Mitch Evans believes new teammate Sam Bird will elevate himself and Jaguar to the necessary level to win the 2021 Formula E championship.
The Kiwi has had the measure of all of his teammates he’s had during his tenure with Jaguar. Last season, Evans scored 87 per cent of all Jaguar’s points haul. The 2018-19 season had the Kiwi go even better and claim 90 per cent of his team’ s earnings.
This season, Bird will become the sixth different driver to partner Evans. However, unlike previous teammates Evans has been with, Bird brings considerable Formula E experience.
He is just one of four drivers to have raced in the all-electric formulae since its inception. He is also the most successful driver to have never won a championship, with nine race wins and at least one race win in every season of Formula E.
It is this level of talent that Evans says will be the final piece of Jaguar’s puzzle in their championship challenge.
“I’m just super excited to have someone of his calibre to partner with, to learn from, to work against head-to-head – we’re expecting a healthy relationship, a healthy rivalry,” Evans said in an interview with Inside Electric.
“I think it’s going to be one of those partnerships where it’s so tight, one day I’ll be on top of him, the next day he’ll get on top of me and we’ll both be happy for each other.
“At the end of the day, we want Jaguar Racing at the top and that’s only going to happen if we work together and we’re both performing well. It’s going to be a very exciting partnership and hopefully a very successful one.
“That’s the reason why the team’s brought Sam in, to fill that last piece of the puzzle and elevate Jaguar to the next level.”
Evans added that he hopes his own familiarity with Jaguar, coupled with Bird’s indisputable experience in the category will gel well together.
“I think what’s interesting about our partnership is that I’m very experienced within the team, so I know everything within the team, how we operate, how we work, I know all the personnel, I’m very much at home,” Evans said.
“Sam has got more experience in the championship, which is amazing. His stats, his credentials just speak for themselves, he’s one of the most successful drivers in Formula E, one of the most experienced, since it started [and] he’s won a race every season, almost won a few championships.”
