Formula E 2023: Sam Bird Set to Return to Racing at Shanghai E-Prix Following Hand Injury
Formula E driver Sam Bird is ready to get back behind the wheel this weekend at the Shanghai E-Prix double-header, following a month-long absence due to a broken hand. The McLaren driver suffered the injury during a crash at Sainte-Devote in practice ahead of the Monaco E-Prix, becoming the latest in a growing list of drivers to experience a similar fate.
In recent years, broken hands have become a prevalent injury in motorsport, with Formula 1’s Daniel Ricciardo and Formula E’s Robin Frijns requiring operations and a two-month recovery period after crashes at Zandvoort and Mexico City, respectively. Fernando Alonso even admitted to racing with broken bones in his hand after a crash during qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix in 2022.
“I think the steering wheel design, cockpit layout, no power steering [in Formula E], all these three things combined mean our hands can get almost karate-chopped by these firm carbon fibre wheels,” Bird told Autosport in Shanghai.
Bird underwent an operation to repair the break, which involved fitting additional metal plates to the existing work done after his first incident. The injury has left him with pins and needles down that side of his hand, which “hasn’t gone since I’ve had the operation because they’ve had to go in there and there’s lots of nerves and they’re putting plates around nerves.”
Despite the setback, Bird is determined to get back to racing, citing the importance of getting back behind the wheel as soon as possible. “It’s never what you want as a driver, to get an injury and then you worry about how long it’s going to be [to return]. You know that if you don’t get operated on, it will heal but it will take 6-8 weeks. If you have an operation, [it] is more tricky but then the recovery time can be shorter, so I obviously went for the operation.”
Bird’s decision to race in Shanghai was only confirmed on Monday, following 200 laps on McLaren’s simulator, which was delayed by three days to give him as much time as possible to heal. “If I felt like I wasn’t ready, I would have told the team,” he added, confident in his ability to get back to racing.
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