Barnard Needs To Rethink Rethinking His Contract

There have been some interesting moves in the world of Formula E team ownership. Stellantis has withdrawn the DS brand from the series, shifting its support to the new Opel team. Porsche, after failing to deliver on the second factory team they planned on entering, has launched the Fusion Formula E customer team, with veteran team principal Phil Charles at the helm. And Jay Penske has sold his operation to the new Fortescue Zero Racing team. This last one is the stage for an interesting silly season contract debacle, as well as the site where Taylor Barnard may be making one of the biggest mistakes of his racing career.

Penske sold the team to Fortescue back in September, and the rumors then were that Fortescue planned to retain DS Penske's Taylor Barnard pending contract re-negotiation. This was confirmed a month later, with Fortescue nominating Barnard as their driver to the FIA. Dan Ticktum was confirmed to be their second driver just under a week after that.

However, between October and now, Barnard seems to have had second thoughts. Formula E Notebook first reported that Barnard's management team was looking for a release from the contract, with Barnard going as far as to skip Fortescue's launch event. Fortescue, naturally, is resisting Barnard's release.

As for why there's been a sudden change of heart, speculation is that it's related to the previously mentioned Fusion Porsche team. The confirmation of Season 13's 12th entry came a week before the news of the contract dispute. Whether Porsche and/or Fusion are trying to headhunt Barnard or if Barnard simply wants to keep options open isn't completely clear, but the timing is certainly right.

Like I said, this could be one of the biggest mistakes of Barnard's young career.

For starters, Barnard signed a contract. He's not allowed to simply back out just because another offer opened up, no matter how enticing it looks. And even if Barnard's team has truly found an issue that would nullify the contract, Fortescue is unlikely to let Barnard go without a fight. A lengthy court battle would be bad for Barnard, since Formula E and the FIA recently updated the Formula E General Provisions for Season 13.

Section 9.2: Any Driver already nominated by one Competitor, who then wishes to drive for another Competitor entered in the Championship, must first satisfy the FIA that this is being done with the consent of the original Competitor. If there is no such consent the FIA will decide, at its absolute discretion, whether such a change may be made.

While a legal dispute is ongoing, it's unlikely that the FIA will approve a team change for Barnard, at least until after the dispute is resolved. Worst case scenario, Barnard sits out the 2026-2027 season.

Missing a season is already not optimal for a driver, but it's compounded by the fact that Season 13 will be the debut of the new Gen4 car. He'll be a full season behind his rivals in terms of familiarity and knowledge.

Even if Barnard and his team win their legal challenge, it's unlikely that it ends in a net positive for Barnard. He really should just suck it up and ride his contract out. Moving to a brand-new team is a risk either way, and while he's shown plenty of flashes of brilliance, I really don't think he's proven his skill enough to get away with breaking a contract like this. In the long run, fulfilling his obligations with Fortescue seems like the best way forward to me.