"For the first two weeks, I felt a bit left out but now I am very thrilled to be joining everyone and looking forward to this weekend," said Bird in the pre-race press conference ahead of the second round of the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF.  

After the British driver's season got off to a cracking start, with a win in round one in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, Bird hasn't been seen on the podium since. Sitting 10th in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship standings, he now joins his teammate Robin Frijns and the rest to the Formula E grid to battle it out virtually in the Race at Home Challenge. While the real racing might be on hold, the sim showdowns have proved to be an entirely different but equally difficult challenge.   

"Since the Formula E season has been suspended, I have taken up running and spent plenty of time on the simulator trying to improve and find lap time and, in all fairness, I am optimistic I can do okay, especially because now I have become much consistent and quicker." 

"In the meantime, I have been working on my fitness and I am now lighter than I was before, I completed the half marathon in support of the NHS thanks to which me and other British drivers were able to raise 35K.” 

After BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Max Guenther ran away with the win in both the test race and the all-important first round, Bird will be looking to make an impact on his debut when the sim racing kicks off at 16:30 GMT on Saturday May 1. Tune in to watch all the action live.