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Autosport
Autosport
Sport
Jake Boxall-Legge

Bird drove in London Formula E race with broken hand

Bird suffered an incident at the start of the Sunday's London race, but was able to complete the race - finishing in an eventual eighth position.

He received a post-race five-second penalty for causing a later collision with Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein at Turn 16, but this did not affect his result as the Briton was well ahead of Sergio Sette Camara in ninth.

However, a precautionary scan after the race has revealed that Bird suffered a fracture to his left hand, which he spent the entirety of the race with.

A statement from his Jaguar team revealed that Bird would be visiting a specialist - where it will be decided if he can compete at the Seoul E-Prix.

"Shortly after the race, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird was taken to hospital for precautionary checks on an injury sustained during the first lap in Round 14 in London," read a statement from the team.

"Following an X-ray, he has sustained a displaced mid-shaft fracture on his left hand.

"Sam will see a specialist as quickly as possible to determine the best treatment.

"Sam’s participation in the upcoming Seoul E-Prix on 13 and 14 August will be assessed in the coming days."

Sam Bird, Jaguar Racing (Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images)

If Bird cannot race, it would be likely that reserve driver Norman Nato would take over driving duties in Korea.

Nato raced for Venturi last season, winning the last race of the season in Berlin - but was replaced for this year by Lucas di Grassi.

Tom Dillmann also serves as a reserve driver for Jaguar, but has less recent racing experience compared to Nato.

Bird had retired from the opening race at the ExCeL on Saturday after an incident with Jean-Eric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara, where the three drivers were squeezed together into Turn 2.

Mortara made contact with Bird twice as a result, leaving the latter in the wall and out of the race with damage.

Bird's team-mate Mitch Evans retired from Sunday's race, reporting that the braking exhibited "strange behaviour" - and a power cycle could not resolve the issue - leaving the Kiwi 36 points off championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne.

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