McLaren have promoted reserve driver Taylor Barnard to a Formula E race seat for the 2024/25 season, so here is everything that you need to know about the young Briton.
The Woking brand sought to promote Barnard to be the new teammate of Sam Bird starting in Season 11 after Jake Hughes left McLaren for Maserati. It is to be the papaya outfit’s third campaign in the all-electric series yet and Barnard’s first as a full-time Formula E race driver.
Barnard enjoyed his Formula E debut at short notice at the Monaco ePrix in 2024 when Bird broke his hand in practice. He also remained in the car for the Berlin ePrix doubleheader the following round and Barnard made history as the youngest driver to score points in an ePrix.
McLaren promoted Taylor Barnard to replace Jake Hughes in Formula E from Season 11
A 10th-place finish in the first race of the 2024 Berlin ePrix double header saw Barnard aged 19 make history as Formula E’s youngest points-scorer. He also went two places better in the second race to seal P8, ultimately helping Barnard replace Hughes permanently for 2024/25.
Just featuring in the 2024 Monaco ePrix for McLaren also saw Barnard become the youngest driver to start a Formula E race. His debut in the series also arrived while racing in Formula 2 for PHM AIX Racing, with whom Barnard also won the 2024 Monaco Sprint Race as a rookie.
His motorsport days may never have continued beyond go-karting without the help of Oliver Rowland, however. Barnard showed promise from an early age but struggled to find seats to climb the motorsport ladder before Rowland got in touch with Dino Chiesa at Kart Republic.
Rowland told Formula Scout: “He won when Arvid [Lindblad] was second and I thought he did that much of a good job, I knew he was struggling to find something for the year after, I thought it would be a shame to let someone with this amount of talent and just fade.”
Funding was a huge hurdle for Barnard’s progression but Rowland putting him in touch with Chiesa laid the foundations for the Briton to join Nico Rosberg’s own young driver academy in 2018. A first switch to single-seaters also followed in 2020 in the Italian F4 Championship.
Taylor Barnard beat Arvid Lindblad in go-karts and pushed Andrea Kimi Antonelli in single-seaters
Barnard beat Lindblad, who drove for Rowland’s own karting team, during a dominant 2017. He added IAME Cadet class honours in the LGM Series, Super 1 National Championship and Kartmasters British Grand Prix to his Kartmasters British Grand Prix IAME Cadet title in 2015.
Joining KR Motorsport even saw Barnard go on and win the 2018 OKJ class in the WSK Final Cup. Racing under the arm of 2016 Formula 1 world champion Rosberg helped Barnard claim OK class titles in the 2019 WSK Champions Cup and WSK Open Cup – and again over 2020.
Success in single-seaters has not been as forthcoming with Barnard still to win a title. But he finished second in the 2022 ADAC F4 Championship behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Barnard’s 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship season also finished second to the Italian.
Like Antonelli, Barnard then switched from Formula Regional to Formula 2 for the 2024 term with a drive at PHM AIX Racing. His rookie year featured lows like being disqualified from P7 and Barnard’s first points at Imola to winning the Sprint Race at Monaco with his first points.
So, with that in mind, Full Oversteer takes a look at everything that you need to know about Barnard including what the Formula E driver is really like while off – as well as on – the track.
Who is McLaren Formula E driver Taylor Barnard?
Taylor Barnard is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula 2 for PHM AIX Racing and also set to race for McLaren in Formula E from the 2024/25 season. McLaren elected to promote Barnard from being the reserve driver since January 2024 to replace Jake Hughes.
How old is Taylor Barnard? When was he born?
At the time of writing, Taylor Barnard is 20 years old and he was born on June 1 during 2004.
Where was Taylor Barnard born? What is his nationality?
Taylor Barnard is English having been born in the city of Norwich, Norfolk but he races under a British licence. Norwich recorded a population of 144,000 residents amid the 2021 census.
How tall is Taylor Barnard? What is his height in feet?
Standing at a height of 179cm, Taylor Barnard measures in at a height of 5 ft 10 in feet.
How good is Taylor Barnard? What’s been said about him
While championship success has escaped Taylor Barnard during his single-seater career, the Briton was a consistent front-runner and title contender in go-karts. He also had the beating of Arvid Lindblad in go-karts and held his own with Andrea Kimi Antonelli in single-seaters.
The way that Barnard performed on his debut for McLaren in Formula E after replacing Sam Bird at late notice at the 2024 Monaco ePrix also laid the foundations for his promotion into a 2024/25 race seat. Their managing director, Ian James, was even full of praise for Barnard.
“I am delighted with our line-up of Taylor and Sam for Season 11,” James said. “Throughout his time with the team last season in his role of reserve and development driver, Taylor has shown dedication, professionalism and talent both on the track and off it.
“He relished a rare opportunity to demonstrate his ability at very short notice in Monaco and impressed the entire paddock. His grasp of Formula E was further underscored by strong, points-scoring races in Berlin.”
Barnard also drew praise from McLaren CEO Zak Brown upon being confirmed as a 2024/25 Formula E race seat. Brown described Barnard as an ‘impressive talent’ he was ‘delighted’ to have in the team to form a ‘strong’ live-up beside Bird for McLaren’s third Formula E season.
Single-seater career stats of Taylor Barnard
As of August 2024 when McLaren announced Taylor Barnard to a full-time race seat in their Formula E team, the Briton was still to win a single-seater championship title in his fledgling career. Barnard had also only won one Sprint Race in Formula 2 before moving to Formula E.
2020 Italian F4 Championship: 8 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 podiums
2021 ADAC F4 Championship: 12 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 podiums
2021 Drexler Automotive Formula 4 Cup: 2 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 1 podium
2022 Formula 4 UAE Championship: 20 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 1 podium
2022 Italian F4 Championship: 20 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 1 podium
2022 ADAC F4 Championship: 18 races, 5 wins, 3 poles, 10 podiums
2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship: 15 races, 2 wins, 0 poles, 7 podiums
2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship: 18 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 3 podiums
2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship: 15 races, 5 wins, 4 poles, 6 podiums
2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship: 9 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 1 podium
2024 Formula E (stand-in): 3 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 podiums