MADRID: NEOM McLaren driver Taylor Barnard finished in the top five at the official pre-season test of the 2024-2025 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at Madrid’s Jarama Circuit last week, which is fitting preparation for next month’s Brazil E-Prix.
All 22 drivers and 11 teams — including NEOM McLaren — headed out onto the track for the first and only time before the season-opening Sao Paulo E-Prix on Dec. 7.
After six successful seasons in Diriyah, Jeddah was announced as the new host city for the race at the iconic Corniche Circuit for the first time on Feb. 14 and 15.
The shift to Jeddah reflects Formula E’s commitment to innovation and sustainability and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s vision for the future of sports in the Kingdom.
The championship’s fastest race car yet — the GEN3 Evo — is capable of 0-100 kph, which is 30 percent faster than the current F1 car.
Barnard — the 20-year-old Brit who secured his first full-time Formula E race seat with NEOM McLaren for this 2024-2025 season — finished the test in 1 minute, 27.780 seconds, just 0.319 seconds off the fastest lap set by Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans.
“We have had a great three full days testing, and I feel it was a very positive test for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team,” he said. “I’ve set some strong lap times today and Sam’s (Bird) pace has been very strong throughout the test.
“We have completed all the items we needed to test with no reliability issues, which is very positive. I’m very happy we were able to go testing this week in Madrid, following the terrible tragedy in Valencia.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to those affected by this awful disaster. Now, I’m ready to go racing. I’m happy with the settings on the car and the team environment — bring on Sao Paulo.”
His Neom McLaren teammate, Bird, finished further down the grid in P18, with a time of 1:28.529.
“I am very pleased with the work we have done in Madrid. We have finished our program with no major issues, which is a great confidence boost for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team,” said the British driver.
“My thoughts and prayers go out the people affected by the tragedy in Valencia, and I am very grateful for the work the whole Formula E paddock has put in to enable us to go testing at Jarama this week.
“Going into the first race in Sao Paulo, I feel excited and optimistic about the season ahead, and I’m looking forward to getting out there in a month’s time.”
Evans drove the quickest over the 4,731 total laps and 18,512 km completed in the six three-hour test sessions across four days — with the New Zealander setting a lap time of 1:27.461.
The Jaguar driver set the pace during the final morning’s running on Friday, with the entire field split by a little over a second on the overall timesheet.
Reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein was third in the running in the latest factory Porsche 99X Electric. He split the impressive Porsche-powered Kiro Race Co pair of Dan Ticktum and David Beckmann who sat second and fourth, respectively, using the season-10-specification powertrain.
In a strong showing, Zane Maloney, new to Formula E this season and the grid’s only full debutant, found himself mid-pack on the timing screens. The Lola Yamaha ABT driver from Barbados enters the series from FIA Formula 2.
