Born: January 8th 1987 (age 26)
Nationality: United Kingdom (Roehampton)
Highest Finish in Professional Racing: 2nd
Current team: Russian Time/Mercedes AMG Petronas
Awards: Autosport Club Driver of the Year
Mercedes 3rd driver Sam Bird has had an impressive career in open wheel racing. Beginning with Formula BMW UK. He finished 14th in his first year, but then skyrocketed to 2nd the next year. His second place finish came with 6 wins, 9 poles, 3 fastest laps, and 12 podiums. Due to this result, he got to race in the BMW World Final. He finished 4th out of 32 entries. Another notable driver who participated in this series was Nico Rosberg. Racing for his uncle's team, Team Rosberg, he won the championship, and well, we all know where he ended up. Moving on, he went to crucial Formula Renault, as many other important drivers have. He finished fourth. In 2008, he went to his first major series, Masters of F3. He finishished a depressing 27th, but then came back in 2009, and finished 7th. 2009 was also where he got involved with ART Grand Prix. A major force in GP2 for those who don't know. In his first official race with the team in the Macau Grand Prix he finished 3rd, a result that impressed the team highly. Consequently, he began to race in GP2 in 2010, finishing 7th with one fastest lap and 1 podium. the next season he improved by two positions, with a final position of 5th, including 1 pole, 1 win, 4 fastest laps, and 5 podiums.
In the next two seasons, he finished 6th and 12th respectively. Raking in 1 pole, 3 fastest laps, 3 podiums, and 47 points. Pretty good for 22 races. Then in 2012, he got the biggest break of his career by signing with Mercedes as a 3rd driver. In the same season, he competed in Formula Renault 3.5 and finished 3rd. His highest finish was second in the young driver test in Magny-Cours, but he was racing against a Ferrari and Bianchi in his defense.
Why He'll End Up in F1:
1. He's a 3rd driver
2. He's in GP2
3. He apparently has a good personality for sponsors and media
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