The glamour of Monaco was the backdrop to a dramatic day for Taylor Barnard, who experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows at the sixth round of the Formula E Championship. Securing his maiden pole position at the Monaco E-Prix, the young Brit looked poised to take on the streets with authority. And for the opening phase, he did just that.
A strong start from pole for Barnard
Barnard launched cleanly off the line and led the pack confidently through Sainte Devote and into the first sequence of corners. “Well, obviously, I started from pole. I think I controlled the race quite well for the first 10 laps,” he reflected when asked how he experienced today’s race by PitDebrief.
With the field bunched tightly around the narrow Monaco streets, energy conservation was key, and Barnard appeared to be in control.
Even after losing ground during the pit boost phase, temporarily dropping back to P4, he remained confident in his strategic position.
“Around the pit boost, there was a little bit of movement, I dropped back to P4, but actually, my energy was quite good. And obviously, I had two minutes of attack more than everyone else, so I don’t think it’s a bad situation to be in at that point.”
Wheel-to-wheel with Rowland at the Monaco E-Prix
As ever in Monaco, overtaking was a high-stakes gamble. A key flashpoint came when Barnard found himself embroiled in a tense exchange with fellow Brit Oliver Rowland. Rowland attempted a move which pushed Barnard off the racing line and onto the escape road.
“I mean it’s another one of those situations where he goes for a move in a position where it’s not really on,” Barnard explained. “I tried my best to make the corner, but I couldn’t. Yeah, I just cut the corner, and then we continued racing. I didn’t really gain an advantage; I lifted at the exit, and we continued racing after that.”
While stewards chose not to penalise the incident immediately, it left Barnard sandwiched between Rowland and Jake Dennis. The latter later received a five-second penalty for speeding under Full Course Yellow.
The crash that ended it all
With just four laps to go, disaster struck. Barnard hit the wall while still holding roughly four minutes of attack mode, and hopes of reclaiming the lead. Though Barnard managed to rejoin the track, he dropped down the order and would eventually finish a disappointing P16 at the Monaco E-Prix.
“And then obviously the incident, I don’t really want to talk about it too much, I think it was pretty self-explanatory what happened,” he admitted, the frustration clear. “It’s just unfortunate, I think, when we’re racing super close to each other, especially around this kind of track, these things will happen. It’s just unfortunate that I got the bad end of it today.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow
Despite the heartbreak, Barnard remains positive, choosing to focus on the pace he showed in the early stages and the potential for redemption.
“I think we’ve got a good car. Obviously, we were on pole, the situation I was in in the race was still very good. I was pretty decent on energy, even while leading, which is very, very difficult,” he said. “I still need to review the race because I’ve been in the stewards and I’ve not really had time to look. Today’s been a positive day, and we’ll go again tomorrow.”
As Formula E prepares for another run through the streets of Monaco, Barnard will be hoping that Sunday’s script brings him the ending he deserved today.
