Official: Nissan presents Sam Bird as reserve and development driver for the 2025-26 Formula E season

Nissan has signed a new replacement and development driver: Sam Bird joins the Japanese brand's driver line-up with immediate effect alongside world champion Oliver Rowland, his team-mate Norman Nato and simulator and rookie driver Abbi Pulling. This was announced by Nissan in a press release on Thursday morning. The Briton thus succeeds Sergio Sette Camara.

Sam Bird will thus be entering his twelfth Formula E season – albeit his first in which he will not be a regular driver. Following the end of the McLaren team and an emotional double retirement at the season finale in London, Bird is now moving to the second row and will mainly be working in the simulator for Nissan in the coming season. However, as a reserve driver, he will also be present at the races.

"I'm extremely happy to be joining Nissan Formula E Team as the reserve and development driver for the 2025/26 campaign," says Sam Bird. "I've worked closely with Nissan over the past two seasons, so I feel prepared as I know the Nissan Formula E powertrain well. I've got a great relationship with both Oli and Norman and they are two drivers I respect very highly."

"I'll help them in any way possible trackside and by aiding to further develop the current Gen3 Evo and future Gen4 car," the Briton continued. "The knowledge I have built up over the last two years will mean I can jump straight into the simulator and give feedback instantly, supporting the squad to build on its recent success in Season 11."

Volpe: "He will play an important role"

"We're very happy to welcome Sam as our reserve and development driver for Season 12," says Nissan Team Principal Tommaso Volpe. "He is one of the most experienced and successful drivers in the championship and has competed with our powertrain for the past two seasons, so there was really no question that he would be a great fit for the team. He will play an important role as we look to keep consistently fighting at the top in the upcoming campaign while we get ready for Gen4."

Bird is one of the longest-serving drivers in Formula E, competing in a total of 141 Formula E races from the first race to the 2024/25 season finale. He initially drove for Virgin Racing and Envision Virgin Racing for six seasons before competing for Jaguar for three seasons and then for Nissan customer team McLaren for the last two seasons.

He achieved a total of twelve victories (4th place in the perpetual leaderboard), 27 podiums (5th place), six pole positions (10th place) and 13 fastest race laps (record!). With 916 points, he is the fifth most successful driver in history. In season 4, he was in the title fight for a long time and finished third in the overall standings at the end of the season.