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 a young person 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 System 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 Hen 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 System 3 marketing campaign with Jenzer Motorsport – a season which yielded tenth total 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 Yr Award, and several other rookie System 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 effectively, 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 really put him in that aggressive surroundings, you do not actually know the way he’ll react. After the preliminary shock [of being told he was racing in Monaco], simply the calmness, the method that he had working along with the engineers, listening to them. I feel he did an excellent job and confirmed the power of his character.”
Protecting it out of the obstacles and with a 14th-place end to his title, it was the very best that may very well 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 instead of the injured Hen, 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 Hen’s follow harm
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photographs
In addition to making him the youngest factors scorer in System E historical past it left an enduring impression on McLaren and fast-forward a few months, Barnard finds himself a full-time driver alongside Hen 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 battle towards this calibre of drivers I feel 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 title behind me. Clearly, there’s numerous drivers on the grid which have additionally pushed in F1, so I really feel prefer it’s a great subsequent step for my profession to probably then tackle extra steps. I really feel wish to study off another good drivers that I will be racing on monitor 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 battle towards this calibre of drivers I feel it’s good” Taylor Barnard
Regardless of his spectacular performances in electrical equipment to this point, the now 20-year-old comes into System E after a lacklustre spell in System 2 with AIX Racing, the one notable spotlight a victory within the dash race at Monaco only a month after his System 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 System 4 Championship and 2023 System 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 top of the game firmly shut, a minimum of 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 – System E is beginning to turn out to be a fascinating vacation spot for younger expertise.
Barnard behind the wheel of the McLaren Gen 3 Evo automobile throughout the Jarama take a look at
Picture by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Photographs
“It isn’t the normal route {that a} younger driver would maybe take, however I really feel prefer it’s undoubtedly a great alternative for me to have the ability to maintain progressing in my profession but additionally nonetheless compete at a really excessive stage in a world championship towards good drivers,” says Barnard.
“I really feel like that is undoubtedly a great place for me to be in, particularly with McLaren, in addition they have many different campaigns as a model. Having that each one in thoughts, that might simply make me push a bit of bit more durable for this season and work as laborious as attainable and get the outcomes that I feel the crew and myself deserve.”
Barnard just isn’t the one younger driver to maneuver throughout from the F1 single-seater ladder and on to the System E grid this season, with Zane Maloney becoming a member of Abt regardless of nonetheless having a mathematical likelihood 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 System 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 System E journey in 2022.
With McLaren primarily taking up the German crew, its two seasons on the System 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 last lap move by Hen in Sao Paulo earlier this 12 months. In Hen, the crew has probably the most skilled drivers on the grid to assist information its improvement in the precise route and for Barnard, a wealth of information to faucet into having already achieved so on his earlier three outings.
Barnard may also must heed the teachings from different rookies who’ve joined System E because the Gen3 period started in 2022 and struggled for consistency regardless of displaying uncooked outright velocity. The distinctive nature of System E races, which function a peloton fashion of pack racing in addition to the necessity to continuously handle vitality ranges, make it a vastly totally 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
Picture by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Photographs
Barnard straight replaces Jake Hughes, who like himself was introduced into System E by McLaren two years in the past, throughout which era 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 maintain each his toes on the bottom, it’ll be powerful on the market there isn’t 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 aware that given the precise surroundings and package deal, Barnard has the potential to thrive.
“We have to maintain each his toes on the bottom, it’ll be powerful on the market there isn’t any doubt about it initially of the season, and there is going to be a whole lot of eyeballs on him, a whole lot of stress,” says James. “Our job now could be to take away that, give him the assist 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
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photographs