Sam Bird
Bird at the2023 Berlin ePrix.
Nationality	British
Born	(1987-01-09)9 January 1987 (age 38) Roehampton,Greater London, England
Formula E career
Debut season	2014–15
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car number	8
Former teams	Envision,Jaguar,McLaren
Starts	141
Championships	0
Wins	12
Podiums	27
Poles	6
Fastest laps	12
Best finish	3rd in2017–18
Finished last season	18th (31 pts)
World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2014
Current team	AF Corse
Car number	71
Former teams	G-Drive Racing
Starts	37
Wins	8
Poles	13
Fastest laps	4
Best finish	1st in2015
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2014–
Teams	AF Corse,G-Drive Racing
Best finish	10 (2015)
Class wins	0
Previous series
2010–2011,2013 2012 2009–10–2011 2008–09 2007,2009 2006 2004–05	GP2 Series Formula Renault 3.5 Series GP2 Asia Series Formula 3 Euro Series British Formula 3 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Formula BMW
Awards
2013 2006	Pirelli Trophy for Tyre Management Autosport Club Driver/Year

Sam Jamie Bird^[1] (born 9 January 1987) is aBritish professional racing driver who last raced inFormula E. He won the LMP2 title at the2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, and was runner-up at the2013 GP2 Series and the LMGTE Pro class at the2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. Bird has also claimed 12 wins in Formula E, with a best season result of third in2017–18.

Bird's final season in Formula E came in the form of 18th place in the standings, with 31 points. This was the2024-25 season, being his last due to McLaren's exit from Formula E to pursue their entrance to the World Endurance Championship for 2027.

His all time Formula E stats are complied of 141 race starts, 12 wins, 27 podiums and 6 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.^[2]

Bird made his name in single seater racing in theFormula BMW category, coming fourteenth overall in his debut season and second in the rookie cup. He came runner up in 2005, which was only his second season in the category and also came fourth in the Formula BMW world final, the race itself was won by German Marco Holzer.

For 2006, Bird entered the BritishFormula Renault series, where he won four races and came fourth in the championship, 111 points behind series champion Sebastian Hohenthal.

In 2007, Bird raced in theBritish Formula 3 Championship withCarlin Motorsport, in aMercedes poweredDallara. In March 2007, Bird secured sponsorship fromBP, "The brand is already prominent in theWorld Rally Championship" Mark Reader, BP's UK Fuels Marketing Manager, commented, "Sam's an incredible prospect and we're excited to be getting into a relationship at this stage of his career" he added.^[3] Bird was elected to theMotor Sports Association Race Elite Scheme in April 2007, along with 5 other drivers in various British series and also participated in a series of aerodynamic tests with the AT&T Williams F1 Team.

Bird moved toManor Motorsport in theFormula 3 Euro Series in2008 and had a testing year, finishing eleventh in the championship with 23 points – 16 of which came from second places during Saturday races atCatalunya andLe Mans. He only picked up points from three other races. For 2009, he joinedMcLaren Autosport BRDC Award winnerAlexander Sims, 2008Mücke Motorsport driverChristian Vietoris and2008 Formula BMW Europe runner-upMarco Wittmann atMücke Motorsport. He earned his first pole position and fastest laps, but failed to win a race en route to eighth in the championship.

Bird missed the final round of the F3 Euroseries season to join up with theART Grand Prix team for aGP2 Asia Series test at theYas Marina Circuit inAbu Dhabi. He raced in the2009–10 season for the team, where he finished seventh in the series, with a second place in the final round.

Bird contested the2010 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 atMonza, as well as claiming his third fastest lap of the season.

For 2011, Bird moved to theiSport International team alongsideMarcus Ericsson. HisGP2 Asia campaign resulted in three retirements from the first four races but, after a strong start to themain series season, he was second in the Drivers' Championship - with the same number of points as leaderRomain Grosjean. After this point, he gradually slipped back in the standings and finished sixth overall at the end of the season.

