The George Russell strategy being used by a major Formula E talent

Taylor Barnard has revealed that he is utilising a similar strategy to the one George Russell adopted during his time at Williams in order to set himself realistic targets at DS Penske.

Barnard’s second campaign in Formula E has been considerably different from his first with McLaren.

Last season, Barnard was a regular contender for pole positions and podiums from the outset. He finished fourth in the drivers’ championship, with two poles and five podiums to his name.

Following his move to DS Penske after McLaren left the series, the 22-year-old has found himself in a very different situation.

DS Penske has faced performance struggles all season, with Barnard managing just one top-five finish — fourth place in Mexico City. Energy efficiency has been a real stumbling block for the soon-to-split team, with DS set to leave Formula E at the end of the current campaign.

Barnard finds himself 15th in the drivers’ standings, but his speed cannot be questioned, having claimed two front-row starts. 

The Briton has finished in the points in half of the 10 rounds so far, although his results have tended to come towards the lower end of the top 10 rather than at the front, as was the case last season.

He has had to accept that this is the reality of his season, using Russell’s approach from his Williams days as a way of managing expectations.

Asked if it has been difficult lowering his targets compared to last year, Barnard explained in an interview with RacingNews365: "It all depends on your package, I guess. I would always take it back to when George Russell was at Williams. 

"He would always set a relative target based on what they were able to do at the time with the car they had, and I've kind of taken that mentality wherever I go.

"If I've got a package that can achieve a maximum of P10, then a P10 would be a win for me because I've maximised what I can do.

"Like I’ve said, I'm learning as much as I can, I'm trying to deliver the best results and score the most points possible, and that's kind of the focus for the rest of the year."