25 points)

Taylor Barnard: P22 (1 point)