Sam Bird appeared on the karting scene in 2002, racing competitively in events across Europe, including the ICA Garda Cup and the Federation Cup. Following his stint in karting, Bird won a scholarship to race in the inaugural season of Formula BMW with Carlin Motorsport. He ended the year with three wins and finished as one of the top rookie drivers. Bird remained in Formula BMW for a second season and eventually finished as championship runner-up that year. His name also appeared on the shortlist for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. After a number of years progressing through Formula Renault and British F3, Bird held testing duties for Williams F1 focussing on straight-line aero development. He eventually joined forces with Mercedes for the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi. Recently, Bird has competed in GP2 where he narrowly missed out on the championship with Russian Time, claiming five wins en route to second in the standings.