The London E-Prix was a final weekend in orange for Taylor Barnard, albeit they were blue for the weekend, with NEOM McLaren leaving Formula E ahead of Season 12.
His debut and rookie season with the team has been nothing short of a remarkable success. Breaking record after record the Brit quickly made a name for himself with McLaren in Formula E. However, London was a bittersweet weekend.
Barnard and the team struggled from the outset. With both McLaren drivers finding themselves much further down the order than they would’ve liked in their final weekend.
After the Race 1, he admitted it wasn’t something the team were doing wrong. Rather it was something related to the powertrain. He said, “I think it’s a Nissan powertrain issue, if I’m honest. I think it’s not just been us, it’s been Norman and Ollie as well. At times, they’ve been a bit quicker, we’ve been a bit quicker. It’s just how it goes, unfortunately.”
“Sometimes the tracks don’t suit your package, and to have it in the last race is obviously not optimal. I think it’s just a powertrain problem.”
Hopes for a difficult weekend
Ahead of the second race, Barnard was tempering his expectations. He told FFN, “Obviously, the expectations are quite low after today and after the pace that we’ve shown.”
Barnard acknowledged that all he can do is put in the work and hope for a better Race 2, “But I believe in the team. I believe they can look at all the data and do their homework and give us a competitive car for tomorrow.”
The McLaren driver also wasn’t ready to rule out a chance of a shakeup. Pointing to the potential of mixed weather giving him the chance to get ahead.
He confessed, “Weather looks a little bit up in the air as well, so if we have some rain, I’m sure we’ll try and extract whatever we can out of that. It’s all going to be about doing the homework and trying to come back for tomorrow.”
Unfortunately the rain and results failed to materialise for the team. The second race saw the results fall further, both drivers suffering DNFs. For Taylor Barnard it was especially difficult, losing the chance to fight for P2 in the Driver’s Championship, resigned to accepting P4 as Nick Cassidy took wins in both races.
The rookie reflected on the weekend after the second race and told FFN, “I mean, looking at the weekend afterwards, I would say holding on to third was maybe a little bit of a long shot, especially with Cassidy’s pace this weekend. Given our situation at this track, that was going to be always a tough challenge to try to hold on to.”
“Of course the home race, the last race in McLaren and all of the rest of it is quite unfortunate to end like this.”
A record-breaking year
Beyond the London E-Prix weekend, Barnard paints his rookie year in a positive light. Hard done by to find a glaring downside in what has been a year of record-breaking firsts. He ended the year as the youngest driver to hit many milestones, points scorer, podium finisher and more.
Looking back on the year, he said “I mean, to be honest, I think I did better in the first half than the second half. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I don’t think that was down to pace or anything else, just how formidably racing goes. I mean, I was a victim of it this weekend. That’s just how it goes.”
“Of course, the highs were very good. The lows were only this weekend, to be honest, so it’s a bit unfortunate, but that’s how it goes.”
Season 12 brings questions over Barnard’s future. Although, there are countless rumours supporting the notion of Barnard trading papaya for the black and gold of Penske for 2026, nothing has been made official yet.
When he was asked by FFN about his future and his hopes for the coming year he kept reserved. He said, “I mean, I don’t really have much to say on my future as of now. I hope to be back racing in Formula E. It’s going to be a good season if I am back.
“Of course, with one year of experience on my belt, hopefully I’m able to pull a little bit more out of the car if I’m back next season. I’m looking forward to the future then.”
A Formula E grid without Taylor Barnard seems like an unfathomable result, and though it’s unlikely with many teams vying for Barnard and ink possibly already dry, Barnard’s future is going to be bright.
Season 11 may have been a season of firsts for the Brit. Season 12 will be the year for him to build on everything he learnt.
Closing the chapter with McLaren
As the weekend came to a close the reality of NEOM McLaren leaving Formula E came to a head. Barnard talked about the teams approach to the possibly emotional weekend, putting their professionalism before the feelings.
He said, “I think everyone in the team is super professional, and they’ll keep the emotions until after the race,” continuing, he opened up about wanting to give the team something to be proud of from the weekend, “But for myself and for everybody in the team, I really do want to sign off tomorrow with a good result.”
“Whether it be a very good quality lap or a very good position in the race. I want to do something to give the team a good send-off. Especially after the good season we’ve had together, so that’s the plan.”
The Brit reflected on his rookie season and was honest on how content he feels with how the last year has played out. “I’ve ended up fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, which for my first season I’m very, very happy with. If you were to tell me that at the beginning of the season, I would have taken it. I mean, it’s been a good season and an unfortunate way to end, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
When asked about his favourite moment from this season he told FFN, “I would say Jeddah was a very good weekend with a pole and two podiums, but my Monaco pole lap was the best lap I’ve done in my career, so both of those two”
