Sam Bird feeling ‘fired up’ for São Paulo after disappointment of missing Cape Town

After having a month to get over the disappointment that was his Cape Town E-Prix, Sam Bird is feeling “fired up and ready as ever to go again” this weekend at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix, as the British driver targets a return to the points.

It’s been a very challenging couple of rounds for Bird, with the Jaguar TCS Racing driver having retired in India after causing a multi-car collision, before being pulled from the recent round in Cape Town due to hefty damage to his I-TYPE 6. Bird crashed heavily towards the end of his group in qualifying in South Africa, where he slammed into the barrier and Edoardo Mortara‘s stricken Maserati, due to a red flag having not been flown quickly enough.

Bird’s car was completely destroyed, with the Coventry-based team having quickly decided after the crash that he would be unable to participate in the race. Missing the race was particularly disappointing for Bird, who’d hailed Cape Town as the new venue he was most excited for. After two consecutive races without points, Bird is certainly up against it this weekend to get his season back on-track, should he wish to remain in the title fight.

Looking ahead to Brazil this weekend, Bird is “determined to deliver a strong performance” in order to leave the South American nation with some points, something which will be a challenge given that his five-place grid penalty from South Africa (awarded following his mistake in India) has carried over into this weekend.

“It was difficult not being able to race in South Africa, it was an amazing location with an incredible backdrop. I am fired up and ready as ever to go again in Brazil, another location filled with fans that I am determined to deliver a strong performance at and take the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 back into the points!”

“This has been a productive month to reset” – Mitch Evans

On the other side of the Jaguar garage, Mitch Evans is another driver who is targeting a big haul of points, with the New Zealander having also failed to finish in the top ten at either of the last two races.

He would’ve scored points in both races had it not been for incidents outside of his control, with his retirement in India having been caused by his team-mate. Evans was also on-track for a very strong result in Cape Town, only to be slapped with a drive-through penalty for an overuse of power at the start of the race. He recovered brilliantly from the penalty, though, and narrowly missed out on some points after finishing eleventh.

Evans will be hoping that his luck will start to change in his favour this weekend, given that the Season Eight Vice-Champion currently finds himself twelfth in the Drivers’ Championship. The Jaguar driver has at least had a month since South Africa to understand what’s gone wrong in the opening five rounds of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with a reaction needed from this weekend onwards if he wants to play any part in the title fight.

The twenty-eight year-old goes into this weekend “excited” about visiting São Paulo, following a “productive month to reset”.

“Cape Town was frustrating for me, I felt I was in a strong position to progress further in the race but just missed out on points. This has been a productive month to reset, focus and get excited about round six. I have heard a lot about the atmosphere and crowd in São Paulo, it sounds incredible, so I hope we can give Brazil and our supporters a great race.”

Credit: Carl Bingham courtesy of FIA Formula E