The Monaco ePrix weekend opens immediately with a surprise, albeit an unwelcome one. Sam Bird will be forced to miss the rest of the weekend in the Principality due to a wrist injury sustained in a collision with the barriers during the first free practice session. In his place will be Taylor Barnard, McLaren's young reserve.
About ten minutes from the end of the first session of the weekend, the British driver locked the front in Turn 1, better known as Sainte Devote, and was therefore unable to slow the car down sufficiently before the barriers.
The Englishman's McLaren then hit the barriers at a high speed, while Bird still had his hands on the wheel. Similar to what happened to Robin Frijns last year in Mexico, the steering wheel immediately reacted violently, causing Bird's wrist to also hit the inside of the chassis.
Although he got out of the car without help and returned to the pits on foot, further investigations revealed an injury which sidelined him from today's race. Further tests will be carried out in the next few hours in hospital with x-rays, in order to understand if there are any breakages.
A statement from the McLaren team reads: “The NEOM McLaren Formula E team can confirm that Sam Bird will not participate in the remainder of the Monaco E-Prix. Following the on-track incident, there were signs of a potential hand injury, who requires further medical treatment. Sam will go to hospital for an x-ray to clarify the nature of the injury.”
“As a result, and pending FIA approval, Taylor Barnard will take his place for the remainder of the event. Further updates will be provided by the team as they become available.” Bird had previously injured the same wrist in London during the 2022 season, thus missing the championship finale in South Korea.
For Barnard it will therefore be the official debut in the electric category, even if it will not be the first time aboard a Formula E single-seater. The Briton, currently involved in Formula 2, missed part of the Valencia tests at the end of last year driving around in a Gen 3 car, before taking to the track for the rookie tests at Misano two weeks ago.
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