Formula E: Sam Bird has become Nissan's reserve driver

      If you look at the résumé of British driver Sam Bird, it turns out that his main achievements were connected with Russian teams.

      In 2013 he became the GP2 vice-champion (now Formula 2), racing for Russian Time, which that season won the junior series' teams' championship. A couple of years later Sam, together with G-Drive Racing, won the World Endurance Championship title in the LMP2 category.

      Around the same time he debuted in Formula E — it was the inaugural season of the new electric series — and since then he combined racing in it with the WEC, but that was only until this year. For the past two seasons Bird worked with McLaren, but the British company decided to leave Formula E, and it seemed that the 38-year-old driver's career would end there.

      But today it became known that he has signed a contract with Nissan Formula E Team, where he will serve as test driver and reserve driver. The factory team of the Japanese company made a good choice, because Bird is a very experienced professional, with 146 races behind the wheel of electric cars for four different teams. He has taken 12 wins in them, and in 2018 finished a respectable third in the championship.

      By the way, since in 2011 and 2012 Sam was a reserve driver for the Mercedes team in Formula 1, this kind of work is also familiar to him.

      "Of course I want to race, but I have been given this role in a world-class team and I’m happy to be able to contribute to this project," Bird told The Race. "I’m not going to just sit there worrying, 'Why didn’t I get a seat in the main lineup?' I hope I can help the team move forward and I try to think positively, because it’s interesting work and I will be useful to the team."

      You could say he knows Nissan’s machinery well, because the McLaren electric racing cars had power units produced by that company, and Sam has long found a common language with the Japanese engineers.

      "I can still achieve a lot in this sport before I hang up my helmet," Bird continued. "No one can tell me it’s time to finish my career — only I can make that decision, but for now I intend to work with Nissan. I spent the last three days at the team’s base, everyone was very welcoming, and I’ve already started work on the simulator, where I’ll also try to make improvements.

      I’m an experienced driver, and without doubt I can bring the team more benefit than a reserve driver who doesn’t have such experience. I have great relationships with Oliver Rowland and Norman Nato, and I hold both of them in very high regard. My role is to help them as much as possible. But if, due to some unforeseen situation, I have to race, I’m fully ready for that too — I can get behind the wheel without questions and handle the task properly."