Taylor Barnard has finally locked down his Formula E future, signing with newcomer Fortescue Zero Racing to compete in the upcoming Gen4 era for the 2026-27 campaign, as Motorsport.com reports. The 22-year-old found himself without a seat after two-and-a-half seasons in the electric championship, having originally started with McLaren before spending the 2025-26 campaign with DS Penske.
Uncertainty had surrounded his career after DS Automobiles pulled out of the series and its partner Penske was subsequently acquired by Fortescue. Despite that turbulent backdrop, the Briton never wanted to race anywhere else. He made his intentions clear at the London finale last season, and has now completed a straightforward move to become Fortescue's very first driver signing ahead of upcoming testing in November.
He has already shown that he has the speed, discipline and race-craft to compete at the front of Formula E.
"I'm incredibly excited to join Fortescue Zero Racing and be part of building something from the ground up," Barnard said, pointing to the squad's history of developing high-performance electric technology.
Barnard's path to this point has had its share of sharp twists. He cut short a difficult stint in Formula 2 to jump straight into Formula E, turning heads immediately by finishing fourth for McLaren in his first full campaign alongside five podium appearances. When that squad exited the championship, he shifted to DS Penske for a tough sophomore campaign that yielded zero podium finishes through the opening 16 races.
He turned it around in the most dramatic fashion possible, storming to victory at the London finale to close out the season. That win crowned him Formula E's youngest victor, a milestone he counts as his ultimate career highlight. Fortescue Zero boss Jim Wright clearly sees that raw speed and resilience as a foundation to build upon, noting that the squad's Jaguar powertrain will now be in the hands of a driver who knows how to work with engineers to extract every bit of efficiency.
"Taylor is exactly the kind of driver a new team wants to build around," Wright stated. "He has already shown that he has the speed, discipline and race-craft to compete at the front of Formula E."
With testing scheduled at Jarama, the 2026-27 calendar is slated to kick off in Jeddah this December—contingent upon the ongoing Middle East conflict—before wrapping up its journey in Tokyo this July.
