NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird has been forced to withdraw from the Monaco E-Prix due to a hand fracture sustained during the morning’s FP1 session. The injury occurred when Bird made contact with the wall after going off track at Saint Devote. It is suspected that a technical issue may have contributed to the incident, as Bird was unable to control the car. In Bird’s absence, F2 driver Taylor Barnard will step in to compete for the team. Pending approval from the FIA, Barnard will participate for the remainder of the event.
Throughout both practice sessions, Mitch Evans of Jaguar TCS Racing demonstrated his dominance, finishing at the top of the leaderboard. Robin Frijns of Envision Racing consistently secured second place in each session, while Nick Cassidy contributed to a Jaguar powertrain 1-2-3 finish in FP1. TAG Heuer Porsche showed improvement in FP2, with Pascal Wehrlein claiming third place and Antonio Felix da Costa finishing fourth. ERT’s Dan Ticktum, who provided updates on the situation,