Bird ‘Extremely Interested’ in McLaren Hypercar Program

Photo:Joe Portlock/LAT/Neom McLaren

Sam Bird has expressed his desire to be part of McLaren’s recently confirmed Hypercar effort, in what could mark the Briton’s return to the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The 2015 WEC LMP2 champion, who enjoyed a tenure with Ferrari as a factory GTE-Pro factory driver from 2016-21, has driven for the NEOM McLaren Formula E team since the 2023-24 season.

Sportscar365 understands the 38-year-old could have a potential development and race driver role with the effort that will debut in 2027.

However, when asked about his prospects of a return to sports car racing, Bird downplayed that anything has been solidified.

“Certainly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely excited and interested in that project,” he said. “But that’s all that I can say right now. I’m super excited that the announcement has come out and let’s see what happens.”

A mainstay in Formula E, Bird has exclusively focused on the electric open-wheel series since a one-off start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Riley Motorsports-run Ferrari 488 GTE in 2022.

“I’ve really missed endurance racing,” he said. “I loved my time at Ferrari and before that with LMP2, winning that world championship and then helping Ferrari secure multiple world championships as well.

“Yeah, it’s a great championship, one that is very competitive. But I’ve never raced, obviously, right at the front.

“With the categories that I did, I raced LMP2 was obviously not LMP1 at the time and then GT, I think GT was super hard, but there’s cars that were much quicker. So I think Hypercar, McLaren is an exciting thing to hear about.”

While a number of Formula E drivers also undertake season-long WEC programs, as Bird had done in the past, he indicated his desire to have a foot in both camps.

“Of course, I’m always evaluating and speaking to Ian [James], speaking to Zak [Brown], speaking to Julian and Alexander, my managers,” he said.

“I’m sure whatever decision we make collectively will be the right one.

“Right now, I’m extremely happy at NEOM McLaren. We’ve got a very competitive car and I look forward to getting on the podium very soon.

“This season and progressing, I think that we’ve had a lot of speed this year that, for whatever reason, we haven’t quite shown with regards to the points.

“We’ll make a decision at some point in the near future if there is a next step in terms of am I doing something slightly different or if I get to stay with this great team, which I hope is the case.”

McLaren has yet to officially provide any further details of its program, which is believed to be run by United Autosports and feature a Dallara-chassied LMDh car.