Bird competed for the newMotopark-runRussian Time squad in 2013 and enjoyed a hugely successful season. The Englishman 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 teammateTom Dillmann, securedRussian Time first place in theGP2 Series constructors' championship.

Between his last two seasons in the GP2 series, Bird competed in the2012 Formula Renault 3.5 season. He won two races and took five further podium positions to head into the final round atCatalunya in a three-way battle for the title withRobin Frijns andJules Bianchi. He lost out on the title by just 10 points and ended up finishing third in the championship.

On 16 November 2010 he took part in the young drivers test at theYas Marina Circuit inAbu Dhabi, driving forMercedes GP.^[4]

This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2017)

In the2014–15 Formula E season, Bird began driving forRichard Branson'sVirgin Racing alongsideJaime Alguersuari. He claimed third place in the first race, theBeijing ePrix, before dominating the second race of the season inPutrajaya to claim victory from second on the grid. At the following race inPunta 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 inBuenos Aires andMiami. However, the2015 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 the2015 Monaco ePrix and went from his qualifying position of 12th to finish fourth. The final round of the season was the2015 London ePrix where Bird started from fourth and went on to cross the line second at his home ePrix. Race winnerStéphane Sarrazin received a 49-second penalty and so Bird was handed the win making him the first-everFormula E driver to win their home race. He finished the season with 103 points and secured 5th place in the championship.

At the first race of the season inBeijing, Bird only managed to finish 7th. In the next race inPutrajaya, Bird took 2nd place after Renault had a mechanical failure and the two Dragon cars ofLoic Duval andJerome d'Ambrosio had suspension failure while running 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the next race atPunta del Este, Bird finished 2nd just behindSebastien Buemi; inBuenos Aires, Bird won after fending off Buemi who started 18th and last. Further 6th places finishes were achieved inMexico,Long Beach andParis, before an 11th place finish inBerlin after contact in the race. At the first race of the double-season finale inLondon, Bird finished 7th. In next the next race, he was forced to retire due to a throttle failure. Bird eventually finished the season in 4th place with 88 points, after being overtaken byNicolas Prost in the championship after he won the double-header in London.

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 atMarrakesh, after which Bird stated that "being on the podium [was] like a victory". Following a collision withJérôme d'Ambrosio on the final lap inBuenos Aires, the Brit returned to the podium with a solid drive in theMexico City ePrix. AtMonaco, 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 13 points, Bird became the first ever driver to win two back-to-back races inNew York City. He would score two further top-five finishes at the races inMontreal and finished fourth in the drivers' standings, five positions ahead of teammateJosé María López.

At the season opener inHong Kong, Bird started from 2nd on the grid after having nearly spun his car at the hairpin on his flying lap. During the race, he passedJean-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 10-place grid penalty for the incident and started the second race from thirteenth. He would finish in 5th, following the post-race disqualification ofDaniel Abt, and retain his lead of the championship. Bird would go on to finish in 3rd place in the championship with 143 points, just 1 point off 2nd place finisherLucas di Grassi.

Bird's first podium finish of the season came in the2019 Marrakesh ePrix, finishing in 3rd after taking pole position. In 2019, he became the first Formula E driver to win a race in every Formula E season, after winning the2019 Santiago ePrix. Ultimately, Bird finished the season in 9th place, amassing a total of 85 points over the season.

Bird won the opening race of the season, the2019 Diriyah ePrix, for Envision Virgin Racing. Unfortunately, his race ended in the second round after a collision withMitch Evans. InSantiago, Bird stormed from 16th to 10th, achieving the fastest lap of the race. In the2020 Mexico City ePrix, he crashed out of 2nd place in the dying stages of the race. InMarrakesh, he finished 10th again after starting 14th. The rest of the season was put on hold due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, during which Bird announced that he was leaving Virgin to joinJaguar Racing. The season 6 finale was held atTempelhof Airport Street Circuit, between the 5th and 13 August. Bird finished the first race in 3rd and the second race in 6th. 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 5th after starting 14th and taking the fastest lap. He finished the season ranked 10th in the standings with 63 points.

