The streets of Monte Carlo, with their legendary aura that are steeped in historical past and a contact of glamour, stay a frightening prospect for even probably the most grizzled racing drivers to sort out at velocity, not to mention an adolescent with simply 20 minutes through which to organize.
It was an unenviable problem that Taylor Barnard confronted earlier this 12 months and, within the course of, made him the youngest starter of a Method E race on the age of simply 19. Having been within the Principality in his capability as McLaren’s reserve driver, he was unexpectedly known as into motion after common driver Sam Chicken broke his hand in a follow accident.
Barnard’s solely prior expertise of Monaco on the time had come the earlier 12 months with two factors finishes throughout his sole Method 3 marketing campaign with Jenzer Motorsport – a season which yielded tenth general within the standings through a function race win at Spa.
It was off the again of this 2023 marketing campaign, which additionally included being a finalist within the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the 12 months Award, and several other rookie Method E outings with McLaren that satisfied the Woking-based crew of Barnard’s potential as he was signed up in a improvement position.
“We knew earlier than we put him in that automobile in Monaco the expertise that he had and the power as nicely, that was clear to see via how he labored with the crew via the alternatives that he’d needed to drive the automobile beforehand,” says McLaren crew principal Ian James.
“However till you truly put him in that aggressive surroundings, you do not actually understand how he’ll react. After the preliminary shock [of being told he was racing in Monaco], simply the calmness, the strategy that he had working along with the engineers, listening to them. I believe he did an excellent job and confirmed the energy of his character.”
Retaining it out of the boundaries and with a 14th-place end to his identify, it was the perfect that could possibly be anticipated of Barnard with no time to organize. This was a luxurious he was afforded forward of the Berlin E-Prix double-header subsequent outing, nonetheless rather than the injured Chicken, and the religion proven in him by the crew paid off handsomely with a double factors end.
Barnard was known as up on the final minute for the Monaco E-Prix after Sam Chicken’s follow harm
Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Pictures
In addition to making him the youngest factors scorer in Method E historical past it left a long-lasting impression on McLaren and fast-forward a few months, Barnard finds himself a full-time driver alongside Chicken for the upcoming season which will get underway subsequent month in Sao Paulo.
“I really feel like there’s many good drivers on this championship and clearly nonetheless being fairly younger, I am nonetheless studying so to have the ability to combat towards this calibre of drivers I believe it’s good,” says Barnard.
“It is a good place for me to be in, to study and clearly racing for McLaren. It is a good surroundings, it is a good model, it is a good identify behind me. Clearly, there’s numerous drivers on the grid which have additionally pushed in F1, so I really feel prefer it’s a superb subsequent step for my profession to presumably then tackle extra steps. I really feel prefer to study off another good drivers that I will be racing on observe is a viable step for me.”
“I really feel like there’s many good drivers on this championship and clearly nonetheless being fairly younger, I am nonetheless studying so to have the ability to combat towards this calibre of drivers I believe it’s good” Taylor Barnard
Regardless of his spectacular performances in electrical equipment thus far, the now 20-year-old comes into Method E after a lacklustre spell in Method 2 with AIX Racing, the one notable spotlight a victory within the dash race at Monaco only a month after his Method E debut.
Previous to that, Barnard’s stand up the junior single-seater ladder has been quick if unspectacular, ending second to Mercedes’s F1 star-signing Andrea Kimi Antonelli in each the 2022 ADAC German Method 4 Championship and 2023 Method Regional Center East Championship probably the most notable achievements.
With simply single seasons in F3 and F2 over the next two years beneath his belt, outcomes have been few and much between on the extremely aggressive pathway into F1. With the doorways to the head of the game firmly shut, not less than for now, Barnard has made a leap into the world of electrical racing, which he rightly factors out is “a viable step for me”.
With world championship standing, producer involvement and a brand new Gen3 Evo automobile for this season that boasts spectacular efficiency – together with a 0-60mph time which beats the present era of F1 automobile – Method E is beginning to grow to be a fascinating vacation spot for younger expertise.
Barnard behind the wheel of the McLaren Gen 3 Evo automobile in the course of the Jarama take a look at
Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Pictures
“It isn’t the standard route {that a} younger driver would maybe take, however I really feel prefer it’s positively a superb alternative for me to have the ability to hold progressing in my profession but additionally nonetheless compete at a really excessive degree in a world championship towards good drivers,” says Barnard.
“I really feel like that is positively a superb place for me to be in, particularly with McLaren, additionally they have many different campaigns as a model. Having that every one in thoughts, that might simply make me push just a little bit more durable for this season and work as onerous as attainable and get the outcomes that I believe the crew and myself deserve.”
Barnard will not be the one younger driver to maneuver throughout from the F1 single-seater ladder and on to the Method E grid this season, with Zane Maloney becoming a member of Abt regardless of nonetheless having a mathematical probability on the F2 title with 4 races left.
In Maloney’s case, he has joined a producer within the type of Lola which has dedicated to Method E for the long-term, whereas Barnard joins a crew with racing in its blood. McLaren is not any stranger to success, and neither is James, who spearheaded Mercedes to back-to-back drivers’ and groups’ titles earlier than the Silver Arrows pulled the plug on its Method E journey in 2022.
With McLaren basically taking up the German crew, its two seasons on the Method E grid as a buyer outfit and which coincided with the beginning of the Gen3 period have been troublesome with simply eighth and seventh within the groups’ championship, each occasions overwhelmed by powertrain provider Nissan.
However there have been glimmers of success, not least a maiden victory within the all-electric championship courtesy of a closing lap move by Chicken in Sao Paulo earlier this 12 months. In Chicken, the crew has some of the skilled drivers on the grid to assist information its improvement in the fitting path and for Barnard, a wealth of information to faucet into having already finished so on his earlier three outings.
Barnard may even have to heed the teachings from different rookies who’ve joined Method E because the Gen3 period started in 2022 and struggled for consistency regardless of displaying uncooked outright velocity. The distinctive nature of Method E races, which function a peloton model of pack racing in addition to the necessity to always handle vitality ranges, make it a vastly completely different problem from most different avenues of motorsport.
Barnard replaces Jake Hughes, who has made the swap to Maserati MSG for the brand new marketing campaign
Photograph by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Pictures
Barnard straight replaces Jake Hughes, who like himself was introduced into Method E by McLaren two years in the past, throughout which period the Briton claimed 4 pole positions however just one podium earlier than splitting from the crew.
Hughes has joined Maserati MSG and replaces Jehan Daruvala – the one rookie on the grid final season given his marching orders – whereas Sacha Fenestraz lasted solely two seasons earlier than being dropped by Nissan having once more proven flashes of velocity however missing in outcomes.
“We have to hold each his ft on the bottom, it’ll be robust on the market there is not any doubt about it” Ian James
McLaren are all too conscious of the problem which faces its new younger cost this season however can also be conscious that given the fitting surroundings and package deal, Barnard has the potential to thrive.
“We have to hold each his ft on the bottom, it’ll be robust on the market there is not any doubt about it firstly of the season, and there is going to be a number of eyeballs on him, a number of strain,” says James. “Our job now’s to take away that, give him the help that he wants and simply give him the platform to point out what he is able to.”
James and the remainder of McLaren’s hierarchy know the difficulties forward for Barnard
Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Pictures