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With one of the richest histories in motorsport of any manufacturer, dating back to 1948, the British manufacturer revived its motorsport programme to showcase its range of electric cars with its entry into Formula E in 2016.
For its inaugural season in the championship, the team signed Adam Carroll and New Zealander Mitch Evans to the team. After a difficult season, the team finished at the back of the pack, accruing just 27 points over the 12 races.
For its second campaign, the team drafted in inaugural ABB FIA Formula E Champion, Nelson Piquet Jr. to partner Mitch Evans, who remained at the team for a second season after his impressive Formula E debut. Finishing the 2017/18 season in sixth place, the team improved its standing in the series but victory still proved elusive for the British squad.
Mid-way through the 2018/19 season, however, Evans clinched an emotional maiden victory for the team in Rome after battling for the win with DS Techeetah's Andre Lotterer. Prior to the victory, Nelson Piquet Jr. parted ways with the team while British driver Alex Lynn was drafted in to take his place and partner Evans for the remainder of the season.
Now with over three years worth of learnings from Formula E behind it, the British car maker is applying it's electric vehicle know-how to its first EV, the Jaguar I-Pace. After making its first production appearance at the 2017 Mexico City E-Prix, driven by Kiwi driver Mitch Evans, the team's efforts in the series continue to help test, develop and refine the latest technology available to the next generation of Jaguar's all-electric cars. Shortly after the production car broke cover, Formula E's first official support series, the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy made its debut on the streets of Saudi Arabia, marking the start of its inaugural season, which came to a conclusion in New York City alongside the 2018/19 season of Formula E.
Now entering its fourth season in Formula E, the British team calls on Mitch Evans and British driver James Calado as they get behind the wheel of their Gen2 Jaguar I-Type 4 cars. Going up against the most competitive line up in motorsport, Evans demonstrated Jaguar's strength in the early portion of the season, taking the Julius Baer Pole Position in Santiago and followed this with a commanding victory in Mexico City. A drop in form in the six-race season-finale in Berlin saw the British team drop to seventh in the teams' standings.
Jaguar Racing headed into the Season 7 finale with both drivers in with a shout of the World Championship title. Bird won in Diriyah on debut for the famous British marque and produced a stunning zero to hero drive in New York City after a practice shunt. A blank on home soil in London put Bird on the back foot and with what looked like a little too much to do in Berlin. A technical issue in Round 14 put paid to his title shot.
Teammate Mitch Evans was right in the hunt with the Kiwi leading the charge for the team in the Drivers' title chase after teammate Bird's retirement in Round 14. He looked to be in the box seat having taken third in race one, and given he'd qualified well ahead of his nearest championship rivals as well as standings leader and eventual World Champion Nyck de Vries. A technical issue prevented his getaway from the line, though, and abruptly halted a potential run at the title proper.
Evans’ 180 points in Season 8 was a stunning 75 better than his prior benchmark effort in his third campaign. A win double in Rome threw down the gauntlet for the chasing pack in a big way after a disappointing first few rounds. Second followed in Monaco but and up and down mid-season with wins at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix and podiums in New York City and Marrakesh interspersed with a non-score in the Big Apple and a best of only fifth in Berlin. A gutting retirement in London meant he had it all to do to overturn Stoffel Vandoorne come the Seoul finale. He did all he could with a win in the opener, but didn’t have enough in the tank to outdo the Belgian, settling for second in the table overall.
Season 8 was undoubtedly Bird’s most disappointing to-date. Just 13th in the standings and 51 points was a surprise. Even more of a shock was that the ultra-experienced Formula E head failed to win in a season for the very first time. In fact, he wouldn’t take home any silverware at all. He’ll be hoping for a far stronger start to life in Gen3, and has all the tools at his disposal to nail it from the off.