During the Summer of 2020, Bird announced that he would be driving for theJaguar Racing team in the2020–21 Formula E season.^[5] In the second race of the campaign Bird continued his streak of being the only driver to win a race in every season ofFormula E, winning the second round of theDiriyah ePrix. A second place at the following race inRome meant he took over fromNyck de Vries as championship leader ahead of former teammateRobin Frijns. After 6DNFs (did not finish) and 1 DSQ (disqualification) during the season, he still managed to finish with 87 points in an impressive 6th place in the championship.

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 4th. 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 driverNorman Nato. This was the first time in hisFormula E career that Bird had failed to score either a win or a podium. He finished the season 13th with 51 points.

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 theMexico 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 8th in the standings with 95 points. Bird left Jaguar after spending three seasons with the team at the end of the season.^[6]

In August 2023,McLaren announced the signing of Bird asRené Rast's replacement and partneredJake Hughes for the season.^[2] He got McLaren's maiden Formula E victory at theSão Paulo ePrix.^[7] At theMonaco 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 driverTaylor Barnard.^[8]

Bird stayed withMcLaren for the2024–25 season, alongsideTaylor Barnard who replacesMaserati-boundJake Hughes.^[9] Bird departed from McLaren at the end of the season as the team exited Formula E.^[10]

Having failed to secure a seat, Bird would move toNissan to serve as the reserve and development driver during the2025–26 season.^[11]

In 2014, Bird made two guest appearances for the FerrariAF Corse team. The first was at his home race in Britain for the6 hours of Silverstone where he came 3rd in the GTE Amateur class. His second appearance was at the legendary24 Hours of Le Mans. Bird took pole position in the GTE Am class, 2nd 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 number 3 Audi and a Toyota) in wet conditions on theMulsanne Straight.

From 6 years old, he attended Milbourne Lodge School until 13.He was educated atCharterhouse School untilGCSE level, after which he attendedMillfield School inSomerset. Bird is a keenfootball fan and an avid supporter ofManchester United F.C.^[12]

^† As Bird was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
^* Season still in progress.

key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2014	AF Corse	Stephen Wyatt Michele Rugolo	Ferrari 458 Italia GTC	GTE Am	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	GTE Pro	143	DNF	DNF
2017	AF Corse	Davide Rigon Miguel Molina	Ferrari 488 GTE	GTE Pro	339	21st	5th
2018	AF Corse	Davide Rigon Miguel Molina	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Pro	338	24th	9th
2019	AF Corse	Davide Rigon Miguel Molina	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Pro	140	DNF	DNF
2020	AF Corse	Davide Rigon Miguel Molina	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Pro	340	NC	NC
2021	AF Corse	Daniel Serra Miguel Molina	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Pro	331	37th	5th
2022	Riley Motorsports	Felipe Fraga Shane van Gisbergen	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	GTE Pro	347	32nd	5th

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.^* Season still in progress.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSam Bird.

• Official website
• Sam Bird career summary at DriverDB.com
• Sam Bird's ESPNF1 column

• 1987 births
• Living people
• People from Roehampton
• Sportspeople from the London Borough of Wandsworth
• People educated at Millfield
• English racing drivers
• Formula BMW UK drivers
• British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
• British Formula Three Championship drivers
• Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
• GP2 Asia Series drivers
• GP2 Series drivers
• World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
• FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
• Formula E drivers
• Carlin racing drivers
• Fortec Motorsport drivers
• Manor Motorsport drivers
• Mücke Motorsport drivers
• ART Grand Prix drivers
• ISR Racing drivers
• Russian Time drivers
• AF Corse drivers
• Starworks Motorsport drivers
• Envision Virgin Racing drivers
• Jaguar Racing drivers
• G-Drive Racing drivers
• Motopark Academy drivers
• ISport International drivers
• OAK Racing drivers
• 24 Hours of Spa drivers
• McLaren Racing drivers
• Ferrari Competizioni GT drivers

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